Ricardo Fernandes (footballer, born April 1978)

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

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

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

• Segunda Divisão B: 1998–99
• Terceira Divisão: 1997–98

Santa Clara

• Segunda Liga: 2000–01

Sporting

• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2002

Porto

• Primeira Liga: 2003–04
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2003
• UEFA Champions League: 2003–04
• Taça de Portugal: Runner-up 2003–04

APOEL

• Cypriot First Division: 2006–07
• Cypriot Cup: 2005–06

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

External links

• Ricardo Fernandes at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Football-Lineups profile
• Ricardo Fernandes at UAF and archived FFU page (in Ukrainian)
• Ricardo Fernandes at Soccerway