Both hardworking and creative, but above all very determined: this is the recipe for Bruno Fernandes, a budding central defender from the suburbs of Porto, who became playmaker for the Portugal team and captain of Manchester United.
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It was in Gueifaes, a town in greater Porto (north), that the Lusitanian metronome began his relationship with the round ball, in the middle of social housing bars and in the courtyard of his primary school.
“
He was already seasoned, because he played with us who were two years older or with his big brother.
He had character, he did not let himself be done
, ”recalls Lucio Fernandes, namesake and former comrade.
With the help of Lucio, Bruno Fernandes, 28 years old today, takes a test in the modest local team of the city of Sao Mamede de Infesta, whose outdated facilities are wedged between a residential area and a motorway interchange.
“
At the end of training, I immediately told the club president: this kid, he has to stay.
He had talent and we had to take advantage of it
,” recalls Sergio Marques, the very first coach of “
BF8
”.
“Despite his age, he was a hard worker”
His parents not having the permit, FC Infesta manages to take him to training.
At 8 years old, little Bruno is so talented that the coach decides to devote an individual session to him every week.
“
Despite his age, he was a hard worker, with a lot of will.
He had an incredible learning ability.
What I taught him during the week, he showed it from the weekend matches
, ”says the club's sixty-year-old coach, whose clay court at the time has since been replaced by impeccable synthetic turf.
If Bruno Fernandes shines today as an attacking midfielder, it is in defense that he started.
“
Even if the positions at this age are not defined, I used to play him as a central defender, because he was one step ahead of the attackers.
(…) When the match was easy, I let him play in the middle
, ”says Sergio Marques, who continues to call his former ward by his other surname: Borges.
A season spent at FC Infesta and Bruno Fernandes is already in demand by the two big clubs in the region: FC Porto and Boavista FC.
His family finally decides for Boavista, which offered transport by minibus to training.
The transition to playmaker
Upon his arrival, the young prodigy joined a satellite team in Porto, the ADR Pasteleira.
Coach Antonio Ribeiro arrives there when Bruno Fernandes is 15 years old.
“
When I arrived at the club, Bruno's team didn't win any matches.
He was playing central defender and I decided to install him as a playmaker. From there we started to win.
He scored a lot of goals
,” explains the 63-year-old coach.
"
He was skinny, but he did not hesitate to set foot (...) Off the field, he was a very humble teenager.
On the other hand, on the lawn, he often bickered because of his strong character
, ”he explains.
At 17, Bruno Fernandes returned to Boavista and found himself upgraded by one age category at the request of his then coach, Joaquim Silva, nicknamed "
Martelinho
", former winger of this Portuguese champion team in 2001.
“
Before becoming his coach at Boavista, I had often faced him.
He was the kind of player who deserved special attention, because he was the best in his team
,” says Martelinho.
“I felt his leadership”
"
Beyond the quality of his game or his physical abilities, I also felt his leadership
," he says.
The 2011/2012 season is coming to an end and Bruno Fernandes seems on the verge of joining the professional squad of Boavista, but the club is overtaken by a corruption affair which has shaken all of Portuguese football: he finds himself ruined and demoted in 3rd division.
“
His dream was to win in the professional team, play in the first division.
Given the context of the club, he must have felt that he could no longer achieve this objective and that he had to take the risk of leaving
, ”says Martelinho.
It was at Novara, a 2nd Italian division team which recruited him for 40,000 euros, that the obstacle course began again.
After Udinese and Sampdoria in Genoa, he returned to Portugal to explode at Sporting, then reach Manchester United's "
theatre of dreams
" in January 2020.
“
All the credit goes to him, because he was alone in Italy, very young, far from his family, without knowing the language, comments Martelinho.
It wasn't easy, but he still managed to grow, thanks to the strength of his ambition.
»