Cesc Fàbregas
Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler (born 4 May 1987 in Arenys de Mar, Catalonia,
Spain [1][2])
is a Spanish footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Arsenal in the
English Premier League and for the Spanish national team. Fàbregas started his
career as a trainee with FC Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in July 2003. He
did not feature much in his first season for The Gunners, but following
injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, his playing time increased.
Before long, he established himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder and
playmaker. He went on to break several of the club's records as he began to earn
a reputation of a technically-gifted player, excellent passer of the ball and
key component of the Arsenal lineup. In international football, the Spaniard's
national career began at the youth level, representing the Under-17 side at the
2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland. As a result of his club
performances, he was called up the senior squad and played in the 2006 World
Cup. In 2006, Fàbregas committed his long-term future to Arsenal and signed an
eight-year contract. Arsenal
Fàbregas started playing his club football at FC Barcelona. During his youth
career, he was played mostly as a volante (defensive midfielder), yet he
was also a prolific scorer, sometimes scoring more than 30 goals in a season.[3]
However, he did not play a first-team game at the Camp Nou.[4]
Sensing that he would have limited opportunities at Barcelona if he stayed,[5]
he decided to join Arsenal, signing for the London club on 11 September 2003.[2]
Initially, he found life difficult in England's capital but soon struck a
friendship with team-mate Philippe Senderos, who helped him settle down.[6]
As a 16-year-old, Fàbregas did not even think about breaking into the first team
but looked up to his seniors Patrick Vieira and Gilberto Silva, while
concentrating on training and learning the English language.[6]
He made his début not long after, on October 23, 2003, in a League Cup tie at
home to Rotherham United. In doing so he became Arsenal's youngest ever
first-team player, aged 16 years and 177 days.[7]
He then became the youngest goalscorer in Arsenal's history in a later round of
the League Cup, scoring from close range in a 5–1 victory against Wolves.[8]
Although Arsenal went on to win the league unbeaten in the 2003–04 season,[9]
Fàbregas was not given a winner's medal because he did not play in a single
league game.[10]
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It was not until the start of the 2004–05 season that the Spaniard started
making first-team appearances in matches outside the League Cup. His first match
of the season was against Manchester United in the Community Shield. Following
an injury to Vieira, Fàbregas stepped in and made four consecutive Premier
League starts. He was praised for his performances in those games, even claiming
a goal against Blackburn Rovers in a 3–0 victory, and becoming Arsenal's
youngest ever goalscorer in a league game.[11][12]
With further injuries to Edu and Gilberto Silva, more playing time in all
competitions was extended to the teenager.[1][5]
In the UEFA Champions League, he became the second-youngest goalscorer in the
competition's history after scoring the third goal against Rosenborg in a 5–1
win.[13] He concluded his season by
winning his first honours with Arsenal when he was in the starting eleven that
defeated Manchester United on penalties in the 2005 FA Cup Final.[14]
After the departure of Vieira to Juventus, Fàbregas featured regularly in the
Arsenal central midfield alongside Gilberto Silva. Inheriting the number 4
jersey from Vieira, he made 49 appearances in all competitions during the
2005–06 season.[10] Despite his
young age, his performances came under greater scrutiny due to his increased
involvement in the first team. Further, as Fàbregas possessed a smaller frame
and played with less aggression than Vieira, there were initially doubts over
his ability to fill in the void left by the Frenchman.[15]
Nevertheless, Fàbregas asserted his own style of play and impressed pundits in
the Champions League against Real Madrid and Juventus.[16][17][18]
In the latter, he scored Arsenal's first goal and set up Thierry Henry for the
second,[16] at the same time
proving that he could compete against tough, hard-tackling midfielders like
Vieira.[18] He then played in the
final against his former club Barcelona, but Arsenal were defeated 2–1,[19]
completing a trophy less 2005–06 campaign for Arsenal.
Fàbregas' increase in stature drew transfer speculation during the summer;
Real Madrid expressed a desire to sign the Spaniard despite his long-term
contract with Arsenal,[20] but Arsenal
manager Arsène Wenger stated that Arsenal would not listen to any offers.[21]
In September 2006, with six years left on his deal, Arsenal offered a new
eight-year deal to the midfielder, which he signed on October 19, 2006.[22]
While the contract was unusually long, Fàbregas cited Arsenal's playing style
and Wenger as reasons for his long-term commitment to the club.[23][24]
The 2006–07 season was another learning experience for the young Arsenal
squad and Fàbregas. The club again failed to secure any major honours and was
defeated by city rivals Chelsea in the League Cup final.[25]
However, Fàbregas emerged as one of the key creative players for the team,
playing in every single league game.[10][26]
He kick-started Arsenal's UEFA Champions League 2006-07 campaign when he scored a
brace in a 3–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in a qualifier match.[27]
In the Premier League, he notched up 13 assists, which was the second-highest in
the league.[10][26]
He ended the season with several individual honours, including the Golden Boy
award, presented by the Italian paper TuttoSport, based on a poll of
leading writers across Europe.[28] He
was also named in the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year,[29]
and named FA Premier League Player of the Month for January 2007.[30]
Additionally, he was nominated for both PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA
Young Player of the Year, although both awards went to Manchester United's
Cristiano Ronaldo.[31] In June 2007,
he was named Arsenal's Player of the Season, taking in 60% of the votes.[32]
The 2007–08 season began with much uncertainty for Arsenal. First, David Dein,
the club's vice-chairman, left amidst allegations of internal strife. This was
followed by the departure of the club's all-time top goalscorer and captain,
Thierry Henry, who signed for Barcelona, as well as speculation over Wenger's
future with the club.[33] Fàbregas
knew immediately that he would become the most important player for Arsenal, but
stated he was ready for the challenge.[34]
He started the season well, chalking up goals and assists along the way,[10]
and website soccernet attributed the early success of Arsenal to the young
Spaniard.[35] His start to the season
also earned him the O2 Player of the Month award from Arsenal fans for August,
September and October,[36] as well as
the Premier League Player of the Month for September.
