Daniel Fernandes Confident Rayo OKC Will Reach Postseason Tournament

Photo credit: Rayo OKC

Up until the start of Rayo OKC’s game last Saturday at Fort Lauderdale, goalkeeper Daniel Fernandes had played every minute of every league game – 30 games, 2,700 minutes, nine shutouts. But during warmups, the Canadian-born Portuguese international felt some stiffness in his back and took himself out of the lineup.

“I didn’t feel 100 percent,” Fernandes told NASL.com.

But he was 100 percent confident in his understudy, Bryan Byars, an Oklahoma City native who played in college at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma.

“It was an easy choice to make,” Fernandes said. “The chemistry is good in the team and it came down to making a decision that is good for the team. It was a simple decision. It didn’t bother me. It’s about the team, not about me. I knew the team would win.”

And that is exactly what Rayo OKC did, leaving Central Broward Stadium with a 2-0 victory that extended the club’s unbeaten streak to nine games and put it in the pole position to nail down the fourth and final berth in the North American Soccer League’s 2016 postseason. Rayo OKC has a couple of ways to advance to The Championship, the league’s four-team tournament: Watch Minnesota either tie or lose to New York on Saturday night, which would clinch the spot for Rayo OKC; or if the Loons should win, a Rayo OKC victory or draw against Indy Eleven on Sunday night would do the trick.

Throughout Rayo OKC’s first season in the NASL, Fernandes has remained positive and lauded the positive impact coach Gerard Nus has had on the team and players since he took over at the beginning of August.

“He’s a master of fundamentals,” Fernandes said about Nus. “He’s a young coach, but he’s been around the game with Ghana and in Spain. His principles and philosophy make it really fun to train and he has a winning mentality. That’s why we’re on this easygoing winning streak. We know what we’re doing, playing much better soccer than the whole league, playing good for what we have. It’s really fun, a good story.”

Fernandes, 33, was born in Edmonton, Alberta, and with his father’s support, joined Porto’s youth academy in 2000. He has also played for clubs in Greece (PAOK), Spain (Celta de Vigo), Germany (Bochum), Romania (Cluj), and the Netherlands (Twente), with some loan stops along the way. He had a brief stint with a Canadian youth national team, but opted to commit his international future to Portugal, being named to the roster for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. At Porto, Fernandes drank in the reflected glow from the Special One, the team’s coach Jose Mourinho.

“He’s a specialist, you can feel his confidence from afar,” Fernandes said. “You get the feeling he’s making you more than you are, just by him walking around, observing and commenting. He’s a contagious guy, that’s why he gets players to fall in love with him. He’s a specialist. To see what he did in Porto [winning the UEFA Cup and the Champions League in consecutive years] was amazing. I’m proud I got to be around him at the start of my career. He left a mark on my life, his attitude, everything.”

Now, back in North America, Fernandes believes that Nus has made all the difference for Rayo OKC. He is presiding over a team that has bonded over the course of the year.

“He brought a winning spirit,” Fernandes said. “He’s a master. In sports, it’s all about the human relationships. For Sunday, I’m confident we will win at home.

“We have to perform. That’s it.”