It is often said in football that the traditional, pacy winger is becoming a thing of the past. In Denzil Fernandes however, Ramblers have a wide player who just loves to get the ball down, beat his man and thrill the Cobh faithful behind him. Now in his second season at the club, we caught up with Denzil recently to get his views on all things football.

Starting with Ramblers’ season to date, while some results may not have gone as hoped Fernandes is relatively pleased with his performances and can see the tide turning soon,

“I am pleased enough so far but I think that I can do better. I want to keep pushing on, testing my limits and help the team to win as much as we can. It’s great that people are noticing my performances but the results need to improve from here and I want to be a big part of that.”

Not many would be aware of Denzil’s interesting past growing up and it makes his achievements to date even more remarkable. He was born in India and moved to West Cork with his family as a child. Such a background is not common in the League of Ireland and he is clearly proud of his roots,

“From a young age, I’ve always been passionate about soccer. I came to Ireland from India when I was eight and my parents tell me that I was always playing with a ball at my feet. It’s fairly well known that India a huge soccer nation but it’s definitely growing there. As for West Cork, it’s mostly GAA there but soccer is getting more popular and there are more and more young talented players coming through across the region.”

Denzil began his career at a local level in West Cork but his ambition was evident from a young age as he knew a move to the Cork Schoolboys League would allow him progress further. The countless drives across the county were never easy but he’s glad he made the sacrifice,

“I started out at Drinagh Rangers before moving to Bandon for a while. I then made the switch to College Corinthians. It was a step up for me and it’s always tough trying to adapt to a new team but I was determined to make it worthwhile. Thankfully it was a success. All the spins to training and matches were hard but it paid off in the end.”

His time at College Corinthians brought him to the attention of Cork City’s U19 side and he came through their side that reached the UEFA Youth League, alongside the likes of Aaron Drinan, Cian Coleman, and Chiedozie Ogbene. It was evidently one of his career highlights so far,

“We had a fantastic team back then, with such good depth in the squad. Everyone pushed each other to the limits, encouraged one another if they made a mistake. We’re all making great strides with our respective clubs now as well which is good to see.”

In 2018 Fernandes signed for Cobh and with his second campaign at the club well underway he still feels there’s a lot to come from this young side,

“It’s been great so far but I feel we can do a lot better as a team. We just need to keep working hard for each-other and and encourage ourselves. Personally, I think that I have a lot more to offer on the pitch so I just need to work hard and let the performances and results show that.”

Moving to Cobh saw Denzil step up to senior football for the first time. The combination of a physical and technical league can be tricky but he believes that he is progressing well with more to come in the future,

“The jump to senior football was always going to be hard. The physical side of it is always a huge challenge for me and I’m trying to get stronger every day. I like the technicality and skill of the league though. It will always benefit me because I rely on my technical ability to perform on the pitch. The game at this level is quicker and I’ve gotten more used to it since last season.

Finally, as we look to the future, Fernandes is understandably ambitious given his career path to date,

“As a player, you always want to play at the highest level. You always push yourself to the limits, to better yourself. I want to play in the highest level that I can possibly can play in Europe and only hard work, dedication and commitment will get me there. At Cobh I want to keep progressing and see where that takes me.”

By Thomas Stafford