Entries Tagged 'Ney Fabiano' ↓

Ney Fabiano has been hit with a 9-match ban after supposedly spitting at Robert Cornthwaite on the weekend.

Guess it’s back to the Archie and Danny show.

The three-striker lineup was nice while it lasted though.

Ney Fabiano spent the early part of his career playing in the lower rungs of Brazilian club football, before moving to Austria for a spell. In 2007, he signed with Thailand Tobacco Monopoly FC and went on to become the Thai Premier League’s top scorer, despite his team’s 6th-placed finish. Chonburi FC snatched him up prior to the start of the current Thai season.

And now the Melbourne Victory has him on a two-year deal.

Fabiano’s arrival spells the end for fellow Brazilian Leandro Love, whose one-year loan will not be extended. Fabiano’s signing also shows that the club has learned lessons from last year’s poor recruitment strategy.

Leandro Love was the best example of Melbourne’s ill-conceived recruitment last year. Signed on the basis of a DVD, he came to Melbourne touted as a “back-up striker”. For most of the season, he wasn’t even that.

The club seems to have learned its lesson. It brought in Stefan Moore for a trial; Ernie Merrick flew to Costa Rica on a scouting mission; and it signed Ney Fabiano after witnessing the Brazilian’s talents first-hand.

With Fabiano, there’s no talk of him being a “back-up striker”. Fabiano is here to compete for a spot in the starting lineup, alongside, or in place of, Archie Thompson and Danny Allsopp. While our midfielders and defenders have had to fight for selection, Allsopp and Thompson have had little competition over the past three seasons. Fabiano changes that.

Here we have an attacker that can score goals and line them up for others. Here we have a player who was the driving force behind Chonburi FC’s 3-1 defeat of Melbourne during the Asian Champions League. Yes, Stephane Baga scored the winning goals; but Fabiano was there creating trouble for our defence for 90 minutes.

One worrying comment regarding Fabiano came from Thai football fan Druryfire, whose blog about Thai football is the best English source of information I’ve found on the Thai Premier League. According to Druryfire, Fabiano’s form in the Thai Premier League never really took off this year, despite his impressive performances in the ACL. It seems the expectations placed on him after finishing as top scorer in 2007 may have undermined Fabiano’s performances.

I just hope pressure won’t be a problem for Fabiano as he joins a new club in a new league. He is a promising talent, and one that fills a hole in the Victory squad. Here’s hoping he adds potency to Melbourne’s final third.

More on Ney Fabiano:

• Profile on Melbourne Victory website
• Some Fabiano videos on YouTube

Ney Fabiano, Chonburi FC’s Brazilian striker, is playing his last game for the the Thai champions tonight. According to the Bangkok Post, Fabiano is moving to Australia.

It was Stephane Baga that made the biggest impression when Melbourne Victory played Chonburi in March, but Fabiano set Chonburi on their way with his first half goal. He’s an instrumental cog in Chonburi’s front third, and if the news is true, the Thai team will miss him.

The obvious question, though, is where in Australia he may be heading. Victory seem to be the most likely contenders, since they have dealt first-hand with the striker. With Archie Thompson injured, Nathan Elasi untested, and Leandro Love left by the wayside, Fabiano may find himself with alongside Danny Allsopp in no time. Perhaps even against Chonburi in two weeks?

Of course, the interest for Fabiano could be coming from anywhere. But I, for one, won’t mind if it’s Melbourne showing him the transfer papers.

Meanwhile, rumours on the MVFC forum are that Scott Chipperfield is in negotiations with the Victory.