Spanish national team
Although he features regularly for the Spain national football team,[1][37]
Fàbregas' international career had already begun at the youth level. At the 2003
FIFA U-17 World Championship held in Finland, he finished as top scorer of the
tournament despite playing in midfield, and was voted Player of the Tournament.[4]
Spain finished runners-up in the tournament to Brazil.[38]
After emerging as one of Arsenal's key players in only his second season at
the club, it did not take long for Fàbregas to be called up to the senior squad.
Noting his impressive performances in Arsenal's 2006 Champions League campaign,
Spain coach Luis Aragones named the teenager in the team for a friendly against
the Ivory Coast.[39] In that
game, Fàbregas became the youngest player capped for Spain in 70 years.[1]
He received good reviews for his début, and was involved in the build-up to
Spain's first goal in the 3–2 victory over the Ivorians.[1][40]
On May 15, 2006, Fàbregas was selected for the Spanish 2006 World Cup squad.
During the tournament, he came on as a second-half substitute in Spain's first
two group matches, contributing an assist in their 3–1 victory against Tunisia.[41]
He then started alongside Spain's reserve players (including then-Arsenal
teammate José Antonio Reyes) in Spain's third group match against Saudi Arabia.[42]
He earned a starting role in Spain's first knockout-stage match against France,
in place of Marcos Senna, but Spain lost 3–1.[43]
Fàbregas also became the youngest player in Spanish football history to
participate in a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Luis García after
77 minutes in the 4–0 victory against Ukraine on 13 June 2006; he was then 19
years and 41 days old.[44] He was
later nominated for the Gillette Young Player of the World Cup, but Germany's
Lukas Podolski won the award.[45]
Style of play
Originally brought to Arsenal as a youth to slowly develop via the League
Cup, Fàbregas was unexpectedly deployed as Arsenal's starting central midfielder
following injuries to fellow midfielders Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva and Edu
during the 2004–05 season. Fàbregas functions mostly as a playmaker and his main
asset is his passing range. As one of the most coveted young talents in the game
today, he has been described as being a vital part of Arsenal's first team,
bringing vision, creativity and selflessness to Arsenal's intricate passing
game, and displaying maturity that belies his age.[1][2][4][5][32][34][46][47]
In set pieces, he is one of the first-choice corner kick and free kick takers in
the team.
Fàbregas has stated in interviews that while Vieira served as his role model
and mentor,[48] he styles his game
after his childhood hero and compatriot Josep Guardiola.[6]
In that sense he is of a different mould from his Arsenal predecessors who play
in the same position, preferring skill over strength.[6][15]
Initially, this led to criticisms of his lightweight frame and less aggressive
style of play,[15][18]
with even former teammate Ashley Cole criticising the Spaniard as "an unproven
featherweight" in his autobiography.[49]
However, Fàbregas' statistics have improved over the seasons, and he has
adopted a more aggressive style of play. His importance to the team as the main
creative force is also reflected in his contributing 15 assists in all
competitions in the 2006–07 season.[10]
By his own admission, scoring was a weaker part of his game in his first few
seasons at Arsenal; wasteful finishing also being symptomatic of the larger
problem surrounding Arsenal in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons.[46]
This changed in the 2007–08 season when he scored 11 goals in 16 games, although
Arsenal manager Wenger claimed that the Spaniard's previous inability to score
was down to a mental state, and even compared the Spaniard to Michel Platini, a
French midfielder renowned for scoring.[50][51]
Given his young age, concerns have also been raised over the large number of
games Fàbregas has played for club and country in the last few seasons, as
burnout may become an issue if he is not adequately rested,[39][52]
but to date the midfielder has yet to sustain any major injuries.
Career honours
Arsenal
- Winner
- FA Cup: 2005
- FA Community Shield: 2004
- Runner-up
- UEFA Champions League: 2005–06
- League Cup: 2006–07
- FA Community Shield: 2005
Spain
- Runner-up
- 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship
Personal
- UEFA Team of the Year: 2006
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