Mário Fernandes

Mário Figueira Fernandes (Russian: Марио Фигейра Фернандес, pronounced [ˈmarʲɪo fʲɪˈɡʲejrə fʲɪrˈnandɨs]; born 19 September 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as right-back for Russian club Zenit Saint Petersburg. Born in Brazil, he played for the Russia national team.[3]

For the Portuguese basketball player, see Mário Gil Fernandes.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Figueira and the second or paternal family name is Fernandes.
Mário Fernandes
Fernandes playing for CSKA Moscow in 2021
Personal information
Full name Mário Figueira Fernandes
Date of birth (1990-09-19) 19 September 1990[1]
Place of birth São Caetano do Sul, Brazil
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Zenit Saint Petersburg
Number 6
Youth career
2006–2009 São Caetano
2009 Grêmio
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 Grêmio 87 (3)
2012–2022 CSKA Moscow 259 (9)
2023 Internacional 5 (0)
2023– Zenit Saint Petersburg 8 (0)
International career‡
2014 Brazil 1 (0)
2017–2021 Russia 33 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 30 September 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 1 September 2021

Club career

Grêmio

Fernandes joined Grêmio in March 2009, signing until 2014. A few days later, he disappeared, and Brazilian police were called in to search for him. He was found some days later in São Paulo state, after having withdrawn cash in Londrina, Porto Alegre and Florianópolis. Fernandes made his debut for the club against Sport on 28 June 2009. Fernandes established himself as Grêmio's first-choice right back.[4]

CSKA Moscow

On 25 April 2012, the Grêmio president announced that a 15 million euro deal had been agreed with CSKA Moscow and Fernandes was set to join them pending a medical examination, with CSKA announcing the arrival on 4 May 2012.[5]

During the 2013–14 campaign he suffered a knee injury ruling him out for the first four months of the season.[6]

In 2015, he was a key player in the Champions League 3rd qualifying round – CSKA Moscow won the second leg against Sparta Prague 3–2. Fernandes played 90 minutes, after 64 minutes (2:2) and after a run of the mill challenge Fernandes made a simulated dive, referee Paolo Mazzoleni showed Marek Matějovský the red card. Russian daily Kommersant wrote it was "An important theatre piece". Czech newspapers claimed the play was certainly not card worthy and Fernandes lacked fair play.[7]

On 29 June 2017, Fernandes signed a new contract with CSKA, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2022.[8]

On 18 May 2022, Fernandes announced that he would be suspending his contract with CSKA following their last game of the 2021–22 season against Rostov on 21 May 2022 for personal reasons.[9] On 11 December 2022, CSKA announced that Fernandes had decided to resume his playing career, whilst also remaining in Brazil for 2023.[10]

Internacional

On 13 December 2022, Internacional announced the signing of Fernandes from CSKA Moscow for the 2023 season.[11] CSKA Moscow announced the transfer as a year-long loan.[12] In the summer of 2023 CSKA and Internacional negotiated about a transfer that would return Fernandes to CSKA, but the talks stalled due to CSKA's refusal to pay Internacional for the departed player – formally the move to Internacional was a permanent transfer, and not a loan per se.

Zenit

On 17 July 2023, Fernandes signed a one-year contract with Zenit St.Petersburg, with the option of an additional year.[13]

International career

Brazil

In 2011, Fernandes was called to the Brazil squad for the game Superclásico de las Américas, which he rejected, saying he was having some personal problems that was encountered in issues. Fernandes went on to make his debut, and only appearance for Brazil in a 4–0 friendly victory against Japan on 14 October 2014.[14]

Russia

After acquiring Russian citizenship, he was called up to the Russia national football team for the friendly games in 2016, against Turkey on 31 August and Ghana on 6 September.[15] However, at that point, he had only been a CSKA Moscow player since April 2012, which meant he had not lived in Russia continuously for at least five years yet. Thus, he was not eligible to play for Russia until April 2017.

