Ricardo Fernandes (footballer, born April 1978)

Ricardo Fernandes
Personal information
Full name Ricardo Ribeiro Fernandes
Date of birth (1978-04-21) 21 April 1978 (age 46)
Place of birth Moreira de Cónegos, Portugal
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1987–1996 Aves
1996–1997 Moreirense
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1997 Moreirense 2 (0)
1997–2000 Freamunde 57 (16)
2000–2003 Sporting CP 6 (1)
2000–2001 → Santa Clara (loan) 28 (3)
2001–2002 → Gil Vicente (loan) 32 (4)
2002–2003 Sporting B 9 (0)
2003–2004 Porto 13 (1)
2004–2005 Académica 21 (2)
2005–2008 APOEL 64 (16)
2008–2009 Metalurh Donetsk 37 (9)
2009 Anorthosis 9 (1)
2010 AEL Limassol 13 (2)
2010–2011 Hapoel Be'er Sheva 15 (0)
2011 Metalurh Donetsk 21 (5)
2012 Panetolikos 8 (1)
2012–2014 Doxa 39 (11)
2014 Omonia 13 (0)
2014–2015 Doxa 40 (8)
2016–2017 Trofense 28 (11)
2017–2018 Felgueiras 1932 25 (3)
Total 480 (94)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ricardo Ribeiro Fernandes (born 21 April 1978) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as an attacking midfielder for the club Moreirense.

He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 72 matches and eight goals during four seasons, representing in the competition Gil Vicente, Sporting, Porto and Académica. He also competed professionally in Cyprus, Ukraine, Israel and Greece, notably spending several years in the Cypriot First Division with five clubs and winning the national championship with APOEL in 2007.

Club career

Sporting / Porto

Fernandes was born in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães. After a number of impressive performances for Gil Vicente FC, with whom he made his Primeira Liga debuts in the 2001–02 campaign,[1] he returned to Sporting CP who owned the player's rights; at the time, he was hailed as one of the country's brightest young prospects.

After only one season, Fernandes was signed by José Mourinho for his FC Porto side,[2] which won the 2003–04 edition of the UEFA Champions League. He appeared sparingly for the club during his spell due to injury,[3][4] playing only 19 games in all competitions as he was understudy to Portuguese international Deco, and left after another sole campaign.

APOEL

After a spell with Académica de Coimbra, Fernandes was signed on a lucrative three-year deal to APOEL FC in Cyprus.[5] In his first year, he became an instant crowd favorite with his accurate set pieces and creative passing,[6] scoring nine times with a remarkable number of assists and also helping his team to the domestic cup.

In his second season, Fernandes netted five league goals as APOEL were crowned national champions.[7]

Later years

Fernandes returned to Cyprus on 17 June 2009, signing a three-year contract with Anorthosis Famagusta FC.[8] On 30 December, 19 days after being released,[9] he joined another team in that country, AEL Limassol.

On 4 June 2010, 32-year-old Fernandes signed a contract with Israel's Hapoel Be'er Sheva AFC, reuniting with former AEL coach Nir Klinger. In January 2011, however, he returned to former Ukrainian club FC Metalurh Donetsk.

Club statistics

[10][11]

