MATEUS FERNANDES prepares for every game he plays with the same touching tribute.
Hanging on his peg in the changing room along with his West Ham jersey is a T-shirt bearing the face of his youth coach from hometown club Olhanense, who died when he was just ten.
It is the same memorial the Portguese midfielder used at former clubs Sporting Lisbon and Southampton.
Not only that but the one tattoo Fernandes has depicts his mentor, Antonio Paulo — known as Toze — placing the captain’s armband on him as a youngster.
The midfielder, 21, said: “This tattoo means a lot for me. Every game I put a shirt of this man on my place, because in my vision he is my lucky star.
“He was my first coach when I was a kid and took me to the training ground. He was my teacher of football. When I was ten or 11 years old, he died of cancer.
“We went to the hospital and two days after, he died. It was a difficult moment for us, his players.
“I speak with him every day, every night. So I try to be his kid, like I was, and try to make him proud.
“I speak with Toze to give me good advice, to help me and my family. To support me — and I support his family.
“When I go to the pitch, I ask him to show me the way, the correct way, to give me support on the game, positive vibes.”
Fernandes, who moved from Southampton to West Ham for an initial £38million last summer, added: “He was very optimistic.
“When he spoke with us, it was not just about football. Toze took care of your family.
“He went with us to restaurants, he paid for us when we travelled. He knew sometimes it’s not just the football — when you are a kid, you want to be a footballer.
“But in my village, there is just me and Goncalo Ramos, the Paris Saint-Germain striker, who did it.
“The other guys — many, many guys — now they are [still] in the village. We need to be aware of this, because football is not the most important.
“The most important is the relationships, the friends — and he showed this every week.”
If making Toze proud is the aim, the past week would have seen that reach new levels.
Fernandes will face Leeds in the FA Cup quarter-final today having just returned from his first camp with the senior Portugal team.
The midfielder only managed five minutes from the bench in the win against USA but it saw him play alongside one of his idols Bruno Fernandes for the first time.
You would think Cristiano Ronaldo being absent through injury would be a huge disappointment for the youngster but he said: “It took a little pressure off me! With him in the squad, I’d feel more pressure.
“He’s the biggest player in my country and in the world. But I hope the next time, I’ll play with him.”
At Southampton, Fernandes won fans’ and players’ player-of-the-year awards despite their relegation.
Having left home at 13 to move to Lisbon and join Sporting as a defender, he has faced his fair share of challenges since coming to England.
Fernandes said: “Everything is different here . . . the language, the weather. It was the best season for me because I learned many things about football.
“I was living alone, so I learned all of these things alone. Now I’m living with my girlfriend, my manager [Nuno Espirito Santo] is Portuguese — and these things are helping me a lot.
“It was difficult at Southampton. We lost almost every game. But even when you are losing, you need to show personality, you need to show quality.
“And if you want to go to the World Cup, you need to be professional every day.”
Fernandes has been key to West Ham’s turnaround since January, looking liberated by the exit of Brazilian Lucas Paqueta.
And having jumped from one relegation battle to another, there is a determination from him that this time will be different.
Fernandes still cannot bring himself to watch Hammers’ rivals — he asked his dad to turn off Nottingham Forest’s victory over Tottenham.
He said: “We don’t think about the other clubs. If we win the next Premier League game against Wolves, we are closer to leaving this position. It’s just us against the world.”
