Gerso Fernandes (born 23 February 1991), known as Gerso (), is a Bissau-Guinean professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who plays as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for South Korean club

Incheon United Incheon United FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Incheon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football. Founded in 2003, the club is a so-called "community club", with the government of the ...

Club career

Portugal

Born in

Bissau Bissau () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. it had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, its administr ...

, Gerso moved to Portugal in his early teens, joining

C.F. União de Coimbra Clube União 1919, usually known as União de Coimbra (), is a sports club in the city of Coimbra, Portugal. The club was founded on 2 June 1919 and has a large array of currently active or temporarily disbanded sports departments which includes ...

's youth system in 2004 at age 13. As a junior, he signed with neighbouring

Académica de Coimbra The Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC) is the students' union of the University of Coimbra (UC). Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal. It is also the biggest Portuguese students' union belongin ...

where he went on to complete his development; he did not play football for two years during his formative spell, after a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

from the charity facility where he was living advised him against the dangers of turning professional. Gerso made his debut as a senior with

G.D. Tourizense Grupo Desportivo Tourizense is a Portuguese football club based in Touriz, Tábua Municipality. Founded in 1975, it plays home games at '' Estádio Visconde do Vinhal'', with a 1,200-seat capacity. History Founded in 1975, Tourizense steadily pr ...

in the third division, who acted as Académica's

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

. Released in summer 2011, he moved to

G.D. Estoril Praia Grupo Desportivo Estoril Praia (), commonly known as Estoril, is a Portuguese professional sports club from Estoril, Cascais, Lisbon. Founded on 17 May 1939, its Association football, football team currently plays in Primeira Liga and hold home g ...

of Segunda Liga, contributing 20 scoreless appearances in his first season as the club returned to the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

after seven years. Gerso made his debut in Portugal's top flight on 17 August 2012, playing 30 minutes in a 2–1 away loss against

S.C. Olhanense Sporting Clube Olhanense (), commonly known as Olhanense, is a Portuguese sports club from Olhão, Algarve. Its Association football, football team was founded on 27 April 1912 and currently plays in the Algarve Football Association Portuguese Di ...

. He continued to be played almost exclusively as a substitute in the following campaigns by manager

Marco Silva Marco Alexandre Saraiva da Silva (; born 12 July 1977) is a Portuguese Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a right-back. He is the manager of club Fulham F.C., Fulham. He played fo ...

. For 2014–15, Gerso was loaned to Moreirense F.C. of the same league.

Sporting KC

On 4 January 2017,

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The ad ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

announced the signing of Gerso from

C.F. Os Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses (), commonly known as Os Belenenses or simply Belenenses, is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 19,856 ...

on a three-year

designated player A designated player may refer to: *Designated Player Rule, a Major League Soccer rule for players over the salary cap *Designated player (NBA), a National Basketball Association exemption for contract extensions * Designated player (softball), a so ...

contract, with an option for a fourth year. On 17 May, he scored a

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in a 3–0 win over

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The club was established on ...

Children's Mercy Park Children's Mercy Park is a soccer-specific stadium in Kansas City, Kansas, United States, and is the team home for Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer (MLS). The stadium is located near Kansas Speedway, on the far west side of Wyandot ...

. Gerso rejected an offer for a new deal at the end of the 2020 season, and was released.

South Korea

On 16 February 2021, Gerso joined

K League 1 The K League 1 () is a professional association football league in South Korea and the highest level of the South Korean football league system. The league is contested by twelve clubs. It is one of the most successful leagues in the Asian Foo ...

club

Jeju United FC Jeju SK FC () is a South Korean professional football club based in Jeju Province that competes in the K League 1, the top division in South Korea. In the past, the club has been known as the Yukong Elephants, Bucheon SK, and Jeju United. Hist ...

. Two years later, he moved to

Incheon United FC Incheon United FC () is a South Korean professional association football, football club based in Incheon that competes in the K League 2, the second tier of South Korean football league system, South Korean football. Founded in 2003, the club is ...

of the same country and league on a free transfer.

Career statistics

Honours

Estoril *

Liga de Honra The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal Meu Super for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier ...

: 2011–12 Sporting Kansas City *

U.S. Open Cup The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, commonly known as the U.S. Open Cup (USOC), is a knockout cup competition in men's soccer in the United States. It is the country's oldest ongoing national soccer competition. The competition was first held duri ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

Individual * K League 1 Best XI:

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gerso Fernandes 1991 births Living people 21st-century Bissau-Guinean sportsmen Bissau-Guinean men's footballers Footballers from Bissau Men's association football wingers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players Académica de Coimbra (football) players G.D. Tourizense players G.D. Estoril Praia players Moreirense F.C. players C.F. Os Belenenses players Major League Soccer players Sporting Kansas City players Designated Players (MLS) K League 1 players Jeju SK FC players Incheon United FC players Bissau-Guinean expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Expatriate men's footballers in South Korea Bissau-Guinean expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Bissau-Guinean expatriate sportspeople in the United States Bissau-Guinean expatriate sportspeople in South Korea