Fabio Aurelio

A professional football player from Brazil, Fabio Aurelio Rodrigues plays as a defender in the left-back position although he’s also been known to play up front as a left-winger. Born to Italian parents, Fabio began his playing career at the youth academy at Sao Paulo. He made his debut for the Sao Paulo first team in 1997.

He took his time but by his second season, had made a mark on the team. By 1999, Fabio had made it into the Brazilian Under-23 squad and was part of the team that went to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Fabio only played 13 games for the national Under-23 team, while his Sao Paulo stint saw him play about 79 games in all competition, with four goals to his name. He also helped the side win the 1998 and 2000 Campeonato Paulista titles.

In 2000, Fabio moved to Valencia and after a slow introduction to Spanish football, got stuck in into the line-up. He picked up an injury in 2003-04 and only played twice for the entire season, but for the remainder of the time he was at the Spanish club, Fabio played over 113 games and scored 13 times. He was part of the 2001-02 and 2003-04 Spanish league winning team as well as the 2004 UEFA Cup winning side.

After 6 seasons at Valencia, Fabio followed, his Valencia coach, Rafael Benitez to Liverpool. Although Fabio had to share playing time with other members of the squad, he was part of the team that reached the finals of the 2007 UEFA Champions League, losing to AC Milan. He played 132 games for Liverpool, scoring four goals and even winning the 2006 FA Community Shield title.

After Liverpool, Fabio decided to come back home to Brazil, signing with Gremio. However, since returning to Brazil, Fabio’s career has been plagued by injuries, and he hasn’t been able to make his debut for the Gremio first team, one of the main reasons why his contract wasn’t renewed at Liverpool.