Fabinho (footballer, born 1993)

Fábio Henrique Tavares (born 23 October 1993), known as Fabinho (Brazilian Portuguese: [faˈbĩɲu]), is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays for Premier League club Liverpool and the Brazil national team. A versatile player who mainly plays as a defensive midfielder, Fabinho can also be deployed as a right-back[4] or centre-back.[5]

Fabinho

Fabinho playing for Liverpool in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup
Personal information
Full name	Fábio Henrique Tavares[1]
Date of birth	23 October 1993[2]
Place of birth	Campinas, Brazil
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[3]
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder / defender
Club information
Current team	Liverpool
Number	3
Youth career
0000–2012	Fluminense
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2012	Fluminense	0	(0)
2012–2015	Rio Ave	0	(0)
2012–2013	→ Real Madrid Castilla (loan)	30	(2)
2013	→ Real Madrid (loan)	1	(0)
2013–2015	→ Monaco (loan)	62	(1)
2015–2018	Monaco	105	(22)
2018–	Liverpool	71	(3)
National team^‡
2015–	Brazil	12	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:48, 4 January 2021 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15:00, 14 October 2019 (UTC)

After starting off at Fluminense, he transferred to Rio Ave in 2012. He spent his entire time there out on loan, first at Real Madrid Castilla, and made one substitute appearance for the first team. He spent five years at Monaco, playing 233 total games and scoring 31 goals, and won Ligue 1 in 2016–17. In his debut season at Liverpool he won the UEFA Champions League. He won the UEFA Super Cup in 2019 and also played a key role in guiding Liverpool to the Premier League title in 2020, the club’s first league title in 30 years.

Fabinho made his international debut for Brazil in 2015, and was part of their squads at the Copa América in 2015 and 2016.

Club career

Fluminense

Born in Campinas, São Paulo, Fabinho began his career at Fluminense. He was called into a first team matchday squad for the only time on 20 May 2012, as he was an unused substitute in a 1–0 win over Corinthians for the season's Série A.[6]

Rio Ave and Real Madrid

On 8 June 2012, Fabinho joined Portuguese Primeira Liga side Rio Ave on a six-year deal.[7] After one month at Rio Ave, Fabinho joined Real Madrid Castilla on a season-long loan deal on 19 July.[8] He made his professional debut on 17 August, as the Spanish Segunda División season began, playing 90 minutes in the 2–1 defeat at Villarreal.[9] On 28 April 2013, he scored his first goal, heading an added-time equaliser for a 3–3 draw at CD Numancia.[10]

He made his debut for Real Madrid on 8 May 2013, playing 14 minutes in place of Fábio Coentrão and assisting the sixth goal by Ángel Di María in the 6–2 La Liga victory over Málaga at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.[11]

AS Monaco

Fabinho playing for Monaco in 2014

On 19 July 2013, Fabinho joined Monaco on a season-long loan deal.[12] He made his debut on 10 August at the Stade Chaban-Delmas in Monaco's opening Ligue 1 match of the 2013–14 season, playing the entire match against Bordeaux, with Monaco winning 2–0.[13] He scored his first goal for Monaco in the 58th minute in their 6–0 home win over Lens in the quarter-finals of the 2013–14 Coupe de France on 26 March 2014.[14]

After completing his one-year loan at Monaco, he rejoined the club on loan for another year on 2 July 2014. On 9 December 2014, he scored the last goal in the Group C Matchday 6 2–0 home win over Zenit St Petersburg (his first UEFA Champions League or UEFA Europa League goal), to enable Monaco to qualify for 2014–15 UEFA Champions League knockout phase as group winners.[15]

On 19 May 2015, after two seasons on loan at Monaco, Monaco and Rio Ave agreed on the permanent transfer of Fabinho; he signed a contract with Monaco for the next four seasons and would be tied to the club until 30 June 2019.[16]