Fernandes playing for the Russia national football team

On 23 March 2017, it was announced that he would make his debut for Russia on 24 March in a friendly against Ivory Coast.[16] He did not appear in that game. He made his debut for Russia on 7 October 2017 in a friendly game against South Korea.[17]

On 11 May 2018, he was included in Russia's extended 2018 FIFA World Cup squad.[18] On 3 June 2018, he was included in the finalized World Cup squad.[19] He played a key role in Russia's performance at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In the quarter finals against Croatia, he scored an equalising goal in extra time, which sent the match to a penalty shootout. However, Russia was eliminated after losing the shootout, in which he failed to score.[20]

On 11 May 2021, he was included in the preliminary extended 30-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020.[21] On 2 June 2021, he was included in the final squad.[22] He played the full match in Russia's opening game against Belgium on 12 June 2021 as Russia lost 0–3.[23] He started the second group game against Finland but got injured and substituted in the 26th minute after landing awkwardly contesting an aerial ball.[24][25] He recovered for the last group game against Denmark on 21 June and played a full game as Russia lost 1–4 and was eliminated.[26]

On 13 September 2021, he announced his retirement from the national team.[27]

Personal life

Fernandes was born in São Paulo. Right after signing his first professional contract with Grêmio, Fernandes found it hard to adjust to a new home and fell into depression, prompting him to disappear to his uncle. The police found him in a dishevelled state nearly 700 miles away from Porto Alegre, hungry and exhausted. In a later interview he refused to disclose why he made no attempt to contact the club during this time, but pointed out the difficulties of settling at the beginning of a career, citing the example of Jesús Navas.[4] He underwent psychotherapy to deal with his depression, which helped his performances, but still drank heavily, regularly went out clubbing, and neglected his diet and fitness, saying "I would drink so much that I would sometimes show up drunk to training". During this time he lived alone, and in an interview admitted to "eating pizza and McDonald's every day", which led to action on the part of the Gremio dietitian.[28]

Fernandes had spoken with CSKA CEO Roman Babaev about the possibility of receiving Russian citizenship in 2015, before he had been called up to the Brazil squad. His talks about receiving Russian citizenship resumed in the autumn of the same year, at which point he had decided and had the full support of his family to do so.[29] On 13 July 2016, he received Russian citizenship via presidential decree from Vladimir Putin, which according to him made him more determined to start for Russia in the World Cup.[30] His younger brother, Jô, is also a footballer.[31]

As of 2017, Fernandes spoke very little Russian, but stated his intent to learn the language and the national anthem.[29]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 30 September 2023[32]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Grêmio 2009 Série A 190—000[lower-alpha 1]0190
2010 Série A 2070—16[lower-alpha 1]1251
2011 Série A 331—3[lower-alpha 2]012[lower-alpha 1]1482
2012 Série A 0000—5[lower-alpha 1]050
Total 5417030332973
CSKA Moscow 2012–13 Russian Premier League 280302[lower-alpha 3]0—330
2013–14 Russian Premier League 120310[lower-alpha 4]00[lower-alpha 5]0151
2014–15 Russian Premier League 290306[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 5]0390
2015–16 Russian Premier League 271509[lower-alpha 4]0—411
2016–17 Russian Premier League 300005[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 5]0360
2017–18 Russian Premier League 2500012[lower-alpha 6]0—370
2018–19 Russian Premier League 281006[lower-alpha 4]01[lower-alpha 5]0351
2019–20 Russian Premier League 293106[lower-alpha 3]0—363
2020–21 Russian Premier League 231212[lower-alpha 3]0—272
2021–22 Russian Premier League 28320——303
Total 25991924803032911
Internacional (loan) 2023 Série A 00000[lower-alpha 2]05[lower-alpha 1]050
Zenit Saint Petersburg 2023–24 Russian Premier League 8040——120
Career total 3211030251041244314
  1. Appearances in Campeonato Gaúcho
  2. Appearances in Copa Libertadores
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. Appearances in Russian Super Cup
  6. Ten appearances in the UEFA Champions League, two appearances in the UEFA Europa League

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year

As of 1 September 2021[33]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Brazil[33]201410
Total10
Russia201730
2018111
201981
202031
202182
Total335
Career total 34 5
As of match played 30 March 2021. Russia score listed first, score column indicates score after each Fernandes goal.
List of international goals scored by Mário Fernandes
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition
17 July 2018Fisht Olympic Stadium, Sochi, Russia10 Croatia2–22–2 (3–4 p)2018 FIFA World Cup
29 September 2019Kaliningrad Stadium, Kaliningrad, Russia20 Kazakhstan1–01–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
36 September 2020Puskás Aréna, Budapest, Hungary24 Hungary3–03–22020–21 UEFA Nations League B
424 March 2021National Stadium, Ta' Qali, Malta26 Malta2–03–12022 FIFA World Cup qualification
530 March 2021Anton Malatinský Stadium, Trnava, Slovakia28 Slovakia1–11–2 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Grêmio

