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Fabio (footballer, born 1990)

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In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Pereira and the second or paternal family name is da Silva.
Fabio
Fabio playing for Cardiff City in 2014
Personal information
Full name Fabio Pereira da Silva[1]
Date of birth (1990-07-09) 9 July 1990 (age 34)[2]
Place of birth Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)[3]
Position(s) Full-back
Youth career
2005–2008 Fluminense
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2014 Manchester United 22 (1)
2012–2013 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 21 (0)
2014–2016 Cardiff City 65 (1)
2016–2018 Middlesbrough 48 (1)
2018–2022 Nantes 85 (0)
2023–2024 Grêmio 26 (0)
International career
2007 Brazil U17[nb 1] 13 (10)
2011 Brazil 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:19, 29 January 2024 (UTC)

Fabio Pereira da Silva (Brazilian Portuguese: [ˈfabju peˈɾejɾɐ dɐ ˈsiwvɐ]; born 9 July 1990), known as Fabio, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who last played as a full-back for Brazilian club Grêmio.

Fabio and his twin brother Rafael began their careers with Fluminense in their native Brazil before being signed by English club Manchester United in February 2007. Unlike his brother, Fabio struggled to hold down a place in the Manchester United first team, and after a loan spell with Queens Park Rangers in 2012–13, he made a permanent move to Cardiff City in January 2014.

Fabio has played for Brazil twice at senior international level, with both appearances coming in 2011, the same year he played for Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League Final against Barcelona and won the Premier League title.[4]

Early life

[edit]

Fabio was born in Petrópolis, approximately one hour's drive from Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro state, and began playing football from age five. He and his identical twin Rafael would play five-a-side in the city. They were then spotted by a representative of Fluminense, who gave them the opportunity to play for the club; they went to live at the club's training centre at Xerém when they were just 11 years old.[5]

Club career

[edit]

Fluminense

[edit]

Fabio began his football career as a defensive midfielder with his local club, Boa Esperança, but he was converted to left back when he joined Fluminense.[6] With Fluminense, Fabio took part in the 2005 Nike Premier Cup in Hong Kong, where he was spotted by Manchester United scout Les Kershaw, who remarked that the twins reminded him of "two little whippets". Kershaw then telephoned Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and recommended that the club sign the Da Silva twins.[6] Manchester United got in touch with Fluminense and asked permission for the twins to travel to Manchester to train with them in 2005. Shortly afterwards, a scout claiming to represent Arsenal visited the twins and asked them to come to England to train with Arsenal without the permission of Fluminense. However, they were dissuaded from this by their mother, who reminded them that they had been with Fluminense since they were 11, and that they should show the club some loyalty.[7] Therefore, they decided to sign for Manchester United over Arsenal, and the two clubs agreed a deal in February 2007. The twins moved to Manchester in January 2008 without ever having played for the Fluminense first team.[8]

Manchester United

[edit]
Fabio playing for Manchester United in 2009

Despite signing for the club in February 2007, Fabio was unable to be registered as a Manchester United player or play in matches for the club until his 18th birthday on 9 July 2008.[9] He made his first appearance for Manchester United on 4 August 2008, coming on as a half-time substitute for Patrice Evra in a 2–0 friendly win away to Peterborough United. His performance in that game was praised, with Today claiming that "Manchester United finally found out what they were missing".[10] He has since played in eight matches for the club's reserve team, scoring five goals – including a hat-trick against Rochdale in the Lancashire Senior Cup on 16 March 2009[11] – and was named on the bench for United's second Premier League match of the season against Portsmouth on 25 August 2008.[12] However, Fabio's competitive debut for the Manchester United first team was delayed by a shoulder injury, which required surgery.[8]

Fabio finally made his debut on 24 January 2009, in the 2–1 FA Cup Fourth Round win over Tottenham Hotspur. However, he incurred an injury to his calf shortly into the second half and had to be replaced by fellow debutant Richard Eckersley.[13] Fabio made his Premier League debut on 16 August, playing at right-back at home to Birmingham City on the opening day of the 2009–10 season.[14] He made his second start of the season at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the League Cup, but was red-carded just short of the half-hour mark for a professional foul on Michael Kightly.[15]

