Courage continues to drive Fernandinho and Man City to Premier League glory

MANCHESTER: In a scene from the “All or Nothing” Amazon documentary series that charted Brazil’s 2019 Copa America campaign, Fernandinho listens intently as “coragem,” the Portuguese work for courage, reverberates around the dressing room.

Seeking to lift spirits and unite his under-pressure team, coach Tite tells the players it is “courage” that will provide them with the mental strength they need in adversity.

“You can lose, but never be defeated,” he says during the impassioned speech, before leading Brazil to their first major trophy in 12 years.

Midfielder Fernandinho won the last of his 53 caps for his country during that Copa America triumph — and courage is a trait the 37-year-old also sees in the club he currently captains, Manchester City, as he seeks to secure the perfect farewell gift of one last success before he departs.

City’s dramatic Champions League exit in the semi-finals this month — having seen a two-goal advantage over Real Madrid wiped out in gut-wrenching fashion when the Spanish champions struck three times late on to win 6-5 on aggregate — would demoralize most teams. All the more so when the pain of last season’s defeat in the final by Chelsea is still raw.

City, though, responded with 5-0 and 5-1 victories over Newcastle and Wolves to keep them on course to retain the Premier League title. Fernandinho expected nothing less.

“Definitely, we are strong mentally or we wouldn’t be in the position we are now, fighting for a fourth Premier League in five years,” he said. “If we are not strong mentally, I don’t know who can be.

“The level we are at now, we know what we are playing for, the players know what they need to do and we have done it before. That’s important, because they understand