Bernardo Fontes is ready for the next step | OneFootball

Bernardo Fontes has impressed all season and has turned in brilliant displays in the highest profile matches (Photo: www.cdtondela.pt)

Shot-stopping, aerial control, and composure have made him one of Tondela’s key pillars in a volatile season.

An early move to European football is rarely straightforward, but Bernardo Fontes has made it feel natural, almost inevitable, and he is now one of Portuguese football’s clearest long-term bets. Developed at Flamengo, inside the well-known Ninho do Urubu academy, and shaped by a generation that grew up watching Alisson and Ederson redefine what a Brazilian No. 1 can be, the 6’5” Rio native traded the comfort of Rio de Janeiro for northern Portugal before turning 19. At Braga B, he found the first real test of his talent outside Brazil: a competitive environment, heavier pitches, and direct opponents, where every mistake becomes a lesson and every save adds to the confidence capital that every goalkeeper’s needs.

Two years later, Tondela’s investment feels like the logical next step in his professional progression. Signed through 2029, Fontes arrives in the Beira Alta region with the task of establishing himself at a club looking to regain sporting and competitive stability. His trajectory blends a modern physical profile, commanding between the posts, sharp when reading crosses, and comfortable with the ball at his feet, with a patient, hard-working mentality shaped in academies and B-team football. At 23, Bernardo represents a new wave of goalkeepers developed in Brazil but refined in Portugal, where tactical demands and defensive rigor accelerate growth and test young players’ maturity every matchday.

From Rio to the Minho

Before making his name in Portugal, Bernardo Fontes was part of one of Flamengo’s most talented youth generations. He came through the Ninho do Urubu during a period rich in titles and player development, training daily alongside prospects who have since reached professional football in Brazil and Europe.

During his time in Flamengo’s academy, Fontes was part of the squad that won the 2018 U-17 Copa do Brasil, defeating Fluminense in the final and confirming Flamengo’s dominance at youth level. That roster included names such as Lázaro, João Gomes, Gabriel Noga, Daniel Cabral, and Reinier, players who would go on to carve out respectful careers in the professional game, both in Brazil and abroad.

The move up to the U-20s was the next step in what felt like a natural progression. Fontes remained within the club and continued to develop in a highly competitive environment, surrounded by talent and daily demands. That group included players such as Richard Ríos, Rodrigo Muniz, and Natan, as well as two names familiar to FC Porto supporters, Otávio Ataíde and Wendel Silva.

Honing the basics in Braga

That context became his launchpad to Europe, where Braga offered the first true test of his technical and emotional growth as a goalkeeper.

While in Braga, Bernardo Fontes established himself gradually and earned trust inside the club’s structure. After an initial adaptation phase to Portuguese football, he took over as the U-23 starter in 2021/22 and held the position with consistency, showing above-average shot-stopping with eye-catching performances, while projecting security and personality in the most demanding moments. That form naturally opened the door to the B team, where he made more than 65 appearances between 2022 and 2024. Over time, he became a stable, respected presence in the group: a low-maintenance goalkeeper, but an extremely reliable one, capable of giving calm to the back line in any scenario.

Leaving Braga marked a turning point. After a short period developing in the demanding context of Liga 3, the goalkeeper understood that the next step had to place him in front of the challenge he truly wanted: becoming a regular starter at the top-flight level. At Braga, that path looked distant, with Lukáš Horníček established as the first choice, while Alaa Bellaarouch emerged as direct competition in cup matches. The route to consistent minutes was effectively blocked. The move to Tondela offered the ideal opportunity, in an equally demanding environment, but with the space he needed to establish himself among Portugal’s elite.

Plenty of practice at Tondela

At a Tondela that has endured an inconsistent start to the season, first under Ivo Vieira and now Cristiano Bacci, with results falling short of expectations and a defence still searching for stability, Bernardo Fontes has been one of the few players to rise above the turbulence. His performances have carried the team through critical spells, preventing worse outcomes with high-difficulty saves and an unshakable demeanour even under constant pressure. His save percentage, close to 70%, underlines his weight in keeping Tondela competitive and may be the biggest reason the club remains in the fight to stay in the Primeira Liga. He is built for high-demand games, using his reach and timing to close down well in 1v1 situations, and making generally sound decisions when coming for crosses. Physically dominant and mentally composed, he has shown an uncommon level of maturity for a goalkeeper in his first top-flight season.

He has shone particularly brightly in high-profile matches with outstanding performances against both Sporting and Benfica in the Liga Portugal matches at the Estádio João Cardoso. Yesterday he was unanimously considered man of the match as a series of outstanding saves saw Tondela hold Benfica to a 0-0 draw.

Dual nationality facilitates career options

Fontes’ physical and technical profile, aligned with the demands of the modern goalkeeper (size, coordination, crossing management, and competence on the ball under pressure), has clear potential to attract interest beyond Portugal, especially in European markets where the position is increasingly filtered by performance benchmarks and stylistic fit. There is also a meaningful strategic factor: his Italian dual nationality provides an EU passport, reducing registration and administrative barriers in many leagues, which can broaden his range of realistic destinations and speed up opportunities when concrete interest emerges.

With room still to improve in space management and short build-up play, Fontes has already made it clear that Tondela have found far more than a short-term solution. The young Brazilian is currently one of the most promising goalkeepers playing on the Iberian Peninsula, and this season may well be his last in Tondela.