On 21 October, Fabio was handed his UEFA Champions League debut in a 1–0 win over CSKA Moscow. He started the match but came off shortly before the end with an injury. Sir Alex Ferguson expressed his pleasure with Fabio's performance, especially with the match being played on an artificial surface.[16] On 27 October, Fabio was booked for a foul committed by his twin brother Rafael in United's 2–0 League Cup victory over Barnsley.[17] Manchester United appealed and The Football Association ("FA") agreed it was a case of mistaken identity, transferring the card to Rafael.[18] On 1 April 2010, Fabio signed a contract extension with Manchester United that would tie him to the club until at least June 2014.[19] Fabio scored his first goal for United on 26 February 2011, netting the final goal in a 4–0 away win over Wigan Athletic.[20] Just two weeks later, he scored again, netting his first FA Cup goal and first at Old Trafford, opening the scoring from close range in a 2–0 win over Arsenal.[21] On 28 May 2011, Fabio started the UEFA Champions League Final against Barcelona; United lost the match 3–1.

In April 2012, Sir Alex Ferguson announced that, in order to provide him with the first-team experience that Manchester United could not provide at the time, Fabio would go out on loan for the 2012–13 season.[22]

Queens Park Rangers (loan)

[edit]

On 2 July 2012, it was announced that Fabio had signed on loan for Queens Park Rangers for the 2012–13 season.[23] His debut came at home to Swansea City on 18 August, and finished as a 5–0 defeat, during which he received a yellow card for a foul on Nathan Dyer.[24] Fabio scored his first goal for QPR against Milton Keynes Dons in an FA Cup match they went on to lose 4–2.

Cardiff City

[edit]
Fabio playing for Cardiff City in 2015

After his return to Manchester United for the 2013–14 season, Fabio made just three appearances for the club, his final appearance coming in the shock FA Cup third round home defeat to Swansea City in January 2014. Fabio was sent on as a 76th-minute substitute for the injured Rio Ferdinand, but three-and-a-half minutes later received a straight red card for a reckless lunge on José Cañas with the scores level at 1–1. The ten men of United subsequently conceded a 90th-minute goal and were knocked out of the FA Cup at the third round stage for only the second time in 28 years.

Later that month, Manchester United manager David Moyes accepted a bid for Fabio from Cardiff City, and the transfer was completed on 29 January 2014 after Fabio passed a medical the previous weekend.[25][26] He went on to make his debut in Ole Gunnar Solskjær's first win, against Norwich City, after which he became a regular in the side.[27] However, Cardiff were relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season, meaning an instant return to the Championship.

Fabio was a regular in the starting XI at the start of the following season, although Cardiff struggled under Solskjær, who was sacked and replaced by Russell Slade in October. Fabio was in-and-out of the starting lineup under Slade following the signing of fellow left-back Scott Malone. That season, Cardiff suffered their worst finish in seven years, finishing 11th in the Championship.

During the 2015–16 season, Fabio became a fan favourite in the Welsh capital following some impressive performances. He also scored his first goal in two years, a half-volley from 25 yards against Middlesbrough.[28]

Fabio missed the opening game of the following season, after which Cardiff manager Paul Trollope announced he was in talks with Middlesbrough over a move for Fabio after Middlesbrough activated his release cause.[29]

Middlesbrough

[edit]

On 12 August 2016, Fabio joined newly promoted Premier League side Middlesbrough on a two-year contract.[30] He scored his first goal for Middlesbrough in an EFL Cup tie against Scunthorpe United on 22 August 2017.[31]

Nantes

[edit]

On 18 July 2018, Fabio joined Ligue 1 side Nantes on a three-year contract.[32]

International career

[edit]

Brazil under-17

[edit]

Fabio has played internationally for the Brazilian national under-17 team, and was captain of the Brazil team for the 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup, where he scored twice, making him the team's joint-highest scorer.[33] Despite being a defender, he scored a total of 10 goals in his 13 appearances.

