Rafael and Fabio:The Full Back's of Future

Rafael and Fabio da Silva both made their debuts for Man United on the 4th of August 2008 in a friendly against Peterborough. Both were equally impressive to fans, neutrals and critics alike. Since then Rafael has gone onto establsih himself as United’s first choice right back while Fabio move temporarily to QPR on season long loan to gather more first team experience.

In the first few games I watched with both Fabio and Rafael playing it was clear to see that they were both very talented, full of energy, good defensivley and, as expected from Brazilians, loved to join in the attack too. I made up my mind early on that Fabio was the more talented of the two. I felt that only a few things seperated them, they are identical twins after all, but for me Fabio seemed a lot more composed on the ball and more importantly didn’t dive in as quickly as his brother.

However, Rafael has so far made 63 appearances but Fabio has only made 22. The question I want to explore is this because of talent or situation? Rafael came to United at a good time. Gary Neville was struggling with injuries. Wes Brown and John O’Shea were performing well but lacked the same vim and vigour that Rafael possessed in joining the attack. This season all 3 have been blighted by injuries and Rafael has made the position his own with some excellent performances and is well and truly establishing himself as one of the Premier Leagues best right backs.

Fabio though has been playing quite regularly for the Reserves. He is being deployed sometimes in midfield as well. His class is there for all to see. He gets stuck in, passes well and chips in with a few goals too. In fact even if he is playing left back it is not a rare sight to see him ending up in the centre forwards position looking to score. This is never an issue positionally as both he and Rafael have a boundless energy supply that means they could nearly sprint for the full 90 minutes!

Rafael has had an excellent season in 2011-2012. He has cemented his position in the team and twice kept the supposed “amazing” Gareth Bale quiet.The only bad note was his sending off against Tottenham but this was a bad decision from the referee rather than a fault against Rafael. Rafael, at this point in time, would go into the team before his brother as he now has a lot more experience. He has taken advantage of injuries and his performances merit the right back spot that he is making his own.

Hopefully we will see a lot of them in future years!