Interesting - thanks for the info. That won't end well. You heard it here first.
Fabulous Fab
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Nah but hey Matip was one of the changes...
The problem is, he's pretty average in attack. Yeah he goes on those marauding runs in midfield but he's not a great passer or distributor. I think his best position is as a CM with a very defensive midfielder behind him.
Yeah that hasn't worked well either.
He takes too long on the ball and is a bit too lumbering though to be effective in a modern side that presses hard and moves the ball fast.
He's a player with sufficient talent to routinely appear on highlight reels (see the goal v Watford) but not, IMO, to regularly start for a real top side.
[article]“He only flies in the international breaks, he doesn’t play!”
That was the quip from Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp last month when asked about potentially having to rest Fabinho after his trips with Brazil.
Although the Reds boss remains careful as to not spark a diplomatic incident over the midfielder's continued omissions from his country's starting line-up – he has refused to be drawn on his thoughts on the issue – adding: “It’s difficult in my life not to create headlines but I don’t want to create a headline in Brazil. So no comment.”
What seems incredible to many regular watchers of Liverpool though is how can a player who over the past year has become one of the linchpins in arguably the best club side on the planet right now, hardly gets a kick while on international duty.
This evening (5pm kick-off UK time) Brazil play their fiercest rivals Argentina in the emotionally-charged 'Superclasico de las Americas' fixture at the King Saud University Stadium in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh.
Fabinho is there with his Anfield colleagues Alisson and Roberto Firmino but there's no guarantee that he will start, indeed it would be a surprise if he did.
So just what is the view of Fabinho, a player so highly-regarded on Merseyside, back in his native Brazil?
Rodrigo Calvozzo, assistant editor of Goal Brasil, told the ECHO: “Fabinho is one of an increasing number of players who left Brazil when they were very young (he was still a teenager when he moved to Europe to join Portuguese club Rio Ave) and therefore he does not have the same prestige as some of the other players in the national team with the fans.
“Like Firmino also had to do, he constantly needs to prove that he is able to be part of the group, to take his chance with very little margin for error.
“He never played for Fluminense first team but his subsequent performances for Monaco and especially Liverpool of late make him a respected player in a position that has been shown to need freshening up.”
So far this season Fabinho has played in all four of Liverpool's Champions League games to date, the Community Shield, UEFA Super Cup and 11 out of their 12 Premier League matches – only missing out at Aston Villa as Klopp kept him on the bench to avoid the possibility of picking up a suspension for Manchester City's visit to Anfield.
Has his form for the Reds had much impact back home though?
Calvozzo said: “Fabinho's progress is constantly highlighted in Brazil.
“His good performance against Manchester City (as well as scoring the opening goal, his mark of 9 was the highest among the ECHO's player ratings) has sparked debate and many journalists point to him as a player for the next World Cup.
“Also, as Liverpool are the current Champions League holders and Flamengo are in final for the Copa Libertadores (the South American equivalent), Liverpool are receiving a lot of prominence in Brazil as they could end up being the South American champions' opponent in the final of the FIFA Club World Cup.”
Since winning Copa America on home soil at the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro with a 3-1 win over Peru back on July 7 – a tournament Fabinho was left out of the squad for – Brazil have played four friendly matches.
But Fabinho has featured in just one tenth of those 360 minutes of action – with appearances off the bench in the 1-0 defeat to Peru (26 minutes) in Foxborough, Massachusetts and 10 minutes at the end of the 1-1 draw with Nigeria in Singapore.
When it is put to Calvozzo why Fabinho is not a regular, he said: “This is a question that many people ask in Brazil.
“Since Copa America, when Tite chose to include Fernandinho and not Fabinho, many fans have questioned the coach's choice.
“As this hasn't been a great time for the Brazilian national team, experts have been pointing out the lack of opportunities for new players as one of the points that needs to be corrected in the Seleção.
“The pressure forced the coach to point out that his intention is to maintain the base that has been playing against Argentina, but in the match against South Korea (in Abu Dhabi next Tuesday) his plan is to give a chance to those who could not find their way into the side in the previous games so it is likely that Fabinho will finally have a chance to play.”
Fabinho's main competitors in the defensive midfield slot come from Spain's big two clubs.
There is Casemiro, 27, of Real Madrid, who has 45 caps and Barcelona's Arthur, 23, who has been capped 18 times.
Calvozzo said: “Currently Casemiro and Arthur are considered the two main players in that area.
“As Arthur is considered to be a natural choice for the team for the years to come, the tendency is for the Real Madrid player's place to be filled by Fabinho in the future.
“Although Casemiro has a lot of respect in Brazil, the natural way is for Fabinho is to take his place if he keeps evolving as he has been doing in recent seasons.”
As for the attributes than Brazilian observers are seeing in the Reds man, Calvozzo adds: “The resilience and versatility are pointed out as the main characteristics of Fabinho.
“Even being a defensive player, he has the ability to create moves himself.
“In addition, because he has emerged in Brazil as a right-back, the chance to rely on this player in a variety of positions gives him even more chances to gain a place in the national team.
“It is no coincidence that Klopp often calls Fabinho as a 'very smart footballer'.
“As well as disarming moves from rival teams, he can also create the play and even provide assists for his team-mates.
“With excellent timing, Fabinho can offer the versatility that Tite needs in the national team.”[/article]
I reckon he eats with his hands only, but with the delicacy of a food critic
What's the context of this quote?
