Fábio do Passo Faria (born 24 April 1989) is a Portuguese former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a

central defender In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

Club career

Born in Vila do Conde, Faria finished his development at his hometown club Rio Ave FC, having arrived aged 16 from

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...

. In 2007, with the side in the Segunda Liga, he was promoted to the first team, appearing in two games as they returned to the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

.Fábio Faria (Rio Ave): o craque descoberto num piquenique (Fábio Faria (Rio Ave): the star discovered at a picnic)
Mais Futebol, 8 October 2009 (in Portuguese) After almost no competitive appearances in the 2008–09 season, Faria became an undisputed starter the following campaign – 27 matches, one goal, partnering veteran Gaspar as the team retained their league status – and was also called up to the Portugal under-21s for the first time. In December 2009, his solid performances earned him a transfer to S.L. Benfica on a four-year contract for an estimated fee of €2 million, effective for

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

. Faria only featured once during his spell at the Estádio da Luz, 45 minutes in a 2–0 home win against

C.S. Marítimo Club Sport Marítimo MH M, commonly known as Marítimo ( locally ), is a Portuguese sports club founded in Funchal, Madeira, in 1910. Marítimo is best known for its football team playing in Portugal's top-flight competition, the Primeira Liga. ...

in the group stage of the

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...

where he played as a left-back. In January 2011, he was loaned to

Real Valladolid Real Valladolid Club de Fútbol, S.A.D., or simply Real Valladolid () or Valladolid, is a professional football club based in Valladolid, Castile and León, Spain that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish league system. The club colo ...

of the Spanish

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

until June. Still owned by Benfica, Faria split the 2011–12 season with

F.C. Paços de Ferreira Futebol Clube Paços de Ferreira () is a Portuguese football club based in Paços de Ferreira, Porto district. Founded in 1950, the club competes in the Primeira Liga, holding home games at the 9,077-seater Estádio da Mata Real, a municipal stadi ...

and former club Rio Ave. With the latter, after a game against

Moreirense F.C. Moreirense Futebol Clube is a Portuguese professional football club based in Moreira de Cónegos, Guimarães Municipality, in Minho. Founded on 1 November 1938, it plays in the Liga Portugal 2, holding home games at Parque de Jogos Comendador Joa ...

in the League Cup, he felt indisposed and had to be taken to hospital with a heart condition, which put his career on hold for several months; his retirement was completed in March 2013, at the age of only 23.

Personal life

Faria's father, Francisco (born 22 October 1964), was also a footballer. A

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

, he also started his career at Rio Ave, and went on to play professionally for 13 years in representation of seven teams (notably

C.F. Os Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, commonly known as Os Belenenses (), is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 25,000-seat Estádio do Rest ...

), amassing top-division totals of 199 games and 62 goals.

Honours

Benfica *

Benfica 2–0 Marítimo
Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, 2 January 2011 (in Portuguese)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Faria, Fabio 1989 births Living people Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Vila do Conde Men's association football central defenders Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Padroense F.C. players Rio Ave F.C. players S.L. Benfica footballers F.C. Paços de Ferreira players Segunda División players Real Valladolid players Portugal men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Spain Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Spain