On 20 March 2016, Fabinho won a penalty when fouled by compatriot David Luiz, and converted it for a 2–0 win that was Paris Saint-Germain's first home defeat since May 2014.[17]

On 21 February 2017, Fabinho provided one assist each to Radamel Falcao and Kylian Mbappé in a 5–3 away defeat against Manchester City in the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League round of 16 first-leg match.[18] On 15 March, Fabinho made the score 2–0 for Monaco in the 29th minute by driving home Benjamin Mendy's low cross to help Monaco beat Manchester City 3–1 (aggregate score 6–6) in the second-leg match at the Stade Louis II and advance to the quarter-finals on the away goals rule.[19]

Liverpool

On 28 May 2018, Premier League club Liverpool announced that Fabinho would sign for the club on a long-term contract for a reported initial fee of £39 million, effective 1 July.[20][21]

2018–19

His competitive debut for the club came as an injury-time substitute for Sadio Mané in a Champions League group match against Paris Saint-Germain on 18 September, a 3–2 win at Anfield.[22][23] He made his league debut in a 1–0 win at Huddersfield Town on 20 October, coming on for the last 21 minutes in place of Adam Lallana.[24] A week later he was granted a first league start in a 4–1 home victory against Cardiff City in central midfield alongside Georginio Wijnaldum, and received praise from Sky Sports.[25][26] On 17 December, Fabinho was named Carlsberg Man of the Match after his performance against Manchester United in a 3–1 victory.[27] On 26 December 2018, Fabinho scored his first goal for Liverpool in a 4–0 win against Newcastle United.[28]

In early January 2019, Fabinho played at centre-back against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup third round and away against Brighton.[29] Following his performances, manager Jurgen Klopp praised him and stated that he is a "new centre-back option".[30]

On 4 May 2019, with Liverpool's title race going down to the wire, Fabinho won his side a free-kick from which Liverpool scored to beat Newcastle 3–2 away from home.[31][32] On 1 June, Fabinho started in the 2019 UEFA Champions League final against Tottenham Hotspur, playing the full 90 minutes as the club secured their sixth win in the competition and Fabinho earning his first trophy with the club.[33]

2019–20

On 14 August, Fabinho played the full 90 minutes in the 2019 UEFA Super Cup against Chelsea, scoring Liverpool's second penalty in the shootout after regular time ended 2–2, in an eventual 5–4 win on penalties.[34]

On 27 October, he earned praise from the fans for his performance in a 2–1 win against Tottenham.[35][36] Fabinho's first goal of the season came against Manchester City on 10 November, scoring an early goal in an eventual 3–1 win and was voted by BBC Sport as "Man of the Match".[37]

On 27 November, during a crucial Champions League match against Napoli, he suffered an early injury after falling awkwardly during a challenge and was substituted after 18 minutes.[38] Two days later, the club announced that the injury will keep Fabinho out of action until the start of 2020.[39]

International career

Included in coach Dunga's 23-man squad for the 2015 Copa América in Chile, Fabinho made his debut in a warm-up match against Mexico on 7 June of that year, as a half-time substitute for Danilo in a 2–0 victory at Allianz Parque in São Paulo.[40] With Dani Alves playing the entire tournament at right-back, Fabinho did not play at the Copa América, in which Brazil reached the quarter-finals. Fabinho was selected for Brazil's Copa América Centenario squad,[41] although he did not play in any of Brazil's three matches at the tournament.

