Fernando Jorge Lima de Moraes (born 21 January 1980), commonly referred to as Fernando, is a retired soccer player who last played for South Melbourne in the Victorian Premier League. Born in Brazil, he played for the Australia national futsal team.
 With the Brazilian flag: Fernando celebrating the state championship 2006 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fernando Jorge Lima de Moraes | ||
| Date of birth | 21 January 1980 | ||
| Place of birth | São Paulo, Brazil | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2001 | Esporte Club São Bernardo | ||
| 2002–2004 | Palestra de São Bernardo | ||
| 2005–2014 | South Melbourne | 183 | (61) |
| 2006 | → New Zealand Knights (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2008–2014 | Australia (futsal) | 29 | (20) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Career
editFernando de Moraes initially specialised in futsal while playing in Brazil,[1] and played his first match in the outdoor version of the game at the age of 21. He first played for PSB Palestra São Bernado in Brazil[2] before moving to Australia (where his sister lives) to play for South Melbourne FC, having seen them play at the 2000 FIFA Club World Championship. He joined the team for the 2005 Victorian Premier League season. In 2006, he left the club to undertake an unsuccessful 4-week trial at Greek Super League club Egaleo FC, after which he returned to Australia and played a vital role in securing the championship for South Melbourne as their highest scoring player (with a total of 12). He was signed by A-League club New Zealand Knights FC shortly after the championship victory on a short-term contract, for a fee of £90,000 (€100,000), that was extended several times, but did not feature in the Knights' line-up and was soon relegated to the bench. He returned to South Melbourne at the conclusion of the Knights' season and joined the squad for pre-season matches, eventually signing a new 2-year contract.
One of his most important goals for South Melbourne came during the 2010 Singapore Cup when his goal put South Melbourne 2-1 up against Thai Premier League champions Bangkok Glass, however it would not be enough, as Bangkok would ultimately tie 3-3 allowing them to go through on aggregate, knocking out South Melbourne in the process.[3]
In January 2014, de Moraes officially retired from playing football.[4]
Honours
editWith South Melbourne:
- Victorian Premier League Championship: 2006
- Hellenic Cup: 2007, 2009
- Theo Marmaras Medal: 2006, 2010
- Club Golden Boot: 2006, 2008, 2010
Individual
- Victorian Premier League player of the year: 2010
- Hummel F-League Golden Boot: 2013
- Jimmy Rooney Medal: 2006
- Theo Marmaras Medal: 2006, 2010
With North Melbourne Futsal Club:
With Vic Vipers Futsal Club:
References
edit- ^ "Futsal Fernando joins the Knights". New Zealand Knights FC website. 26 October 2006. Archived from the original on 4 November 2006.
- ^ "South signs Brazilian". The Age. 19 March 2005.
- ^ "Bangkok defeat South Melbourne". S.League. 8 October 2010. Archived from the original on 11 October 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ Kyrou, John. "A tribute to Fernando De Moraes from the SMFC Media Team". South Melbourne Football Club. Retrieved 20 August 2016.