It’s fair to say that he had an inauspicious start to life with Liverpool but, boy, did all that change as Samba ace Fabinho helped the Reds win a sixth Champions League trophy by beating Tottenham in Madrid in June.
Now the Brazil ace is gearing up to get back in action for Jurgen Klopp’s side as they prepare to take on Premier League champions Manchester City in the FA Community Shield showdown at Wembley Stadium on Sunday, with a 4pm kick-off. And Anfield fans will be hoping that a decent result against Pep Guardiola’s team can inspire a decent season ahead.
It will be a tough ask to overcome a dominant City side who became the first team to win a domestic treble of Premier League, FA Cup as well as the League Cup last season.
But one thing is for sure, with Fabinho — a £39 million capture from French outfit AS Monaco back in 2018 — in their ranks, the Merseyside giants have a better chance than most. And as he relished the chance to go head to head with the Kop giants’ main adversaries last time of asking, he is in confident mood.
Fabinho is also acutely aware that he needs to maintain his fantastic form as a toiler for the cause after that less than sizzling start to his career at Anfield. And he said in an interview which was published on the official website of UEFA:
“Even when I wasn’t playing, I already knew I had to work hard because I knew if I played a few games on the trot, I could become an important player for the team. I think I’ve shown that and it’s also something I wanted — to have more responsibility in the team, to keep improving as a player. I’ve always aspired to that, and the manager trusts me more.
“Yes, I finished last season strongly, I nearly always played. We cannot become complacent, we must keep wanting more, and that’s what I try to do.”
The game against City comes ahead of what could turn out to be a gruelling season for Klopp’s schemers as they will compete in seven different competitions during the upcoming campaign – those being the Community Shield, Super Cup, Club World Cup, Champions League, FA Premier League, FA Cup and the League Cup.
And he said:
“It would be great if we could use the whole squad throughout the whole season as it would make life easier. The number of games sounds big. We have big targets.
“We will never try to avoid football games. We are happy to have as much as possible, as it means you have had a successful season. The league will, of course, be our main focus because we play most of our games there. There are no games where we can say ‘let’s send the kids there’ because all the games are so exciting, close and competitive.”