Personal life

Fabinho married Rebeca Tavares in 2015, having been together since 2013.[42] At Liverpool, he earned himself the nickname, "The Hoover," because according to Joe Gomez, "he cleans up everything."[43]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 8 January 2021

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National Cup[lower-alpha 1]		League Cup[lower-alpha 2]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Fluminense	2012[44]	Série A	0	0	—		—		0	0	0	0	0	0
Real Madrid Castilla (loan)	2012–13[44]	Segunda División	30	2	—		—		—		—		30	2
Real Madrid (loan)	2012–13[44]	La Liga	1	0	0	0	—		0	0	0	0	1	0
Monaco (loan)	2013–14[44]	Ligue 1	26	0	4	1	1	0	—		—		31	1
	2014–15[44]	Ligue 1	36	1	4	0	3	0	10[lower-alpha 3]	1	—		53	2
Monaco	2015–16[44]	Ligue 1	34	6	3	2	1	0	9[lower-alpha 4]	0	—		47	8
	2016–17[44]	Ligue 1	37	9	4	0	1	0	14[lower-alpha 3]	3	—		56	12
	2017–18[44]	Ligue 1	34	7	2	1	4	0	5[lower-alpha 3]	0	1[lower-alpha 5]	0	46	8
	Total		167	23	17	4	10	0	38	4	1	0	233	31
Liverpool	2018–19[45]	Premier League	28	1	1	0	1	0	11[lower-alpha 3]	0	—		41	1
	2019–20[46]	Premier League	28	2	2	0	0	0	7[lower-alpha 3]	0	2[lower-alpha 6]	0	39	2
	2020–21[47]	Premier League	15	0	1	0	1	0	5[lower-alpha 3]	0	1[lower-alpha 7]	0	23	0
	Total		71	3	4	0	2	0	23	0	3	0	103	3
Career total			268	28	21	4	12	0	61	4	4	0	365	36

1. Includes Coupe de France, FA Cup
2. Includes Coupe de la Ligue, EFL Cup
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, five in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance in Trophée des Champions
6. One appearance in FA Community Shield, one in UEFA Super Cup
7. Appearance in FA Community Shield

International

As of match played 19 November 2019[48]

Appearances and goals by national team and year

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Brazil	2015	3	0
	2016	1	0
	2018	3	0
	2019	5	0
Total		12	0

Honours

Monaco

• Ligue 1: 2016–17[44]

Liverpool

• Premier League: 2019–20[49]
• UEFA Champions League: 2018–19[50]
• UEFA Super Cup: 2019[51]

