Carlos Fernandes (footballer, born 1979)

Angolan footballer

At Boavista, Carlos was initially backup to veteran William Andem, but eventually won starting honours. This prompted a January 2006 move to Romania's FC Steaua București, thus becoming the first Portuguese player to have played in the country's Liga I; shortly after his arrival, he lost the confidence of fans and general manager Mihai Stoica alike, with the latter declaring at a TV show that the player, although greatly underachieving, had been put under immense pressure due to the fact of being the team's only foreigner. He was released and rejoined Boavista on 30 May 2007, having previously trained for a time with Charlton Athletic to remain fit. In 2007–08, after losing first choice status to Liechtensteiner Peter Jehle, Carlos was loaned to Foolad F. C. in January 2008, with the move being made permanent the following campaign – the Persian Gulf Pro League club was coached by compatriot Augusto Inácio. After spending one year in Iran, Carlos moved back to Portugal in the summer of 2009, joining Rio Ave FC. He only missed two league games, as the Vila do Conde side retained their top division status.

Through his grandmother, Carlos chose to represent Angola at international level, the first cap coming in 2009 at nearly 30 years of age. He represented his adopted nation at the following year's Africa Cup of Nations, played on home soil. Carlos was also the starter in the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, participating in the first two games but missing the third due to yellow card accumulation, as the Palancas Negras exited in the group stage.