Marcelo Faria Fernandes (; born 20 April 1974) is a Brazilian football coach and former player who played as a centre-back.
Playing career Born in Santos, São Paulo, Fernandes played amateur football until his 20s, and began his career at Portuguesa Santista. He moved to Santos in 1991, but after failing to break into the club's starting XI, was loaned to Rio Branco de Americana, Remo, Botafogo-SP, América de Natal and Atlético Mineiro, the last one already in 1998.Atlético Mineiro contrata o zagueiro Marcelo Fernandes (Atlético Mineiro signs stopper Marcelo Fernandes); Folha de S. Paulo, 7 January 1998
Fernandes was released by Peixe in 1999, and returned to Portuguesa Santista. He subsequently returned to América-RN, and then played for Criciúma, Joinville,Marcelo Fernandes assina com o Joinville (Marcelo Fernandes signs with Joinville) ; A Notícia, 5 December 2000 Náutico,Náutico contra zagueiro Marcelo Fernandes (Náutico signs stopper Marcelo Fernandes); Terra, 22 March 2001 Portuguesa and ABC, retiring with the latter in 2003, aged 32.
Post-playing career In 2011 Fernandes joined former club Santos' staff, being appointed as assistant manager. On 5 March 2015, after Enderson Moreira's dismissal, he was named interim manager.Interino, Marcelo Fernandes dirigirá o Santos com Chulapa de auxiliar (Interim, Marcelo Fernandes will manage Santos with Chulapa as assistant) ; Lance!, 5 March 2015
On 12 March, after a 2–1 home win against rivals Palmeiras, Fernandes was definitely appointed as manager.Comissão técnica permanente continua no comando do time (Permanent staff remains in charge of the club) ; Santos FC, 12 March 2015 On 9 July, after only winning three out of 30 points, he returned to his previous assistant role, being replaced by Dorival Júnior.Dorival Júnior acerta volta ao Santos e substitui Marcelo Fernandes na Vila (Dorival Júnior agrees return to Santos and replaces Marcelo Fernandes at Vila); Globo Esporte, 9 July 2015
In September 2016, after altercations with Dorival, Fernandes was separated from Santos' first team squad. He was also manager of Portuguesa Santista in 2017, after the club reached an agreement with Santos for the loan of certain players, but returned to the club in June of that year.
Fernandes left Peixe in the end of 2017, being subsequently Edson Leivinha's assistant at Corinthians' under-23 squad. In October 2020, he returned to Santos as a permanent assistant coach.
In November 2020, after manager Cuca and other assistants Cuquinha and Eudes Pedro all tested positive for COVID-19, Fernandes was again interim of the main squad. He was an interim in February 2021 after Cuca left, in April 2021 after Ariel Holan resigned, in February 2022 after Fábio Carille was sacked, and in July 2022 after Fabián Bustos was dismissed.
On 27 July 2022, Fernandes left Santos on a mutual agreement. On 6 August of the following year, he returned to the club under the same role, and became an interim head coach for the sixth time in three years on 15 September 2023, after the dismissal of Diego Aguirre.
Despite improving Santos' form in the first matches, Fernandes was unable to avoid the club's first-ever relegation to the Série B, after a 2–1 home loss to Fortaleza in the last round. Back to the assistant role for the 2024 season, he was dismissed from the club on 3 January 2025.
On 30 April 2025, Fernandes was announced as head coach of Série C side Guarani. He led the club out of the relegation zone, but was sacked on 26 July, after a four-match winless run, and took over cross-town rivals Ponte Preta in the same division on 12 August.
Fernandes led Ponte to their first-ever national title, winning the 2025 Série C, but left by mutual consent on 15 February 2026, after suffering relegation from the 2026 Campeonato Paulista. On 28 April, he replaced Lisca at the helm of Botafogo-PB back in the third division.
Fernandes was sacked by Belo on 26 September 2026, after four winless matches in the second stage.
Career statistics ClubSeasonLeagueState LeagueCupContinentalOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSantos1991Série A—20———2019929021———111199350———1Appearance(s) in Supercopa Libertadores0601994142171——4Two appearances in Supercopa Libertadores, two appearances in Copa Bandeirantes035319950014000——140Total28235200—50684Rio Branco-SP1993Paulista—221———221América de Natal1997Série A140————140Atlético Mineiro1998Série A004030——70Portuguesa Santista1999Paulista—161———161Criciúma2000Série B00141———141Career total4229153000501417
Managerial statistics
+ Managerial record by team and tenureTeamNatFromToRecordSantos (interim)5 March 201512 March 2015Santos12 March 20159 July 2015Portuguesa Santista21 February 20175 May 2017Santos (interim)10 November 202025 November 2020Santos (interim)22 February 20213 March 2021Santos (interim)26 April 20219 May 2021Santos (interim)18 February 202227 February 2022Santos (interim)7 July 202220 July 2022Santos (interim)15 September 20237 December 2023Guarani30 April 202526 July 2025Ponte Preta12 August 202515 February 2026Botafogo-PB28 April 202626 September 2026Total—
Honours Player Remo Campeonato Paraense: 1993
Manager Santos Campeonato Paulista: 2015
Ponte Preta Campeonato Brasileiro Série C: 2025
References
External links Meu Time na Rede profile Once Onze profile