Fernando Mendes (footballer, born 1966)

Not to be confused with Fernando Mendes (footballer, born 1937).

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Antunes and the second or paternal family name is Mendes.

Fernando Mendes

Personal information
Full name	Fernando Manuel Antunes Mendes
Date of birth	(1966-11-05) 5 November 1966
Place of birth	Setúbal, Portugal
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Left back
Youth career
1979–1980	Montijo
1980–1985	Sporting CP
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–1989	Sporting CP	94	(1)
1989–1991	Benfica	15	(0)
1991–1992	Boavista	32	(0)
1992–1993	Benfica	13	(1)
1993–1994	Estrela Amadora	18	(0)
1994–1995	Boavista	13	(0)
1995–1996	Belenenses	31	(3)
1996–1999	Porto	61	(5)
1999–2000	Belenenses	22	(2)
2000–2002	Vitória Setúbal	51	(10)
2004–2005	Montijo
2005–2008	São Marcos
2008–2009	Olímpico Montijo
Total		350	(22)
International career
1986	Portugal U21	3	(0)
1986–1996	Portugal	11	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Fernando Manuel Antunes Mendes (born 5 November 1966 in Setúbal) is a retired Portuguese footballer who played as a left back.

Football career

Having brought up at Sporting Clube de Portugal's youth system at the same time as Paulo Futre, Mendes made his first-team debuts in 1984–85, aged 18, and reached the Portugal national team shortly after. In the following seasons he started regularly for the Lions, but they only won one trophy.

In 1989, Mended joined Sporting's rivals S.L. Benfica, being sparingly used in three years – in between, he played one season at Boavista F.C. – winning the Taça de Portugal in his last one, where he teamed up with Futre. Released by the Eagles, he played for three teams in as many years, before joining the last of the Big Three, FC Porto, thus representing all the major clubs in his country as Futre.

With the northern side, Mendes won his second Primeira Liga championship (the first as an important member), to which he contributed with 22 matches and three goals. In the following two campaigns, which ended in the same fashion, he also appeared regularly.

Aged nearly 33, Mendes left for another spell at Belenenses, then joined hometown's Vitória de Setúbal, for his first season in the second division, which ended in promotion. After helping the Sadinos to retain their league status, he retired from professional football with top division totals of 321 games and 12 goals; he also received 11 full caps in one decade, but did not attend any major international tournament.

Honours

• Primeira Liga: 1990–91, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99
• Taça de Portugal: 1991–92, 1992–93, 1997–98
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 1987, 1989, 1992, 1996, 1998; Runner-up 1997

External links

• Template:Zerozero
• Fernando Mendes at ForaDeJogo (archived)
• Fernando Mendes at National-Football-Teams.com
• Portugal stats at Eu-Football