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Source: Wikipedia
KICK OFF :
Despite his immense talent, Luis Fabiano has always remained somewhat of an anomaly. He’s one of the few Brazilians to have moved to Europe, seemed to have settled down and then not moved onto greatness. Bald statistics do not quite paint the whole picture and his bad boy image in the media is one which has a lot of truth in it.
HIS-STORY :
Luis Fabiano started his football career in his neighborhood club of Ponte Preta at the tender age of 16. He rose through the ranks of the club and was promoted to the senior team. Despite a return of 3 goals in the 3 years spent there, he managed to impress the FC Rennes scouts enough to earn a move abroad. Rennes spent 6.16 million pounds at the time. Fabiano endured a tough time in Europe, making just 7 appearances in his first year there. He was then loaned to Brazilian club, Sao Paulo. Here, he made a real impact scoring 9 goals in just 22 appearances in the 6 months he spent there. After a second disappointing stint in France, he returned to Sao Paulo, this time for good. It was at this time that Fabiano really announced himself to the world. His 52 goals in his two years at Sao Paulo earned him a call up to the national side. His stellar performances for Sao Paulo earned him another move to Europe, this time to Portuguese giants, Porto. An underwhelming season saw him score just 3 goals in 22 matches. Another move ensued. This time to Sevilla. Here, he was part of a Sevilla side that became one of the only two sides to defend the UEFA Cup. He forged an excellent partnership with Freddie Kanoute. Over half a decade spent in Andalucia, he scored 72 goals. He moved back to Sao Paulo in 2011 after spending a fond time in Seville. Since his move, Fabiano has had an up and down time of it. The year 2012 was plagued with injuries. He has also gone on to become the seventh highest scorer for Sao Paulo.
Fabiano was called up the Selecao for the first time in 2003 owing to the form he showed for club side Sao Paulo. He was an integral part of the 2004 Copa America winning Brazilian side, in which he started all five games. Poor form for club sides saw him on the sidelines for the national side. He was part of the 2010 World Cup squad where Brazil was eliminated in the quarter finals.
SCORECARD :
Fabiano won the UEFA Cup with Sevilla in 2006 and 2007. He was also a Copa del Rey winner in 2007 and 2010. At an international level, he won the 2009 Confederations Cup Golden Boot.
EXTRA TIME :
The 2007-08 season was Fabiano’s most prolific. He netted 24 times in 30 league appearances and another 8 times in 10 European appearances. This season helped elevate his goal scoring average for his stint to almost a goal every another game. During his time in Sevilla, he was pursued by AC Milan. Despite an offer coming in for him in 2009, Fabiano never ended up making the switch.
OFFSIDE :
Owing to physical manner of play, Fabiano has garnered a reputation as a bit of bad boy in the media. He has a record of indiscipline almost as prolific as his goal scoring. He once kicked a player below the neck after sneaking up on him from behind. He got sent off once in 2007 for elbowing Barcelona’s Sergio Busquets. His poor discipline has seen him miss many important games for both club and country.
TIE BREAKER :
Diego Costa’s ‘transfer’ to Spain is a blessing in disguise for Luis Fabiano. Without a star name, Brazil’s choices for the central striker position in their 4-2-3-1 formation are, surprisingly, quite sparse. That Fabiano still figures in national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari’s plans for the World Cup,despite a 2012 riddled with injuries and a fairly indifferent 2013, were demonstrated when the coach picked him for the friendly against England in February of this year. The ball may no longer be in Fabiano’s court but he must make the best of the rest of the club season if he is to play in front of his home crowd in the summer of next year.