Fernando João Lobo Aguiar (born 18 March 1972) is a Canadian former professional soccer player who played as a defensive midfielder.
He was arguably Canada's second most successful player to have competed in Portugal, after Alex Bunbury, and was one of about a dozen Portuguese Canadians to have played soccer in the country. He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 138 matches and 13 goals over six seasons, appearing in the competition for Marítimo, Beira-Mar, Benfica, União de Leiria and Penafiel; he added 195 games and 25 goals in the Segunda Liga.
Aguiar's good form was noticed by S.L. Benfica, for whom he signed a six-month contract in December 2001,[4] going on to play a somewhat important defensive role. On 25 January 2004 he scored the only goal in a 1–0 away win against Vitória de Guimarães (in the 90th minute), assisted by Miklós Fehér who would die in the hospital just hours later;[5] he also helped the Lisbon-based side capture the 2004 Taça de Portugal.[6]
After his cup-winning exploits, Aguiar transferred to Swedish club Landskrona BoIS. However, an injury and his high wages ruined the move, and he left after only a few months for F.C. Penafiel.[7] In August 2005 he joined second-tier Gondomar SC, representing it for four years and suffering relegation in the last,[8] after which he was released at age 37, retiring shortly after.[9]
Aguiar possessed both Portuguese and Canadian citizenship but, having grown up in Canada, he eventually featured for its national team. Ironically, he made his debut in a January 1995 SkyDome Cup match against Portugal,[12] and went on to earn a total of 13 caps scoring no goals.[13]
^"Fernando Aguiar: "Jogava mais 5 anos"" [Fernando Aguiar: "I would play another 5 years"]. Record (in Portuguese). 25 January 2014. Retrieved 11 December 2023.
^""Vou tentar divertir-me"" ["I will try to have fun"] (in Portuguese). SJPF. 9 January 2014. Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.