Club Season League National Cup[12] League Cup Continental[13] Other[14] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Moreirense 1996–97 Segunda Liga 2 0 0 0 0 0 — 2 0
Freamunde 1997–98 Terceira Divisão 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
1998–99 Segunda Divisão 26 7 0 0 0 0 — 26 7
1999–00 Segunda Liga 31 9 1 0 0 0 — 32 9
Total 57 16 1 0 0 0 — 58 16
Santa Clara 2000–01 Segunda Liga 28 3 1 0 0 0 — 29 3
Gil Vicente 2001–02 Primeira Liga 32 4 1 0 0 0 — 33 4
Sporting 2002–03 Primeira Liga 6 1 3 2 0 0 2 0 — 11 3
Porto 2003–04 Primeira Liga 13 1 1 0 0 0 6 0 1 0 21 1
Académica 2004–05 Primeira Liga 21 2 0 0 0 0 — 21 2
APOEL 2005–06 Cypriot First Division 22 9 10 4 — 4 0 — 36 13
2006–07 Cypriot First Division 23 5 8 1 — 4 2 1 0 36 8
2007–08 Cypriot First Division 19 2 4 1 — 2 0 1 0 26 3
Total 64 16 22 6 — 10 2 2 0 98 24
Metalurh Donetsk 2007–08 Ukrainian Premier League 10 1 0 0 0 0 — 10 1
2008–09 Ukrainian Premier League 27 8 0 0 0 0 — 27 8
Total 37 9 0 0 0 0 — 37 9
Anothosis 2009–10 Cypriot First Division 9 1 0 0 0 0 4 1 — 13 2
AEL Limassol 2009–10 Cypriot First Division 13 2 3 1 0 0 — 16 3
Hapoel Be'er Sheva 2010–11 Israeli Premier League 15 0 0 0 0 0 — 15 0
Metalurh Donetsk 2010–11 Ukrainian Premier League 9 4 0 0 0 0 — 9 4
2011–12 Ukrainian Premier League 12 1 2 0 0 0 — 14 1
Total 21 5 2 0 0 0 — 23 5
Panetolikos 2011–12 Super League Greece 8 1 1 0 — 9 1
Doxa 2012–13 Cypriot First Division 25 6 3 0 — 28 6
2013–14 Cypriot First Division 14 5 1 0 — 15 5
Total 39 11 4 0 — 43 11
Omonia 2013–14 Cypriot First Division 13 0 2 0 — 15 0
Doxa 2014–15 Cypriot First Division 27 6 0 0 — 27 6
2015–16 Cypriot First Division 13 2 0 0 — 13 2
Total 40 8 0 0 — 40 8
Trofense 2016–17 Campeonato Portugal 28 11 1 0 — 29 11
Felgueiras 1932 2017–18 Campeonato Portugal 25 3 3 1 — 28 4
Career total 467 94 45 10 0 0 22 3 3 0 537 107

Honours

Freamunde

Santa Clara

Sporting

Porto

APOEL

References

  1. ^ Gil Vicente frente ao Marco: Bom Ricardo Fernandes (Gil Vicente against Marco: Good Ricardo Fernandes); Record, 23 July 2001 (in Portuguese)
  2. ^ Surprise swap between rivals; UEFA, 14 July 2003
  3. ^ Ricardo Fernandes com fractura (Ricardo Fernandes with fracture); Record, 17 December 2003 (in Portuguese)
  4. ^ A selecção azul e branca (The white-and-blue selection); Público, 23 May 2004 (in Portuguese)
  5. ^ APOEL swoop to sign Fernandes; UEFA, 5 July 2005
  6. ^ Chipre atrai mais de 20 jogadores portugueses (Cyprus attracts more than 20 Portuguese players); Público, 22 July 2007 (in Portuguese)
  7. ^ APOEL inicia aventura europeia (APOEL start European adventure); UEFA, 17 July 2007 (in Portuguese)
  8. ^ Ricardo Fernandes no Anorthosis (Ricardo Fernandes to Anorthosis); UEFA, 18 June 2009 (in Portuguese)
  9. ^ Chipre: Ricardo Fernandes rescinde com o Anorthosis (Cyprus: Ricardo Fernandes cuts ties with Anorthosis); Mais Futebol, 11 December 2009 (in Portuguese)
  10. ^ "Ricardo Fernandes". ForaDeJogo. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  11. ^ "Ricardo Fernandes". Soccerway. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  12. ^ Includes Cypriot Cup, Ukrainian Cup and Greek Football Cup
  13. ^ Includes UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League
  14. ^ Includes Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira and Cypriot Super Cup