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. 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 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,

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, with whom he made his

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, 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 ...

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. In his second season, Fernandes netted five league 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. 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 *

: 2003–04 *

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 ...

: 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 *

: 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