Carlos Fernandes (goalkeeper)

Carlos
Personal information
Full nameCarlos Alberto Fernandes
Date of birth8 December 1979
Place of birthKinshasa, Zaire
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing positionGoalkeeper
Club information
Current team
Free agent
Youth career
1992–1998Vilafranquense
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1998–2001Vilafranquense65(0)
2001–2002Campomaiorense0(0)
2002–2003Amora14(0)
2003–2004Felgueiras33(0)
2004–2005Boavista33(0)
2006–2007Steaua Bucureşti22(0)
2007–2008Boavista9(0)
2008→ Foolad (loan)3(0)
2008–2009Foolad29(0)
2009–2010Rio Ave28(0)
2010–2011Bucaspor14(0)
2013Feirense11(0)
2013–2014Moreirense16(0)
National team‡
2009–Angola16(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 2 February 2014.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 26 January 2012

Carlos Alberto Fernandes (born 8 December 1979), simply known as Carlos, is an Angolan professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.

Club career

Born in Kinshasa, Zaire, Carlos started his career as a forward, subsequently moving into goalkeeper upon replacing an injured teammate. He started playing professionally with lowly UD Vilafranquense, having a short stint with S.C. Campomaiorense in the second division afterwards.

Carlos then returned to the lower leagues, with Amora F.C. but, after a string of good performances with F.C. Felgueiras in the second level (sharing teams with Marcelo Moretto, later of S.L. Benfica), moved to top flight's Boavista F.C. for the 2004–05 season.

At Boavista Fernandes was initially second-choice behind veteran William Andem, but eventually gained starting honors. This prompted a January 2006 move to Romania's FC Steaua Bucureşti (thus becoming the first Portuguese player to have played in the country's top flight). Shortly after his arrival, he lost the confidence of fans and general manager Mihai Stoica 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 to remain fit.

In the 2007–08 campaign, after losing first-choice status to Liechtensteiner Peter Jehle, Carlos was loaned to Foolad F.C. in January 2008, with the move being made permanent the following season – the Iran Pro League 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.[1] He only missed two league games as the Vila do Conde outfit retained its top division status.

International career

Through his grandmother,[2] Carlos chose to represent Angola at international level, the first cap 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.[3]

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 accumulation,[4] as the Palancas Negras exited in the group stage.

References

  1. ↑ "Carlos é o eleito para fechar a baliza" [Carlos chosen to close goal] (in Portuguese). Record. 14 July 2009. Retrieved 15 July 2009.
  2. ↑ "Carlos Fernandes goes back to his roots". BBC. 26 January 2010. Retrieved 5 February 2012.
  3. ↑ "Angola keeper Carlos adapts to his new surroundings". BBC Sport. 23 January 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2010.
  4. ↑ "Sudan 2–2 Angola: Former Manchester Utd striker Manucho nets brace for Black Antelopes but Ahmed Bashir double ensures entertaining Group B draw". Goal.com. 26 January 2012. Retrieved 6 February 2012.

External links