| Full name | Fábio Pereira da Silva | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 9 July 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Petrópolis, RJ, Brazil | ||
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)[1][2] | ||
| Playing position | Left back Left winger | ||
Fábio Pereira da Silva (born 9 July 1990), commonly known as Fábio or Fábio da Silva, is a Brazilian footballer who plays as a left back for Manchester United of the Premier League. He and his twin brother, Rafael, signed for Manchester United from Fluminense in February 2007, but were unable to take part in matches until they turned 18 in July 2008
Early life
Fábio was born in Petrópolis, "The City of Peter", approximately one hour's drive away from Rio de Janeiro in Rio de Janeiro state, and began playing football from the age of 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 center at Xerém when they were just 11 years old.[4]Club career
Early years with Fluminense
Fábio 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 of Rio de Janeiro.[5] With Fluminense, Fábio took part in the 2005 Nike Premier Cup in Tokyo, 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 Alex Ferguson and recommended that the club sign the Da Silva twins.[5] 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.[6] 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.[7]Manchester United
Despite signing for the club in February 2007, Fábio 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.[8] 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".[9] 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[10] – and was named on the bench for United's second league game of the season against Portsmouth on 25 August 2008.[11] However, Fábio's competitive debut for the Manchester United first team was delayed by a shoulder injury, which required surgery.[7]Fábio finally made his debut on 24 January 2009, in the 2–1 FA Cup Fourth Round win over Tottenham Hotspur. However, he picked up an injury to his calf shortly into the second half and had to be replaced by fellow debutant Richard Eckersley.[12] Fábio made his Premier League debut for Manchester United on 16 August, playing at right-back at home to Birmingham City on the opening day of the 2009–10 season.[13] He made his second start of the season at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the third round of the League Cup, but he was red-carded just short of the half-hour mark for a professional foul on Michael Kightly.[14]
On 21 October, Fábio was handed his Champions League debut in a 1–0 win over CSKA Moscow; he started the game but came off shortly before the end with an injury. Sir Alex Ferguson expressed his pleasure with Fábio's performance, especially with the game being played on an artificial surface.[15] On 27 October, Fábio was booked for a foul committed by his twin brother Rafael in United's 2-0 League Cup victory over Barnsley. Manchester United appealed and The FA agreed it was a case of mistaken identity, transferring the card to Rafael.[16] On 1 April 2010, Fábio signed a contract extension with Manchester United that will tie him to the club until at least June 2014.[17] Fábio scored his first goal for United on 26 February 2011, netting with his first touch in a 4–0 away win over Wigan Ahtletic.[18]
International career
Fábio has played internationally for the Brazilian 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.[19] He has been approached by Portugal national coach Carlos Queiroz and asked to play for Portugal's senior side, as both he and his twin hold Portuguese citizenship.[20]Playing style
Along with his brother, Rafael, Fábio has been praised for his energetic style, and has been described as an "excellent footballer" by Sir Alex Ferguson.[19] 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".[5] The Times has called them "Brazil's answer to the Neville brothers".[21] Based on his attacking ability and instincts, it was suggested on the United website that Fábio, along with Rafael, could be deployed in the midfield rather than in defenceHonours
Club
- Manchester United
- FA Community Shield (1): 2010
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