Europa League final: How Bruno Fernandes became Manchester United’s heart
A former Porto footballer, his ex-Boavista coach Novais is a cult hero in Portugal.
Having crossed paths with former Portugal and Barcelona midfielder Deco early in his career at Salgueiros, he was crystal clear from the start that Fernandes could follow a similar path and reach the very top, too.
Not because he had an out-of-this-world talent – that was impossible to tell at that point – but because he had the determination to work harder than anyone else.
“He already had something about him…” Novais said. “You could see he wanted it so bad.
“He was a kid who genuinely wanted to become a professional. He had classes on Wednesdays at the same time we trained at Boavista – around 4:30pm. So, at about 2:30pm, he’d turn up and train on his own with Petronilho, our goalkeeping coach, who’d give him a one-hour session before he went off to school.
“I’d get there and ask Petronilho, ‘So, how did he do?’ And he’d go, ‘Mister, he runs, he works, he does everything. The boy just wants to train.’ He had such a passion for the game.”
None of this went unnoticed as Bruno, while playing every position on the pitch except goalkeeper, began to attract interest from abroad.
His elder brother Ricardo emigrated to work as a hospital assistant in England, and Fernandes could have taken the same route in 2012.
He was 17 and had two offers on the table: one from Middlesbrough and another from Novara in Italy.
“There was the possibility of those two teams. But things eventually moved forward with Novara; it was the one that worked out best – with the best conditions. They had an academy where I could sleep, where I had food, and where my mum felt more comfortable with me going,” Fernandes revealed.
“In the end, it turned out to be the right choice.”
From earning the nickname “The Maradona of Novara” to making his way to Udinese and then to Sampdoria, Fernandes established himself and fulfilled his dream of bringing his father back home from Switzerland.
Even though he was already captaining Portugal’s under-21 side, he still flew under the radar among his compatriots.
It was only when he joined Sporting in the summer of 2017 that he truly made a name for himself.
Suddenly, everyone around was talking about the Alvalade sensation, who had finished the 2018-19 campaign with 33 goals and 18 assists, surpassing Frank Lampard’s record with Chelsea to produce the most prolific goalscoring season by a midfielder in Europe.
That was when Europa League rivals Tottenham came calling and on Wednesday they will be hoping they aren’t made to regret that ‘almost’ moment back in 2019.