CSKA Moscow

Individual

References
  1. Mário Fernandes – FIFA competition record (archived)
  2. "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 17 June 2018. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 August 2018. Retrieved 17 June 2018.
  3. Фернандес стал армейцем (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 4 May 2012. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012.
  4. "Who is Mario Fernandes? Russia's Brazilian World Cup star who overcame depression and snubbed Real Madrid | Goal.com". Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  5. Фернандес стал армейцем. pfc-cska.com (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  6. "Защитник ЦСКА Фернандес вернётся в строй через три месяца" (in Russian). Championat. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  7. "Dal zase gól, ale nestačilo to. Zklamaní je obrovské, hlesl Krejčí". iDNES.cz. 5 August 2015.
  8. Марио Фернандес в ПФК ЦСКА до 2022 года!. pfc-cska.com (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
  9. "Марио Фернандес приостанавливает карьеру". pfc-cska.com/ (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  10. "Марио Фернандес проведет 2023 год в Бразилии". pfc-cska.com/ (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  11. "Mário Fernandes é o novo reforço do Internacional". internacional.com.br/ (in Portuguese). Sport Club Internacional. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 13 December 2022.
  12. "Марио Фернандес проведет 2023 год в Бразилии" (in Russian). PFC CSKA Moscow. 11 December 2022. Retrieved 16 December 2022.
  13. "Mario Fernandes in a Zenit player". en.fc-zenit.ru/. FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
  14. "JAPAN VS. BRAZIL 0 – 4". soccerway. 14 October 2014.
  15. Состав на Турцию и Гану (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 16 August 2016.
  16. Фернандес готов к дебюту за Россию. Главное — в обзоре дня. championat.com (in Russian). Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  17. Уверенно победили Южную Корею (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 7 October 2017.
  18. Расширенный состав для подготовки к Чемпионату мира (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 11 May 2018.
  19. Заявка сборной России на Чемпионат мира FIFA 2018 (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 3 June 2018.
  20. Gonzalez, Roger (7 July 2018). "Croatia vs. Russia final score, recap: Rakitic's penalty kick sends Croatia to World Cup semifinals". CBS. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  21. Расширенный состав сборной России для подготовки к ЕВРО [Extended national team line-up for Euro preparations] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 11 May 2021.
  22. "Состав сборной России на ЕВРО-2020" [Russia national team line-up for EURO-2020] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 2 June 2021.
  23. "Belgium v Russia game report". UEFA. 12 June 2021.
  24. "Finland vs Russia UEFA EURO 2020". UEFA. 16 June 2021.
  25. "Russia player Fernandes hospitalized after fall at Euro 2020". The Sports Network. 16 June 2021.
  26. "Russia v Denmark game report". UEFA. 21 June 2021.
  27. "Открытое письмо Марио Фернандеса болельщикам сборной" [Mario Fernandes open letter to the national team fans] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 13 September 2021.
  28. McDonnel, David (7 July 2018). "Mario Fernandes on swapping Brazil for Russia, getting 'kidnapped', drink problems, living on pizza and World Cup 2018". Mirror. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  29. Марио Фернандес: Всегда прошу маму, чтобы она приготовила мне борщ. Российская газета (in Russian). 8 October 2017. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  30. "President of Russia decree on citizenship" (in Russian). President of Russia. 13 July 2016.
  31. Grêmio contrata atacante Jô, irmão de Mário Fernandes (Grêmio signs forward Jô, brother of Mário Fernandes); Globo Esporte, 8 June 2011 (in Portuguese)
  32. Mário Fernandes at Soccerway
  33. "Mário Figueira Fernandes". National-Football-Teams.com. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  34. "2018 Russian Super Cup game report" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 27 July 2018. Archived from the original on 28 July 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  35. "Болельщики ЦСКА признали Фернандеса лучшим игроком сезона". Sports.ru.
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