 Fernandes made his Bundesliga debut on 16 August 2008, in a 0–1 away loss against Karlsruher SC.He only missed three league contests in his first season, as the North Rhine-Westphalia team retained their top division status after finishing 14th.In 2009–10, Fernandes was relegated to the bench by Philipp Heerwagen and, on 18 January 2010, he was loaned to Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C.