Fernando Luiz Roza (born 4 May 1985), known as Fernandinho, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation and one of the best Brazilians to play in the Premier League.
Fernandinho started his career at Brazilian club Atlético Paranaense before moving to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2005, where he became one of the best foreign players to ever play in the Ukrainian Premier League. With Shakhtar, he won six Ukrainian Premier League titles, four Ukrainian Cups and the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. He was voted by the Shakhtar Donetsk fans as the best Brazilian player to ever play for the team. Fernandinho is well known for his nine-year spell with Premier League club Manchester City, with which he won five Premier League titles, six EFL Cups, and the FA Community Shield. He assumed the captaincy in the 2020–21 season and was instrumental in leading City to the 2021 Champions League final, where he earned a runners-up medal.
The scorer of the only goal in the final of the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship and a full international for Brazil from 2011 to 2019, Fernandinho was part of their squad which came fourth at the 2014 FIFA World Cup and also competed at the 2015 Copa América, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, and the 2019 Copa América, winning the latter tournament.
Fernandinho began his career at Atlético Paranaense alongside his future Shakhtar teammate Jádson and close friend Carlos. In Paranaense he was runners-up of both the Brazilian first division (in 2004) and the Libertadores da America, in 2005. He made 72 appearances for the club, scoring 14 goals, before moving to Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk for a fee of around £7 million in the summer of 2005.
2005–09: Initial league championships and UEFA Cup
In his first season as a Shakhtar player he played 34 matches, including 23 league appearances, and scored three goals, with one coming in the league. Shakhtar were victorious in the Super Cup, however Fernandinho did not play in the match. He played in the championship deciding match between Shakhtar and Dynamo Kyiv, who were level on 75 points after all 30 games had been played, in which Shakhtar prevailed 2–1 to take the title. This marked Fernandinho's first league title with Shakhtar. He made 25 league appearances in the 2006–07 season as Shakhtar finished 2nd to Dynamo Kyiv. They also finished as runners-up in the Ukrainian Cup and Ukrainian Super Cup.
In the 2007–08 season Shakhtar regained the championship with Fernandinho playing a pivotal role by scoring 11 goals, including one from the penalty spot, in 29 league appearances. He failed to appear in just one league match during the season. Shakhtar were also victorious in the Ukrainian Cup, giving Fernandinho his first cup success. However they were defeated in the Super Cup by Dynamo Kyiv for the second year in a row. After the match finished 2–2, it went to penalties and, although Fernandinho converted a penalty, Shakhtar lost 4–2.
On 15 July 2008, Fernandinho played in the Super Cup victory against Dynamo Kyiv. The match went to penalties after the two teams drew 1–1 at the end of extra time. Fernandinho scored one of the penalties to help Shakhtar to a 5–3 win in the shoot-out. He scored the equalising goal in a 1–1 draw with Karpaty Lviv on 27 July. On 3 August he picked up a 63rd minute red card in a 3–0 victory over Illichivets Mariupol. On 31 August he scored a penalty in a 2–2 draw against Metalurh Zaporizhya. On 16 September he scored the opening goal in a 2–1 Champions League victory against Swiss club Basel. On 8 November, he scored the opening goal in a 2–0 victory against Tavriya Simferopol. On 9 December he scored a goal in Shakhtar's 3–2 away win against Spanish side Barcelona in the Champions League group stage match.
On 26 February 2009, Fernandinho scored the equalising goal in Shakhtar's 1–1 away leg draw against English team Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Cup. Shakhtar won the tie 3–1 on aggregate. On 7 March, he scored the only goal, a penalty, in a 1–0 victory against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. On 15 March, he opened the scoring from the penalty spot in a 3–0 victory against Metalist Kharkiv. On 19 March he scored a penalty in Shakhtar's 2–0 victory over Russian team CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup. Shakhtar won the tie 2–1 on aggregate. On 16 April he netted a goal in a 2–1 UEFA Cup win against Marseille. Shakhtar emerged victorious from the tie with a 4–1 aggregate win. He also scored a pivotal equalising goal in the first leg of the UEFA Cup semi final match against Dynamo Kyiv which finished 1–1. Shakhtar advanced to the final by virtue of a 3–2 aggregate victory after securing a 2–1 win at the Donbas Arena in the second leg.
Shakhtar won the UEFA Cup with a 2–1 victory over German side Werder Bremen in the last UEFA Cup before it was renamed the UEFA Europa League. He made 42 total appearances, including 21 in the league, and scored 11 goals, including five in the league, in the 2008–09 season.
2009–13: Domestic dominance and individual success
The 2009–10 season saw Shakhtar lift the Premier League trophy. Fernandinho's first goal came on 29 July, in a 2–2 Champions League draw against Politehnica Timișoara in the third qualifying round, however Shakhtar were knocked out of the competition, losing on away goals after a 0–0 draw at home. On 20 September, he scored a penalty in a 4–2 victory over Arsenal Kyiv. He scored two goals in a 5–1 victory over Karpaty Lviv on 18 October, including one from the penalty spot. On 22 October the first goal, a penalty, in a 4–0 victory against French side Toulouse in the Europa League. He scored a 93rd-minute goal in a 2–0 Ukrainian Cup victory against Dynamo Kyiv on 28 October. On 6 December he scored a penalty to open the scoring in a 2–0 win over Kryvbas. On 24 March, he scored a 92nd-minute goal against Metalurh Donetsk in the Ukrainian Cup, however it proved to be only a consolation goal as Shakhtar lost the match 2–1. Fernandinho made 24 league appearances, netting 4 times. He made a total of 39 appearances with 8 goals.
In the following season Fernandinho played in the 7–1 Super Cup win over Tavriya Simferopol on 4 July. On 18 July, he netted an equalising goal in a 1–1 draw with Metalurh Zaporizhya. On 7 August he scored the opening goal in a 5–0 win over Sevastopol. He also played a part in the 1–0 UEFA Super Cup defeat to Barcelona on 28 August. He suffered a broken leg in a 1–0 defeat to Obolon Kyiv on 10 September, which was expected to rule him out for the entire season. He eventually returned on 1 April 2011 after almost seven months out of action in a 3–1 victory over Illichivets Mariupol. He scored a late 94th-minute match-winning goal in a 2–1 victory over Tavriya, his first goal since returning from injury. On 25 May, he played the full 90 minutes in Shakhtar's 2–0 Ukrainian Cup Final victory over Dynamo Kyiv. At the end of the season Shakhtar won the championship, with Fernandinho contributing three goals from his 15 league appearances. They managed to win three prizes (Premier League, Cup and Super Cup).
Fernandinho began the 2011–12 season with Shakhtar's only goal in a 3–1 Super Cup defeat to Dynamo Kyiv. On 31 July he scored Shakhtar's only goal in a match against Arsenal Kyiv, however a 95th-minute equaliser prevented them from winning the match and taking all three points. He netted a goal in a 3–1 victory against Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk on 13 August. On 27 November he scored the second goal, from a penalty, in a 5–0 victory over Karpaty Lviv. On 27 April, he scored a penalty in a 4–3 Ukrainian Cup match against Volyn Lutsk. He netted the winning goal in a 2–1 victory against Metalist Kharkiv on 2 May. He scored six goals in 32 appearances, with 24 appearances and four goals in the league, over the season. He played in the Ukrainian Cup Final victory over Metalurh Donetsk. At the end of the season, with his contract due to expire, he signed a new five-year contract with the club until 2016. Shakhtar retained the league title for the third year in a row, Fernandinho's fifth overall with the club, and also secured another Cup trophy, their second in a row.