It was an offer he turned down, however, returning to the U.S. to enroll at humble UMass-Lowell. Fernandes outlined his thinking at the time: “I told myself I was not going to focus on becoming a pro soccer player until I got a degree.”
Though a noble motivation, completing university studies seemed an ambitious goal for Fernandes, who spoke no English upon arriving in the U.S.
“I told my teammates if they don’t talk to me in English I wasn’t going to answer them,” Fernandes said. “They thought I was joking. I would understand a little bit and not be able to say anything, but it’s a step forward. If I didn’t pronounce it right they would laugh, and I would laugh, as well. But I told them, ‘don’t laugh if you aren’t going to correct me.’ It took six to eight months to become comfortable enough to engage in conversation.
“It was pretty difficult but I guess I was in a position to actually make sure I adapted as quick as possible. My mom was already here and I hadn’t seen her in eight years,” added Fernandes. I wanted to be around her, living here. I know how difficult it can be if I don’t understand anything at all.”
“The quicker you learn the language the quicker you can enjoy everything about the country,” he said. “I had the right people around me to help me learn.”
Fernandes’ family included a sister who nicknamed him ‘Totti’ (though not in homage to Italian star Francesco Totti), a moniker he used competing in local leagues. At UMass-Lowell, Fernandes went back to his birth name, Wuilito, graduating in four years with a degree in business administration. Along the way, he totaled 25 goals in 65 matches for the River Hawks, becoming the first player from the school selected in the MLS SuperDraft.
But another injury halted Fernandes’ second chance at MLS with FC Dallas in 2017 – a year after the Texas club won the Open Cup with a 4-2 victory over the New England Revolution in the Final.
Rise Marred by Injuries
“Two weeks into preseason, I tore my meniscus and they ended up letting me go,” Fernandes recalled of his brief stay in Texas. “It was the same as when I was with the Red Bulls – they needed somebody to step up right away. So I came back to Boston, focused on healing and recovery, and I got called up to the national team [of Cape Verde] the same time as I signed with Orange County [SC, of the second-division USL Championship].”
Fernandes recovered to join the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde in two victories over South Africa in 2017. Despite those wins, the team fell short in World Cup qualifying. In 2018, Fernandes sustained another knee injury, this time in the second-to-last game of the USL campaign with North Carolina FC, which he joined at the start of that season.
“I’ve been focusing on recovery since,” said Fernandes, who works as a consultant for a solar energy company.
Now, Fernandes has returned to his roots in the highly competitive Cape Verdean soccer community.