References

1. "2018/19 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 3 September 2018. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
2. "Fabinho: Overview". ESPN. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
3. "Fabinho: Profile". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 20 August 2020.
4. Shaw, Chris (30 January 2019). "Fabinho on Liverpool's right-back options v Leicester". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 30 January 2019.
5. Shaw, Chris (21 September 2020). "James Milner on Ajax victory, Fabinho at centre-back and more". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
6. "Corinthians vs. Fluminense – 20 May 2012". Soccerway. Perform Group.
7. Season 2012/2013: Fabinho Archived 11 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine
8. "Real Madrid sign Brazilian youngster Fabinho on loan - report". Goal.com. Perform Group.
9. "Villarreal 2 Real Madrid Castilla 1". Diario AS (in Spanish). Madrid. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
10. Jiménez, Rubén (28 April 2015). "Empate a balón parado en Soria" [Set-piece draw in Soria]. Marca (in Spanish). Madrid. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
11. Harrison, Simon (8 May 2013). "Real Madrid 6–2 Malaga: Ronaldo reaches 200 goals in romp". Goal.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
12. "Fabinho new ASM FC recruit". AS Monaco FC. Archived from the original on 19 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
13. "Falcao seals win for Monaco". Sky Sports. 10 August 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
14. Bairner, Robin (26 March 2014). "Monaco 6–0 Lens: Les Rouge et Blanc storm into Coupe de France semi-finals". Goal.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
15. "Monaco stroll into Champions League last 16 against Zenit St Petersburg". The Guardian. London. Reuters. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
16. "Fabinho commits to the club until 2019". AS Monaco FC. 19 May 2015. Retrieved 3 June 2015.
17. "Paris Saint Germain 0–2 Monaco". BBC Sport. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2016.
18. "Monaco go down to City in eight-goal thriller". Ligue 1. 21 February 2017.
19. "Monaco 3 Manchester City 1 (agg 6–6): Pep Guardiola's side crash out on away goals as attacking approach backfires". The Daily Telegraph. London. 15 March 2017.
20. "Fabinho: Liverpool agree £39m deal for Monaco midfielder". BBC Sport. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
21. Carroll, James (28 May 2018). "Reds agree deal to sign Fabinho". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
22. Taylor, Daniel (18 September 2018). "Liverpool's Roberto Firmino leaves it late to sink PSG in five-goal thriller". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
23. "Liverpool 3–2 Paris Saint Germain". BBC Sport. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
24. Hawkins, Billy (21 October 2018). "Liverpool midfielder Fabinho finally makes Premier League debut, and fans praise player once branded 'flop' and 'fraud'". Talksport. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
25. Wright, Nick (27 October 2018). "Mohamed Salah and Fabinho impress as Liverpool beat Cardiff". Sky Sports. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
26. Cole, Jackson (27 October 2018). "Liverpool v Cardiff City confirmed teams: Fabinho makes first Premier League start, Salah, Mane and Firmino also in starting XI". Talksport. Retrieved 4 November 2018.
27. "Liverpool news: Fabinho was 'outstanding', says Klopp". FOX Sports Asia. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
28. "Liverpool 4–0 Newcastle: Reds six points clear at the top". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
29. DavidMunday815 (12 January 2019). "Fabinho at centre-back for Liverpool in Brighton clash". Fantasy Football Scout. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
30. "Klopp 'pretty clear' Fabinho is centre-back option for Liverpool". Evening Standard. London. 13 January 2019. Retrieved 15 January 2019.
31. Edwards, Luke. "'This club has to do it the hard way': Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool reap the rewards of fighting dirty at Newcastle". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 7 May 2019. It would certainly help with a clear conscience, except Fabinho’s dive was so bad, so blatant, and so obviously premeditated that it cannot be so conveniently dismissed.
32. Caulkin, George. "Jürgen Klopp: if Liverpool fail, lots of people will love it". The Times. Retrieved 7 May 2019. Divock Origi headed in a winner in the 86th minute after an arcing dive by Fabinho, but dramas like that, big and small, peppered a compelling match.
33. "Liverpool beat Spurs 2-0 to win Champions League final in Madrid". BBC Sport. 1 June 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
34. "Liverpool-Chelsea | UEFA Super Cup". UEFA. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
35. "Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham: Player Ratings". This Is Anfield. 27 October 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
36. Smyth, Rob (27 October 2019). "Liverpool 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur: Premier League - as it happened". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
37. "Liverpool 3-1 Man City: Reds go nine clear of champions with fine win". BBC Sport. 10 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
38. "Liverpool 1-1 Napoli: Defending champions must wait on last-16 qualification". BBC Sport. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
39. "Fabinho injury details confirmed". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 1 December 2019.
40. "Brazil 2–0 Mexico: Coutinho and Tardelli seal friendly victory". Goal.com. Perform Group. 7 June 2015. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
41. "Neymar left out of Copa América squad as Brazil focus on Olympics". The Guardian. Associated Press. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
42. McCoid, Sophie (29 May 2018). "Who is Rebeca Tavares? Meet the glam wife of Liverpool's new signing Fabinho". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
43. Joe Gomez reveals Fabinho's comical nickname | FIFA vs Joe Gomez, retrieved 7 February 2020 – via YouTube
44. "Fabinho: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 2 July 2018.
45. "Games played by Fabinho in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
46. "Games played by Fabinho in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
47. "Games played by Fabinho in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
48. "Fabinho". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
49. "Fabinho: Overview". Premier League. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
50. McNulty, Phil (1 June 2019). "Tottenham Hotspur 0–2 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
51. Rose, Gary (14 August 2019). "Liverpool 2–2 Chelsea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 15 August 2019.

External links

• Profile at the Liverpool F.C. website