He subsequently served loan stints at Botafogo-SP, Paysandu and Santo André,[3] and won the 1983 Toulon Tournament with the Brazil under-23 national team before returning to Peixe in 1984.

After starting it out at Marcílio Dias in 1998, Fernandes was named head coach of Sãocarlense in April 2001,[7] before taking over the youth sides of his first club Santos later in the year.

[11] Fernandes led Santos in one match, a 2–1 win over Juventude, before coaching a B-team to the Copa FPF title later in the year.

[18] He took over Red Bull Brasil in December, winning the 2010 Campeonato Paulista Série A3 but being sacked in January 2011 after three consecutive defeats.

[28] On 26 April, he returned to XV de Piracicaba, now as head coach,[29] but left for ABC on 19 July;[30] at the latter club, he was dismissed after only 30 days in charge.

[34] On 2 October 2018, Fernandes agreed to become Aparecidense's head coach for the 2019 season,[35] but asked to leave the club the following 31 January, after only four matches.

[40] He was named Treze head coach on 22 September,[41] but despite failing to avoid their relegation in the third level, he took over fellow league team Vila Nova and led the club to promotion as champions.

[50] After suffering relegation in the 2024 Campeonato Paulista, he returned to Vila for a third spell on 18 March,[51] but was dismissed on 22 May, after a 6–0 loss to former side Paysandu in the first leg of the 2024 Copa Verde finals.