Fabinho explains his real name and how football coach came to give him iconic moniker
Liverpool midfielder Fabinho has explained the origin of the name that has been associated with him since his early days at Fluminense. Similar to numerous Brazilian and South American players, Fábio Henrique Tavares, commonly referred to as Fabinho, goes by a nickname.
Fabinho, who joined Liverpool in 2018 from Monaco, shared in a recent interview that the name “Fabinho” has its roots in his time when he was making his way into the senior squad at Fluminense in Brazil. Despite his move to Liverpool, the name has remained with him ever since.
Fabinho disclosed the origin behind his nickname to The Players’ Tribune as he recalled the first and only time he was selected for a first team game at Fluminense, saying: “By the way — I have Fluminense to thank for my name.
“In the Under 20s there were two Fabios. Me and Fabio Braga. So one day our coach, Marcelo Veiga, says, “Every time I call Fabio, you both look round, so from now on you are Fabinho!” And that was it. From that moment on, I became Fabinho!
“When I saw that first shirt with my name and number printed on it, I was like – woah, this is crazy. To me, it didn’t matter if I got on the pitch or not. At that moment, I was a professional footballer. No one could take it away from me.
“In the end, I stayed on the bench for the entire game, but if you watch the highlights back on YouTube, the camera pans across the bench and catches me celebrating our goal — that’s my whole Fluminense first-team career right there in that one second haha!”
Fabinho did not have the opportunity to make an appearance for his childhood club before being transferred to Portuguese club Rio Ave in 2012. He also didn’t get a chance to play for Real Madrid after a successful loan spell with their Castilla side.
However, his performances at Monaco, where he won Ligue 1 and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2017, caught the attention of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.
Since joining Liverpool, the 29-year-old Brazilian international has become a key player in the holding midfield position and has achieved success by winning every available trophy at Anfield.
Fabinho explains his real name and how football coach came to give him iconic moniker