Brazil senior squad

[edit]

In September 2011, after a spell of good form with Manchester United, Fabio was rewarded with a place in the Brazil senior squad for the matches against Costa Rica and Mexico on 7 and 11 October 2011 respectively.

Playing style

[edit]

Along with his brother Rafael, Fabio has been praised for his energetic style, and has been described as an "excellent footballer" by his former manager at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson.[33] Les Kershaw, the former Manchester United academy manager who spotted them, described the pair as being like "two little whippets", praising how "when they got knocked down, they just got straight back up again and got on with it. They were like bouncing balls... very, very quick".[6] The Times has called them "Brazil's answer to the Neville brothers", in reference to defenders Gary and Phil Neville.[34] Based on his attacking ability and instincts, it was suggested on the United website that Fabio, along with Rafael, could be deployed in the midfield rather than in defence.[33]

Personal life

[edit]

Fabio's twin brother Rafael is also a professional footballer. Both twins signed for Manchester United at the same time in 2008. The twins' elder brother, Luiz Henrique Pereira da Silva, used to play for América-MG in Brazil and Brescia in Italy, but moved with his wife to England when the twins signed for Manchester United. After a six-week wait for international clearance, Luiz Henrique signed for Radcliffe Borough, but he and his wife returned to Brazil in early 2009 in preparation for the birth of their child, where he returned to England few months later.

The wedding ring on Fabio's finger used to be how Sir Alex Ferguson could tell the twins apart, with Fabio already married at age 18 to 17-year-old Barbara, who relocated to England with him.[5][35][36] Despite starting their careers at Fluminense, both Fabio and Rafael are actually supporters of Fluminense's local rivals Botafogo.[36]

Career statistics

[edit]
As of 20 August 2022[37]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Europe Other[nb 2] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Manchester United 2008–09 Premier League 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
2009–10 5 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 1 0 11 0
2010–11 11 1 4 1 2 0 7 0 1 0 25 2
2011–12 5 0 0 0 3 0 7 0 0 0 15 0
2013–14 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 3 1
Total 22 1 8 1 8 1 16 0 2 0 56 3
Queens Park Rangers (loan) 2012–13 Premier League 21 0 1 1 1 0 — — 23 1
Cardiff City 2013–14 Premier League 13 0 0 0 — — — 13 0
2014–15 Championship 30 0 0 0 — — — 30 0
2015–16 22 1 1 0 2 0 — — 25 1
Total 65 1 1 0 2 0 — — 68 1
Middlesbrough 2016–17 Premier League 24 0 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 30 0
2017–18 Championship 24 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 25 2
Total 48 1 4 0 3 1 — — 55 2
Nantes 2018–19 Ligue 1 20 0 3 0 2 0 — — 25 0
2019–20 10 0 0 0 0 0 — — 10 0
2020–21 22 0 0 0 — — 0 0 22 0
2021–22 27 0 3 0 — — — 30 0
2022–23 3 0 0 0 — — 1 0 4 0
Total 82 0 6 0 2 0 — 1 0 91 0
Career total 238 3 20 2 16 2 16 0 3 0 293 7

Honours

[edit]

