Mario Fernandez is one of the most famous phenomena of modern football. The history of Mario shows that not only money and fame play a role in this sport. What matters to him is not the inscription on his back, but the emblem that he wears on his chest - and wears with pride. This kind and always smiling guy who does not know the Russian language, but who has Russian citizenship, became a favorite of all of Russia - from Kamchatka to Kaliningrad.
A family
Footballer Mario Fernandez Figueira was born in Brazil, in the city of São Caetano do Sul, in September 19th 1990. The Mario family has two sisters - the eldest Deborah and the youngest Talita, as well as the younger brother Jonatas (also a football player). Parents were not rich. My father worked as a futsal coach for a small local team. Mother was a hired housekeeper for wealthy people. It was his father who helped Fernandez with the development of football qualities. Mario studied under the supervision of his father from 6 to 15 years in futsal. This helped him to develop such qualities as technique, speed, grip, playing a short.
Carier start
The first football club in Mario’s career was the local San Cayetano. In the early 2000s, this club was the country's vice champion. Now he plays in the 4th Brazilian league. The period from 2006 to 2009, the young Brazilian spent as part of the club. His first mentor was Marcos de Lima Romeu. Years in futsal have not passed in vain. The acquired qualities helped to get comfortable in big football, and soon the scouts of the Gremio football club, one of the strongest and oldest teams in Brazil, drew attention to the guy.
Gremio
At the age of 19, Mario Fernandez signs his first professional contract. The club from Porto Alegre paid $ 1 million for the football player. The term of the contract was 5 years. However, in the very first days, the team's newcomer mysteriously evaporated. Using video search technology, the police were able to establish that Mario had appeared in several cities during this time. The footballer himself said that his homesickness influenced him so much. Henceforth, the Brazilian promised not to do this again and asked for forgiveness for his unacceptable act. At the request of the club for the first time his mother came to him to help him get used to the new environment.
The player began his career as a central defender. But at some point, the coach put Mario as the rightmost defender. The result was pleased, and in the future the football player began to hold matches in this role. As Fernandez himself said, during his stay in Porto Alegre, the diet consisted mainly of fast food dishes. Mario also admitted that he often liked to drink. It got to the point that sometimes he was drunk on training.
In Gremio, the player spent the period from 2009 to 2012, having played 87 matches and scoring 3 goals. Mario Fernandez with his game attracted the attention of many European clubs, including Milan Inter, Catalan Barcelona, Manchester City and Real Madrid. In the winter of 2011, CSKA Moscow sent an official appeal to Gremio regarding the transfer of Mario. The contract figured a possible amount of 15 million euros. But the army club was refused.
In the summer of 2012, the Brazilian and Russian clubs returned to this topic. On the terms of Gremio, the teams were able to agree, having received 6 million at once and 8 at the end of the summer. At the same time, the native club of Mario Fernandez received a bonus of 1 million euros. The Brazilian refused Real Madrid to transfer to the Moscow club. The player recalls that when an agent with a contract from CSKA came to him, he dined at a restaurant in Porto Alegre. The footballer, without hesitation, put his signature, to which friends offered to note this and have a drink. To which Mario refused and ordered orange juice. Since then, the Brazilian does not drink alcohol.
CSKA Moscow
In May 2012, the official website of the army club published the news of the signing of Brazilian defender Mario Fernandez. The contract is signed for a period of 5 years. In the new team, the Brazilian chose the 13th number for himself. In subsequent seasons, the player changed the number to 2. To develop outside the football life, Mario Fernandez was helped by a compatriot and a new teammate, the legend of the army club Wagner Love.
CSKA has always had very good connections in the Brazilian market, which allowed it to have at least a couple representatives from the South American country. In the offseason, Mario had a good preparation. He played in the main team and scored two goals in the test matches against the Moscow Torpedo and Khimki near Moscow. The debut took place in the first match of the season against the eponymous team of the city of Rostov. That season for Fernandez turned out to be difficult. However, a large number of injuries did not prevent the footballer from playing 28 matches for the capital team in the Russian Championship. The player scored two “assistants” and received two warnings.
Mario helped his team win the national championship, but he missed the celebration due to a meniscus injury. In the first season, the young Brazilian became an integral player in the basics and got into the list of the best players of that season. Fernandez scored his debut goal for the army team in a cup match against the Saratov “Falcon” in March 2014. That match ended 2-0 in favor of the capital's club.
Statistics of performances for CSKA
Statistics by Mario Fernandez, both personal and club, gained momentum and reached unprecedented heights. The Brazilian during the period of the game in CSKA became the three-time champion of Russia, three-time winner of silver medals, the winner of the Russian Cup and three-time winner of the country's Super Cup. Mario has repeatedly been recognized as the best player of the month. The football player openly reported that he was satisfied with everything in the team and that he liked to live in Russia. For CSKA, the player became a favorite of the public. Fans warmly greeted the foreigner, and he paid them with the same coin. In June 2017, it was officially announced the extension of the contract between the club and the player for another 5 years until 2022. Thus, the footballer made it clear that the Russian club for him is a family with which he would not want to leave. This caused a storm of joyful emotions among all fans of the CSKA Moscow football club. Mario became his own, along with the pupils of the club, such as Igor Akinfeev, George Schennikov and others.
Brazil national team
In 2011, the player was called up to the Brazilian Olympic team and spent 4 matches. He was also invited to the main team of Brazil to conduct matches at the Rock Cup. The coach of the team at that time was Brazilian former footballer Mano Menezes. In the first match, Mario remained on the bench, and never went on the field. The player himself did not appear for the next match. Rumor had it that the soccer player was out on a walk. Fernandez himself denied this and the team supported him. But the coach’s opinion was different, and since then Mario has not been called to the national team. In the national team, Mario Fernandez had only one match, substituting in the control match against the Japanese national team in 2014.
He had a good match, but was not marked by effective actions.
Naturalization
Mario himself wanted to play in the Russian national team. After living in the country for 5 years, he was able to apply for citizenship. The problem was the lack of knowledge of the Russian language, but the player began to learn the language, attending training courses and studying with a tutor. The Russian football union helped the Brazilian, and in the summer of 2016, Vladimir Putin signed a statement endorsing the statement by the football player. Fernandez received a Russian passport, and the national team coaches could not pass by the newly made Russian. Mario began to be called for all training with the team even before being allowed to play for the country.
Russian team
A Russian of Brazilian origin made his debut in an unofficial match against Dynamo Moscow. The team won that match 3-0, and the Brazilian scored the first goal. The first official match Mario held in a friendly game against the team of the Republic of Korea, replacing Alexander Samedov in the middle of the second half. Fernandez was included in the final list of the Russian national team for the 2018 World Cup.
Mario became one of the best players of the tournament, having got into the symbolic team. Russia reached the quarter finals, losing to the Croatian national team, which won silver medals in the championship. The Brazilian scored a goal in the 115th minute of the match, put his team in the penalty shoot-out. The player, unfortunately, failed to realize his shot, breaking past the gate. But no one Fernandez blamed. At the moment, the player has 11 matches and 1 goal scored.
Personal life
Mario Fernandez is a deeply religious person who regularly attends church services. Here is what he says in his interview: “The foundation of our life is the canonical Bible without any changes. I have deep respect for all Christian denominations, because we all believe in one Lord. ” As for his personal life, at the time of his arrival in Russia, he had a relationship with an architect named Sarah Beltram. Many believed that she is the wife of Mario Fernandez. But this is not so. Sarah arrived with him in Moscow, and for some time lived in Russia, but later the couple broke up. At the moment, Mario lives in Moscow. When he has free time, he travels to his homeland to his relatives.