Ricardo Ribeiro Fernandes (born 21 April 1978) is a Portuguese former
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 played as an
attacking midfielder
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 the club
Moreirense
Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim d ...
.
He amassed
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 ...
totals of 72 matches and eight goals during four seasons, representing in the competition
Gil Vicente
Gil Vicente (; c. 1465c. 1536), called the Trobadour, was a Portuguese playwright and poet who acted in and directed his own plays. Considered the chief dramatist of Portugal he is sometimes called the "Portuguese Plautus," often refe ...
,
Sporting,
Porto
Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...
and
Académica. He also competed professionally in Cyprus, Ukraine, Israel and Greece, notably spending several years in the
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...
with five clubs and winning the national championship with
APOEL
APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...
in
2007
2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year.
Events
January
* January 1
**Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...
.
Club career
Sporting / Porto
Fernandes was born in
Moreira de Cónegos
Moreira de Cónegos is a Portuguese ''freguesia'' ("civil parish") and town in the municipality of Guimarães which is in the Braga District in northern Portugal. The population in 2021 was 4,652, in an area of 4.72 km².
Sports
The town is ...
,
Guimarães
Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga.
Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved ...
. After a number of impressive performances for
Gil Vicente FC
Gil Vicente Futebol Clube (), commonly known as Gil Vicente, founded in 1924, is a Portuguese professional football club that plays in Barcelos. It plays their home matches at the Estádio Cidade de Barcelos. It competes in the Primeira Liga, the ...
, with whom he made his
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 ...
debuts in the
2001–02 campaign, he returned to
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries, 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
José Mário dos Santos Mourinho Félix (; born 26 January 1963) is a Portuguese professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player, who is currently the head coach of Süper Lig club Fenerba ...
for his
FC Porto
Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...
side, which
won the
2003–04 edition of the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
. He appeared sparingly for the club during his spell due to injury, playing only 19 games in all competitions as he was understudy to
Portuguese international
Deco
Anderson Luís de Souza (born 27 August 1977), also known as Deco (), is a Brazilian-born Portuguese former professional footballer who primarily played as an attacking or central midfielder. Born and raised in Brazil, he acquired Portuguese ...
, and left after
another sole campaign.
APOEL
After a spell with
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 ...
, Fernandes was signed on a lucrative three-year deal to
APOEL FC
APOEL FC (; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") is a Cypriot professio ...
in
Cyprus
Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...
. In
his first year, he became an instant crowd favorite with his accurate
set pieces and creative passing, scoring nine times with a remarkable number of
assists and also helping his team to the
domestic cup
A domestic cup (also known as association cup or national cup) is a type of sports tournament, particularly common in association football. This tournament type is notable for its participation by professional and amateur teams from many levels of ...
.
In
his second season, Fernandes netted five
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
* ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...
goals as APOEL were crowned national champions.
Later years
Fernandes returned to Cyprus on 17 June 2009, signing a three-year contract with
Anorthosis Famagusta FC
Anorthosis Famagusta (), commonly known as Anorthosis in English or Anorthosi in Greek, is a Cypriot football club, part of the Famagusta multi-sport club founded in 1911 in Varosha, Famagusta. . On 30 December, 19 days after being released, he joined another team in that country,
AEL Limassol
Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou () is a Cyprus, Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team.
AEL Limassol also maintains a AEL Limassol B.C., men's and AEL Limassol B.C. (women), women's basketball teams, a wom ...
.
On 4 June 2010, 32-year-old Fernandes signed a contract with
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
's
Hapoel Be'er Sheva AFC, reuniting with former AEL coach
Nir Klinger
Nir Klinger (; born 25 May 1966) is an Israeli football coach and former player.
During the 1990s, Klinger served as Captain for Maccabi Tel Aviv and the Israel national football team.
He was the coach of Maccabi Tel Aviv for three seasons, be ...
. In January 2011, however, he returned to former
Ukrainian club
FC Metalurh Donetsk
Football Club Metalurh Donetsk (, ) was a Ukrainian professional football club based in Donetsk that went bankrupt in July 2015.
History
Club predecessor
Football came to the Donetsk region in the time of the Russian Empire when the industr ...
.
Club statistics
Honours
Freamunde
*
Segunda Divisão B:
1998–99
*
Terceira Divisão :
The Terceira Divisão Portuguesa (in English: ''Portuguese Third Division'') was a football league in Portugal, situated at the fourth level of the Portuguese football league system. The Third Division was initially the third level of the Por ...
:
1997–98
Santa Clara
*
Segunda Liga:
2000–01
Sporting
*
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...
:
2002
The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...
Porto
*
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 ...
:
2003–04
*
Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira
The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...
:
2003
2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater.
In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War.
Demographic ...
*
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...
:
2003–04
*
Taça de Portugal
The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...
: Runner-up
2003–04
APOEL
*
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division (), also known as the Cyprus League by Stoiximan for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Cyprus and the highest level of the Cypriot football league system. Operated by the Cyprus Fo ...
:
2006–07
*
Cypriot Cup
The Cypriot Cup, formally known as the Cypriot Coca-Cola Cup of First and Second Division () for sponsorship purposes, is a Cypriot knockout football club competition, hosted annually by the Cyprus Football Association.
First held in 1934, it i ...
: 2005–06
References
External links
*
Football-Lineups profile*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandes, Ricardo
1978 births
Living people
Portuguese men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Primeira Liga players
Liga Portugal 2 players
Segunda Divisão players
C.D. Aves players
Moreirense F.C. players
S.C. Freamunde players
Sporting CP footballers
C.D. Santa Clara players
Gil Vicente F.C. players
Sporting CP B players
FC Porto players
Académica de Coimbra (football) players
C.D. Trofense players
F.C. Felgueiras (2006) players
Cypriot First Division players
APOEL FC players
Anorthosis Famagusta FC players
AEL Limassol players
Doxa Katokopias FC players
AC Omonia players
Ukrainian Premier League players
FC Metalurh Donetsk players
Israeli Premier League players
Hapoel Be'er Sheva F.C. players
Super League Greece players
Panetolikos F.C. players
Portuguese expatriate men's footballers
Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus
Expatriate men's footballers in Ukraine
Expatriate men's footballers in Israel
Expatriate men's footballers in Greece
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Israel
Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Greece
Footballers from Guimarães