Fabio Coentrao is a universal footballer who is able to act equally effectively in the position of both the left midfielder and the flank defender. With a height of 179 cm and a weight of 72 kg, the player has excellent speed qualities.
Fabio Coentrao - biography
The future player was born on March 11, 1988. At that time, his parents lived in a provincial Portuguese town called Vila do Conde. Since childhood, the guy dreamed of a career as a football player, devoting all his free time to training.
Fabio Coentrao signed his first professional contract in 2004 with the Rio Ave club. At that time, a talented player reached only 16 years of age. A football player was lucky to make his debut in the new team a year later. However, in the 2005/2006 season, the guy played for the team only 3 meetings in the highest Portuguese division. The following year, Fabio Coentrao entrenched in the first team. However, during this time the team managed to fly into the league a lower rank.
Throughout the 2006/2007 season, the progress of the young player was simply obvious. At the same time, public interest in the games in the second league of Portugal was so low that the efforts of a talented football player simply went unnoticed.
In 2007, during the off-season training camp, Fabio Coentrao went on an internship at London's Chelsea. Following the results of the joint classes, the English club mentor Jose Mourinho praised the talents of the young talent.
In 2007, Fabio Coentrao signed a contract with the champion of Portugal - the Benfica team. The debut match in the new team for the midfielder turned out to be the Champions League game in the third qualifying match against the Belgian Copenhagen. However, a trusted place on the field at such a crucial moment did not give the player any guarantees of fixing in the main clip of the team. Unable to compete with more experienced players in their own position, Fabio soon found himself on loan at the Nacional club.
In the 2008/2009 season, the player initially played for Zaragoza, and later returned to his first professional club, Riu Avi. Here the midfielder entered the field in 16 meetings, having chalked up 3 goals in different matches.
The 2009/2010 season started for Coentrao as the main defender of Benfica. Throughout the year, the football player held 28 meetings for the team in the championship of Portugal. At the end of the season, the team managed to not only become the champion of the country, but also to win the League Cup.
Career at Real Madrid Club
In 2001, Coentrao was bought from Benfica by the Spanish champion. The amount indicated in the transaction amounted to a record 30 million euros. The debut match for the player for the new team was a meeting against Barcelona. In general, for the first year, Fabio went on the field in a Real Madrid t-shirt in 20 matches.
In the same season, a newcomer to the Spanish Grand made his debut in the Champions League. The player has always been entrusted with a place in the main squad at the group stage and in fights for the relegation.
In the season 2013/2014 after joining the team of a new mentor - Carlo Ancelotti, Coentrao lost his place in the first team. Soon, the player signed a lease agreement with the French club Monaco.
Team appearances
In the summer of 2006, Fabio Coentrao was first invited to the Portuguese national youth team. Together with partners, the footballer performed at the Youth World Championship for players under the age of 20 years.
Already in 2008, Coentrao went to the world championship in South Africa as part of the adult team of Portugal. Here, the footballer played 4 matches in the position of the flank midfielder, handing out assists to teammates.
At the 2012 European Championship, Fabio took part in all fights for the national team of the country, noting one effective pass. Despite such seemingly mediocre results, Coentrao's actions on the field were positively evaluated by football specialists.
At the 2014 World Cup, the player entered the field in a single meeting. In the match against the German national team, an unpleasant game situation took place, in which Fabio Coentrao got into. The injury received in a clash with the enemy, subsequently forced the midfielder to sit the rest of the tournament on the bench. However, the case did not end for the football player by ousting Portugal from the main team.
What was the next career in the national team for Fabio Coentrao? Euro 2016 kicked off a new damage for the player. Before the start of the championship, it became known that the midfielder would not be able to take part in the tournament, since he needed immediate surgical intervention to eliminate the injury to the muscles of his right thigh.
Achievements
Fabio Coentrao holds the Portuguese Champion title and has won the Portuguese League Cup, which he won with his Benfica partners in 2009 and 2010.
Midfielder - Champion of Spain 2012. In 2013, successful appearances for Real Madrid allowed him to win the country's Cup.
Finally
To date, Fabio Coentrao is still one of the main flank midfielders of the Portuguese national team. Unfortunately, the tendency to take damage and the high competition for a place in the main squad of Real Madrid do not yet allow the player to resume performances for the Spanish Grand. However, the midfielder continues to play successfully on loan for Monaco, helping the new club achieve new achievements in the European arena.