" THE PLAYER LOVED BY CITY FANS/SPEAKS OPENLY "
Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:45 pm
29/10/2015
By Chris Wathan
Fabio is smiling. He always smiles – the beaming Brazilian grin perhaps his most distinctive feature after the mop of curly hair – but this one’s a little wider than usual.
Sat alongside his twin brother, Rafael, the pair were asked whether they would prefer to keep a clean sheet or score a goal. Unlike his brother, Fabio opted for scoring.
“I think it’s in our blood. It’s in me,” he says of his fondness of being on the front foot . “It’s what a lot of Brazilian full-backs are like. I like to go forward and enjoy the attacks. I was born with it and when you grow up, when you go to the academies, the coaches would just be about being with the ball, going forward, about attacking and scoring goals. It’s natural.”
Cardiff City football player Fabio Pereira da Silva
And it has made him a natural favourite at Cardiff . Flair players have always been the crowd-pleasers, the ones to catch the eye and imagination and the 25-year-old is no different. With his swashbuckling, adventurous play from full-back coupled with the kind of passion that has always gone down well with the Bluebirds regulars – especially when there’s been some tough times – the dynamic defender has becoming something of a cult hero . The smile appears again.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed it,” he laughs. “Some of the other lads have given me some stick and Matt Connolly is always on to me because the fans sing my name when I do something in a game. There was one match when I had a shot and it went miles away from the goal, but everyone still chanted my name. I think that was then I knew they liked me and it’s a great feeling, something every player wants. That’s why I love playing here.”
After a difficult start to life in South Wales, Cardiff has loved having Fabio. More so this season when the appreciation has stretched beyond being a bundle of overlapping energy where mistakes were forgiven but often costly.
Watching the joyful character at times last year came with frustration. On the one hand it was easy to see the kind of aspects in his game that persuaded Manchester United to beat off competition from Real Madrid and Arsenal to sign him and his brother as teenagers and led his former Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson to describe him as simply “an excellent footballer”. On the other, the lack of maturity and positional sense would heap pressure on team-mates and contributed to a season of intermittent appearances.
Yet there has been a sense Fabio has grown up this year, finding a responsibility to go with his consistency without losing any of that appeal that not only makes him popular, but a real talent at Championship level.
“When I was a junior I was a striker,” he reveals. “I’d play up front, midfield, wing, No.10, so in my mind I want to score and, like I say, it is natural with Brazilian full-backs to want to attack. It’s different here for full-backs and I’ve learned more. I think I’m more solid now. I think it’s fair to say I have changed because I have worked very hard on the pitch with the manager. He and Trolls (Paul Trollope) talk to me often, how I have to position myself and it’s helped me. I know the importance of clean sheets because it gets you results.
By Chris Wathan
Fabio is smiling. He always smiles – the beaming Brazilian grin perhaps his most distinctive feature after the mop of curly hair – but this one’s a little wider than usual.
Sat alongside his twin brother, Rafael, the pair were asked whether they would prefer to keep a clean sheet or score a goal. Unlike his brother, Fabio opted for scoring.
“I think it’s in our blood. It’s in me,” he says of his fondness of being on the front foot . “It’s what a lot of Brazilian full-backs are like. I like to go forward and enjoy the attacks. I was born with it and when you grow up, when you go to the academies, the coaches would just be about being with the ball, going forward, about attacking and scoring goals. It’s natural.”
Cardiff City football player Fabio Pereira da Silva
And it has made him a natural favourite at Cardiff . Flair players have always been the crowd-pleasers, the ones to catch the eye and imagination and the 25-year-old is no different. With his swashbuckling, adventurous play from full-back coupled with the kind of passion that has always gone down well with the Bluebirds regulars – especially when there’s been some tough times – the dynamic defender has becoming something of a cult hero . The smile appears again.
“Yeah, I’ve noticed it,” he laughs. “Some of the other lads have given me some stick and Matt Connolly is always on to me because the fans sing my name when I do something in a game. There was one match when I had a shot and it went miles away from the goal, but everyone still chanted my name. I think that was then I knew they liked me and it’s a great feeling, something every player wants. That’s why I love playing here.”
After a difficult start to life in South Wales, Cardiff has loved having Fabio. More so this season when the appreciation has stretched beyond being a bundle of overlapping energy where mistakes were forgiven but often costly.
Watching the joyful character at times last year came with frustration. On the one hand it was easy to see the kind of aspects in his game that persuaded Manchester United to beat off competition from Real Madrid and Arsenal to sign him and his brother as teenagers and led his former Old Trafford boss Sir Alex Ferguson to describe him as simply “an excellent footballer”. On the other, the lack of maturity and positional sense would heap pressure on team-mates and contributed to a season of intermittent appearances.
Yet there has been a sense Fabio has grown up this year, finding a responsibility to go with his consistency without losing any of that appeal that not only makes him popular, but a real talent at Championship level.
“When I was a junior I was a striker,” he reveals. “I’d play up front, midfield, wing, No.10, so in my mind I want to score and, like I say, it is natural with Brazilian full-backs to want to attack. It’s different here for full-backs and I’ve learned more. I think I’m more solid now. I think it’s fair to say I have changed because I have worked very hard on the pitch with the manager. He and Trolls (Paul Trollope) talk to me often, how I have to position myself and it’s helped me. I know the importance of clean sheets because it gets you results.
Re: " THE PLAYER LOVED BY CITY FANS/SPEAKS OPENLY "
Thu Oct 29, 2015 10:08 pm
Great read, thought he'd leave in the summer because I expect he's on a good wage.
Has improved defensively and attacking this season IMO after a run of games. Great to see he's happy here.
Has improved defensively and attacking this season IMO after a run of games. Great to see he's happy here.
Re: " THE PLAYER LOVED BY CITY FANS/SPEAKS OPENLY "
Fri Oct 30, 2015 1:03 am
KBK-13 wrote:Great read, thought he'd leave in the summer because I expect he's on a good wage.
Has improved defensively and attacking this season IMO after a run of games. Great to see he's happy here.
Re: " THE PLAYER LOVED BY CITY FANS/SPEAKS OPENLY "
Fri Oct 30, 2015 7:44 am
Love his attitude and he is one player that genuinely gives 100%.
Still needs to work on his defending as he gets beaten too easily in one on one situations and the opposition are staring to target him. I personally believe it is within him to improve and become a very exciting footballer.
Still needs to work on his defending as he gets beaten too easily in one on one situations and the opposition are staring to target him. I personally believe it is within him to improve and become a very exciting footballer.