Leonardo Fernandes (born 23 December 1991) is a Brazilian 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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

in the

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a men's professional association football, soccer league in the second tier of the United States soccer league system#Men's leagues, United States league system. It is organized by the United Soccer League (USL) a ...

Early life

Fernandes was born in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

but raised in

North Babylon North Babylon is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the Town of Babylon in Suffolk County, on the South Shore of Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 17,509 at the 2010 census. Overview North Babylo ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and played at

Stony Brook University Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public university, public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is on ...

from 2009 to 2012. In his senior season at Stony Brook, the left-footed Fernandes started all 18 matches and led his team in goals (9) and assists (7). He was selected to the 2012 All-America East first team and named America East Midfielder of the Year for the third consecutive season. Fernandes left Stony Brook as the team's all-time leader in points scored.

Career

Philadelphia Union

On 22 January 2013, Fernandes was selected as the 62nd overall pick in the 2013 MLS Supplemental Draft by

Philadelphia Union The Philadelphia Union are an American professional soccer club based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Founded on February 28, 2008, the Union began ...

. He signed with the club on 1 March 2013. Serving mostly as a reserve role for the Union for his first season, Fernandes began to break into the starting line-up during the 2014 season, scoring twice.

Harrisburg City Islanders

For the 2013 and 2014 seasons, Fernandes spent temporary stints being loaned to Philadelphia's former

USL USL may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Underground Sound of Lisbon, a Portuguese dance music project * Urban Strawberry Lunch, a band from Liverpool Companies * United Spirits Limited, India * Former United States Lines shipping company C ...

affiliate,

Harrisburg City Islanders Harrisburg City Islanders, known as Penn FC in their final season, were an American professional soccer team based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 2003, the team most recently played in the USL Pro, the second tier of the ...

, making five appearances for the club and scoring once.

New York Cosmos

For the 2015 season, the Union sent Fernandes out on loan to experience regular minutes throughout the season. In January 2015, he signed a year long loan deal with the

New York Cosmos New York Cosmos may refer to * New York Cosmos (1970–1985), a team in the North American Soccer League (then the top-tier soccer league in the United States and Canada) * New York Cosmos (2010), a team playing since 2020 in the National Indepen ...

. The loan move proved successful as Fernandes became a regular starter for the Cosmos, who would go on to win the 2015 NASL Championship. Through the season he scored a career high ten goals across all competitions. His efforts were recognized, winning the 2015 NASL Young Player of the Year Award.

Bethlehem Steel FC

The formation of

Bethlehem Steel FC Philadelphia Union II is an American professional soccer team based in Chester, Pennsylvania competing in MLS Next Pro. Founded in 2015 as Bethlehem Steel FC, the team is the official affiliate of the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. ...

prompted the Union to have Fernandes return to the Philadelphia organization. He would become a regular starter for Steel FC with intermittent appearances for the first team. Fernandes finished the season with fourteen appearances and scoring once.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

Fernandes signed with

club

in 2017. On 14 July 2022, Fernandes was named USL Championship Player of the Month for June 2022 after scoring five goals throughout the month. In February 2023, Fernandes ruptured his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

during a preseason game. The Rowdies announced on 3 March 2023 that he would miss the

2023 USL Championship season The 2023 USL Championship season was the 13th season of the USL Championship and the seventh season under Division II sanctioning. The 2023 season had 24 teams participating in two conferences during the regular season. San Antonio FC were the de ...

. In November 2024, Fernandes re-signed with the 2025 USL Championship season.

Career statistics

Club

Updated 26 October 2016

Honors

New York Cosmos

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

Supporters' Trophy:

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Soccer Bowl The Soccer Bowl was the annual championship game of the North American Soccer League (NASL), which ran from 1968 to 1984. The two top teams from the playoffs faced off in the final to determine the winner of the NASL Trophy. From the league's ...

Individual

Young Player of the Year:

Tampa Bay Rowdies

Individual

Most Valuable Player:

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

References

External links

*
Cosmos player profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandes, Leo 1991 births Living people American men's soccer players Men's association football midfielders Philadelphia Union II players Brooklyn Knights players Major League Soccer players New York Cosmos (2010) players North American Soccer League (2011–2017) players Penn FC players People from North Babylon, New York Sportspeople from Babylon, New York Philadelphia Union draft picks Philadelphia Union players Reading United AC players Soccer players from Suffolk County, New York Stony Brook Seawolves men's soccer players Tampa Bay Rowdies players USL Championship players USL League Two players 21st-century American sportsmen