Manchester United

Nantes

Grêmio

Brazil U17

Notes

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  1. ^ Only includes 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup and 2007 South American Under-17 Football Championship
  2. ^ Includes FA Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Fabio". Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense. 21 February 2024. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Fábio: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 25 July 2022.
  3. ^ "Fábio". FC Nantes. Archived from the original on 25 July 2022.
  4. ^ "Blackburn 1-1 Man Utd". 14 May 2011.
  5. ^ a b Sharma, Elizabeth; Rowling, Rupert (20 April 2009). "Manchester United's Rafael and Fabio Da Silva set sights on twin goals". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
  6. ^ a b c Taylor, Daniel (15 November 2008). "Dazzling Da Silvas plan twin-pronged assault for United". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
  7. ^ staff, Telegraph (21 April 2009). "Da Silva twins snubbed Arsenal to join Manchester United". Retrieved 1 January 2020 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  8. ^ a b Stone, Simon (21 October 2008). "Rafael gives Ferguson selection dilemma". The Independent. London: Independent News and Media. Archived from the original on 25 December 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.
  9. ^ "Rafael and Fabio da Silva's mum forced them to reject Arsenal". 26 May 2011.
  10. ^ "Double trouble". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
  11. ^ Bartram, Steve (16 March 2009). "Reserves: Rochdale 1 Utd 4". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  12. ^ Hughes, Ian (25 August 2008). "Portsmouth 0–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  13. ^ Hughes, Ian (24 January 2009). "Man Utd 2–1 Tottenham". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 24 January 2009.
  14. ^ Soneji, Pranav (16 August 2009). "Man Utd 1–0 Birmingham". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  15. ^ Lyon, Sam (23 September 2009). "Man Utd 1–0 Wolverhampton". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 23 September 2009.
  16. ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (21 October 2009). "CSKA Moscow 0–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 21 October 2009.
  17. ^ Anderson, David (28 October 2009). "Referee booked wrong Da Silva twin in Manchester United's Carling Cup win over Barnsley". MirrorFootball.co.uk. Mirror Football. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  18. ^ "FA rejects Degen red card appeal". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 4 November 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  19. ^ "Fabio da Silva extends Manchester United deal to 2014". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1 April 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
  20. ^ Whyatt, Chris (26 February 2011). "Wigan 0–4 Man Utd". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  21. ^ McNulty, Phil (12 March 2011). "Man Utd 2–0 Arsenal". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 12 March 2011.
  22. ^ "Fabio to leave Man Utd on loan next season – Sir Alex Ferguson". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 15 April 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  23. ^ "Man Utd's Fabio Da Silva makes QPR loan move". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2 July 2012. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
  24. ^ "QPR 0-5 Swansea". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 18 August 2012. Retrieved 20 August 2012.
  25. ^ "Transfer window: Cardiff set to sign Zaha, Fabio and Jones". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 26 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  26. ^ "Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirms Fabio deal, but Zaha not complete". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  27. ^ "Cardiff City 2–1 Norwich City". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 1 February 2014. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  28. ^ "Middlesbrough 3–1 Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 23 February 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  29. ^ "Fabio: Cardiff City defender in talks with Premier League side Middlesbrough". BBC Sport. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  30. ^ "Boro Sign Defender Fábio Da Silva". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough FC. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2016.
  31. ^ "Middlesbrough 3-0 Scunthorpe United". BBC Sport. 22 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  32. ^ "Fabio Joins French Club Nantes". Middlesbrough. 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
  33. ^ a b c Bostock, Adam (6 August 2008). "Meet the da Silva twins". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. p. 2. Retrieved 9 December 2008.
  34. ^ Kay, Oliver (17 January 2008). "Brazilian twins set for switch to Manchester United". The Times. London: Times Newspapers. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  35. ^ "Boro sign boy from Brazil". radcliffeborough.com. Radcliffe Borough FC. 29 October 2008. Archived from the original on 15 July 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2009.
  36. ^ a b Duarte, Fernando (25 May 2011). "Fábio and Rafael: twins united in mission for the Republic of Silva". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 25 May 2011.
  37. ^ "Fabio". ESPN FC. ESPN. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  38. ^ "Fábio: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  39. ^ Fletcher, Paul (8 August 2010). "Chelsea 1–3 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  40. ^ McNulty, Phil (28 May 2011). "Barcelona 3–1 Man Utd". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  41. ^ "COUPE DE FRANCE 2021 - 2022 - FINALE". fff.fr. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
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