Super Eagles defender Emmanuel Fernandez recently opened up on the touching reason behind his decision to play with the squad number ‘37’ after joining Scottish Premiership giants Rangers last summer, Footynaija.com reports.
Fernandez joined Rangers from English lower league side Peterborough United as a relatively unknown prospect, but the 24-year-old defender has proven to be a shrewd acquisition for the Gers over the course of the current campaign.
A central defender by trade, Fernandez has displayed a welcome attacking dimension to his game at Ibrox. He boasts six goals to his name from 27 appearances and his growth in Scotland is already drawing admiring glances from top clubs across Europe.
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Opening up on his choice of squad number in an interview with Rangers TV, the soft-spoken defender revealed that he wears that particular shirt in honour of his late older brother.
“My brother passed away at 37, so it’s like the only way to do something. Obviously, he was my older brother and the age gap was over 15 years, so, as I was growing up, he was probably having his children and going to the University.
“He studied Engineering, and had three children. Joshua, Elijah and Zion. It’s tough, you know, I feel like I always want to be there for him and give opportunities to his family, because it’s upsetting to lose someone like that; it’s hard on the family.
“So that’s why I wear his number. He had a good, charismatic energy and he would always want to help whenever anyone needed something.
“Every Christmas, everyone got a present, even if it was something little. I’m grateful for him, I’m grateful for the moments I shared with him. There’s no time you could talk about, that’s harder than that [losing a loved one] and that’s why I feel like some things in life are more important than others.
“Staying and being around family, important moments. Obviously, there’s my mum who will take it harder because she’s losing her son, but I just try to share as many moments as possible because anything can happen.
“Now everything I do on the pitch is for him. He makes me want to do more and more and he makes me want to fight to see how far I can go.”
Fernandez is fresh off making his international debut for Nigeria, after coming on in the second half to help the Super Eagles see out a 2-1 win over Iran on Friday.
