Raúl Iván Fabiani Bosio (born 23 February 1984) is a former professional footballer who played as a

centre forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on be ...

. Fabiani spent most of his extensive career in Spain, representing Alcoyano in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

. He also played professionally in India and Hong Kong. Born and raised in Spain to an Italian father and an Equatorial Guinean mother, Fabiani capped for the Equatorial Guinea national team.

Early life

Fabiani was born in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

to an Italian father and an Equatorial Guinean mother related to Edmundo Bossio Dioko, a politician executed during the regime of Francisco Macías Nguema.

Club career

Fabiani spent most of his senior career in the lower levels of Spanish football, mainly competing in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

. He made his

debut in the 2011–12 season at the age of already 27, with CD Alcoyano, after having scored 12

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: second division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish ...

goals the previous campaign to help the team return to the second level after an absence of 42 years; his first game in the second level of Spanish football occurred on 22 October 2011 as he came on as a late substitute in a 1–4 home loss against FC Barcelona B, and he netted his first and second goals in the competition on 27 May of the following year to contribute decisively to a 4–0 home win over Elche CF, but his team had already sealed their relegation. Fabiani also represented Villarreal CF B, Moralo CP, CP Cacereño, UD Lanzarote, CD Teruel, Villajoyosa CF and Huracán Valencia CF. On 5 August 2013 the 29-year-old moved teams and countries, signing with Pune F.C. in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. On 21 September 2013, Fabiani made his debut in the

I-League The I-League is the men's second professional football division of the Indian football league system behind the Indian Super League. Administered by the All India Football Federation, it is currently contested by 13 clubs. It operates as a s ...

, which was an eventful affair as he scored two goals, provided one assist and was also sent off after 77 minutes of play for a second bookable offence. He later sustained an injury while playing against Mohun Bagan AC which ruled him out for four months, so on 26 October he was released and replaced by Riga Mustapha, returning to former club Huracán. In the following years, safe for a very brief spell in the

Hong Kong First Division League The Hong Kong First Division League () is the second-highest division in the Hong Kong football league system. Established in 1908, it is the List of oldest football competitions, third oldest in Asia, after Calcutta and Bombay. Moreover, it is ...

, Fabiani continued to compete in Spanish lower league and amateur football. On 19 June 2019, he signed with CD Soneja of the Valencian regional leagues.

International career

Fabiani received his first call for

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

, on 29 January 2011, but he did not play in the

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

with Congo on 9 February. The following month he was called for another exhibition game, this time against

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

, but again he stayed on the verge of his international debut. These factors led to discomfort at Alcoyano because the club had lost him for four league matches (two for each international match), which led to the organization asking the player to reject international calls for the remainder of the season; thus, he rejected to appear for the pre-Olympic national team in two qualifying matches against

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

in April 2011. Subsequently, Fabiani ceased to be called until Henri Michel, who at the same time gave little importance to the Spanish-born players, resigned from his position as national team coach. After the departure of the Frenchman and before the Brazilian's Gílson Paulo arrival at Malabo as his replacement, the player was included in the preliminary list for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations. Fabiani did not play in the goalless friendly match with

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

on 6 January 2012, appearing shortly after in a non-

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

recognized match against

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

ian club Coton Sport FC de Garoua. He was confirmed in the roster of 23 players for the CAN tournament, played on home soil, only being fielded by the eventual quarter-finalists in the last group stage game, a 0–1 loss to

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

*
Stats at FútbolEsta
(in Spanish) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fabiani, Raul 1984 births Living people Equatoguinean people of Italian descent Sportspeople of Italian descent People of Sicilian descent People of Bubi descent Spanish sportspeople of Equatoguinean descent Spanish people of Italian descent Spanish people of Bubi descent Equatoguinean men's footballers Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Valencia Men's association football forwards Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Divisiones Regionales de Fútbol players Villarreal CF B players CP Cacereño players CD Teruel footballers Villajoyosa CF footballers CD Alcoyano footballers Huracán Valencia CF players CD Olímpic de Xàtiva footballers Marbella FC players CD Castellón footballers CE L'Hospitalet players I-League players Pune FC players Hong Kong First Division League players Hong Kong Sapling players Equatorial Guinea men's international footballers International sportspeople born abroad 2012 Africa Cup of Nations players 2015 Africa Cup of Nations players Equatoguinean expatriate men's footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in India Expatriate men's footballers in Hong Kong Equatoguinean expatriate sportspeople in India Equatoguinean expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Spanish expatriate sportspeople in India Spanish expatriate sportspeople in Hong Kong Águilas FC players 20th-century Spanish people 21st-century Equatoguinean sportsmen 21st-century Spanish sportsmen