Carlos Alberto Fernandes (born 8 December 1979), known simply as Carlos, is an

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

n 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 ...

who plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Club career

Born in Kinshasa,

Zaire Zaire (, ), officially the Republic of Zaire (french: République du Zaïre, link=no, ), was a Congolese state from 1971 to 1997 in Central Africa that was previously and is now again known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Zaire was, ...

, Carlos started his career as a striker, subsequently moving into

upon replacing an injured teammate. He started playing professionally with lowly

U.D. Vilafranquense União Desportiva Vilafranquense is a Portuguese football club from Vila Franca de Xira, Lisbon District. It currently plays in the Liga Portugal 2, the second tier of the Portuguese football league system, following its promotion in 2019. The oth ...

, having a short stint with S.C. Campomaiorense in the

second division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

afterwards. Carlos then returned to the lower leagues, with Amora FC. After a string of good performances with F.C. Felgueiras in the second level (sharing teams with Marcelo Moretto, later of

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', Be ...

), he signed with Primeira Liga's

Boavista F.C. Boavista Futebol Clube, commonly known as Boavista (), is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Porto. Founded on 1 August 1903 by British entrepreneurs and Portuguese textile workers (thus the "FC" being appended – the British way as oppos ...

for the 2004–05 season. At Boavista, Carlos was initially backup to veteran William Andem, but eventually won starting honours. This prompted a January 2006 move to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

FC Steaua București FC Steaua București was a Romanian professional football club of which two current entities are claiming the records. The original ''FC Steaua București'' team was part of the namesake CSA Steaua București sports club and belonged to the Ministr ...

, thus becoming the first

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

player to have played in the country's

Liga I The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently Sponsor (commercial), sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It ...

. Shortly after his arrival, he lost the confidence of fans and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

Mihai Stoica Mihai Stoica (born 12 April 1965), commonly known as Meme Stoica, is a former president of Oțelul Galați and former general manager of Unirea Urziceni. Since November 2010 until September 2011, Mihai Stoica was the manager of FCSB. He was fo ...

alike, with the latter declaring at a TV show that the player, although greatly underachieving, had been put under immense pressure due to the fact of being the team's only foreigner; he was released and rejoined Boavista on 30 May 2007, having previously trained for a time with

Charlton Athletic Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...

to remain fit. In 2007–08, after losing first-choice status to

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

er Peter Jehle, Carlos was loaned to

Foolad F.C. Foolad Khuzestan Football Club ( fa, باشگاه فوتبال فولاد خوزستان, ''Bāshgāh-e Futbāl-e Fulād-e Khuzestān'') is an Iranian football club, based in Ahwaz, Khuzestan that plays in Persian Gulf Pro League. Foolad F.C. ...

in January 2008, with the move being made permanent the following campaign – the

Iran Pro League The Persian Gulf Pro League ( fa, لیگ برتر خلیج فارس, ''Lig-e Bartar-e Xalij-e Fârs''), formerly known as the Iran Pro League ( fa, links=no, لیگ برتر ایران, ''Lig-e bartar-e Irân''), is the highest division of profe ...

club was coached by compatriot Augusto Inácio. After spending one year in Iran, Carlos moved back to Portugal in the summer of 2009, joining

Rio Ave FC Rio Ave Futebol Clube, commonly known as Rio Ave (), is a Portuguese professional football club based in Vila do Conde Vila do Conde (, ; "the Count's Town") is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,5 ...

. He only missed two league games, as the

Vila do Conde Vila do Conde (, ; "the Count's Town") is a municipality in the Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 79,533, in an area of 149.03 km². The urbanized area of Vila do Conde, which includes the parishes of Vila do Conde, Azurar ...

side retained their top-division status.

International career

Through his

grandmother Grandparents, individually known as grandmother and grandfather, are the parents of a person's father or mother – paternal or maternal. Every sexually-reproducing living organism who is not a genetic chimera has a maximum of four genetic gra ...

, Carlos chose to represent

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

at international level, the first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

coming in 2009 at nearly 30 years of age. He represented his adopted nation at the following year's Africa Cup of Nations, played on home soil. Carlos was also the starter in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, participating in the first two games but missing the third due to

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

accumulation, as the ''Palancas Negras'' exited in the group stage.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlos Fernandes 1979 births Living people Angolan people of Portuguese descent 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo people Portuguese sportspeople of Angolan descent Portuguese men's footballers Angolan men's footballers Footballers from Kinshasa Men's association football goalkeepers Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Segunda Divisão players U.D. Vilafranquense players S.C. Campomaiorense players Amora F.C. players F.C. Felgueiras players Boavista F.C. players Rio Ave F.C. players C.D. Feirense players Moreirense F.C. players Amarante F.C. players Länk FC Vilaverdense players G.D. Vitória de Sernache players Liga I players FC Steaua București players Persian Gulf Pro League players Foolad F.C. players Süper Lig players Bucaspor footballers Girabola players C.R. Caála players Portugal men's B international footballers Angola men's international footballers 2010 Africa Cup of Nations players 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Angolan expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Romania Expatriate men's footballers in Iran Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Romania Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Iran Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Turkey