Alonso, who spent five seasons with the Reds during his playing days, is familiar with the Brazilian after the pair shared some time together at Real Madrid when Fabinho was a teenager. Although they only played on the same field once, during a 6-2 win over Malaga, the Spaniard has been impressed with what his former teammate has achieved.
Alonso was particularly delighted with one specific facet of Fabinho’s game and revealed it is one which can decide the outcome of a match.
(Insert above quote)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...Manchester-United-Man-City-PSG-Liverpool.html
[article]Liverpool defensive midfielder Fabinho attracted interest from some of Europe's top clubs in summer 2018, but he snubbed them in order to join Liverpool, according to The Telegraph.
In an interview, Fabinho's brother-in-law Ricardo Assis said 'Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Juventus also talked to his agent, but it was Liverpool that made all the effort to sign him.'
Liverpool paid £39million for the Brazilian, and Fabinho probably enjoyed his first season at Anfield after picking up a Champions League winners' medal.
'[Jurgen] Klopp showed him videos of the team, explained why he wanted to sign him but he also made it clear that it wouldn’t be straightforward for him to be a regular starter from the beginning,' continued Assis. 'Fabinho left the meeting determined to join Liverpool.'
Turning down the English champions, the French champions, and the Italian champions is a bold move, so whatever Klopp said to him in that meeting must have been extremely good.
The money Liverpool paid for him appears to be a bargain too, considering they have never lost a Premier League game when Fabinho has started.
Fabinho made 41 appearances for Liverpool last season across all competitions, scoring once and getting two assists. They won the Champions League but were tipped to the Premier League title by Manchester City.
So far this season, Fabinho has played 17 times, already picking up a goal and two assists, as Liverpool find themselves eight points clear at the top of the table.
Liverpool face Crystal Palace when the Premier League returns this weekend, followed by a game against Napoli as they look to defend their European crown. [/article]
[article]Liverpool defensive midfielder Fabinho attracted interest from some of Europe's top clubs in summer 2018, but he snubbed them in order to join Liverpool, according to The Telegraph.
In an interview, Fabinho's brother-in-law Ricardo Assis said 'Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, Manchester City, and Juventus also talked to his agent, but it was Liverpool that made all the effort to sign him.'
Liverpool paid £39million for the Brazilian, and Fabinho probably enjoyed his first season at Anfield after picking up a Champions League winners' medal.
'[Jurgen] Klopp showed him videos of the team, explained why he wanted to sign him but he also made it clear that it wouldn’t be straightforward for him to be a regular starter from the beginning,' continued Assis. 'Fabinho left the meeting determined to join Liverpool.'
Turning down the English champions, the French champions, and the Italian champions is a bold move, so whatever Klopp said to him in that meeting must have been extremely good.
The money Liverpool paid for him appears to be a bargain too, considering they have never lost a Premier League game when Fabinho has started.
Fabinho made 41 appearances for Liverpool last season across all competitions, scoring once and getting two assists. They won the Champions League but were tipped to the Premier League title by Manchester City.
So far this season, Fabinho has played 17 times, already picking up a goal and two assists, as Liverpool find themselves eight points clear at the top of the table.
Liverpool face Crystal Palace when the Premier League returns this weekend, followed by a game against Napoli as they look to defend their European crown. [/article]
Klopp strikes again. Did the exact same thing with Virgil when everybody and his brother wanted to sign the guy. Me likey.
Perhaps, but have we had (or have we faced) a better "destroyer" in the last 20 years?
I've not known anyone who could pull off such impossible tackles.
He did watch a different Lucas. He watched a Lucas who was an attacking midfielder.
People frequently don't take into account that Rafa changed Lucas's role from what he was used to and put him in a spot that he wasn't as trained for.
... Of course that doesn't explain why Lucas had no eye for goal. As a former attacking mid, he should have had more goals in him.
I quite liked Can too... I tend to like most defensive mids... Maybe because that's my old position... 😛
Can was a decent enough player, but he wasn't the same level as Fab.
That’s beyond awesome. There is literally no person in the world whose praise would be more meaningful for evaluating our DM/playmaker. I wanted to double-check because it sounded almost too good to be true.
I’m not quite sure though, when he talks about anticipating, does he mean defensive phase or with the ball?
Understatement of the Year right there !
I think he is talking about when Flacco doesn't have the ball. That can be either in attack or defense. When we're in attack he can position himself in a way that makes a counter attack very difficult and on the defensive side its pretty self explanatory.
I've recently taken up that position in LTW's weekly game and I've learnt a lot of what I do from Flacco. It's quite effective and doesn't always take a lot of running, but it means being switched on the whole game and closing down the space before it can be exploited by the opposition.
See @MaBigTip post. But personally I think Xabi is talking about the defensive aspect of his game. Fabinho isn't the quickest or most agile, but he uses his game intelligence just like Xabi to position himself correctly.
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It is Fabinho's nickname in the squad.
I don't think we've ever had a better ballwinner than Masher, not even Souness, and I go back to the Shankly era.
Does anyone know the meaning of Flacco? Not exactly an intuitive diminutive of Fabinho?
Is it Portuguese slang for something? Sounds a bit like flacid...
Is it Portuguese slang for something? Sounds a bit like flacid...
Does anyone know the meaning of Flacco? Not exactly an intuitive diminutive of Fabinho?
Is it Portuguese slang for something? Sounds a bit like flacid...
Flaco in Spanish means "skinny". I assume it's the same in Portuguese.
Oh my fucking Christ, don't fucking start me
He won the header for the equaliser
Perfect choice almost
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