Fernando de Moraes initially specialised in
futsal while playing in Brazil, and played his first match in the outdoor version of the game at the age of 21. He first played for
PSB Palestra São Bernado in Brazil before moving to Australia (where his sister lives) to play for
South Melbourne FC, having seen them play at the
2000 FIFA Club World Championship. He joined the team for the 2005
Victorian Premier League season. In 2006, he left the club to undertake an unsuccessful 4-week trial at
Greek Super League club
Egaleo, after which he returned to Australia and played a vital role in securing the championship for South Melbourne as their highest scoring player (with a total of 12). He was signed by
A-League club
New Zealand Knights FC shortly after the championship victory on a short-term contract, for a fee of £90,000 (€100,000), that was extended several times, but did not feature in the Knights' line-up and was soon relegated to the bench. He returned to South Melbourne at the conclusion of the Knights' season and joined the squad for pre-season matches, eventually signing a new 2-year contract. One of his most important goals for South Melbourne came during the
2010 Singapore Cup when his goal put South Melbourne 2-1 up against
Thai Premier League champions
Bangkok Glass, however it would not be enough, as Bangkok would ultimately tie 3-3 allowing them to go through on aggregate, knocking out South Melbourne in the process. In January 2014, de Moraes officially retired from playing football. ==Honours==