Date: 8th August 2011 at 1:00pm
Written by:

With Liverpool looking a lot closer to signing a new left back, it does make me wonder what exactly our intentions are towards one of our forgotten players, Fabio Aurelio. When it was revealed that we had re-signed the Brazilian a year ago there was no doubt that I was over the moon. Fast forward a year and Fabio Aurelio had exactly the type of season many feared he would when Roy Hodgson decided to take him back.

Injuries have reduced Aurelio to being a bit part player at most, and judging by his non-existence during this pre-season, the problems don’t seem to be going away anytime soon. It is a shame because Aurelio has in the past (especially the 2008-2009 season) shown that he is one of the most technically gifted players in the squad.

When he was first signed, I recall Rafa Benitez boldly stating that Fabio Aurelio was more effective at set pieces and passing that Xabi Alonso. Aurelio never did quite hit the heights of the talented Spaniard but he did on some occasions demonstrate why Benitez’s expectations of him were so high. When you also consider that on the two occasions he was called up to the Brazil national team, he had to pull out of the squad due to injury, it really does illustrate just how unlucky he’s been in his career.

We’ve been linked with defenders such as Jose Enrique, Aly Cissokho and even Stephen Warnock, and currently have Emiliano Insua and Jack Robinson occupying the left back slots. I feel that the imminent acquisition of a new first XI quality left back may spell the end for Fabio Aurelio, who has only managed a total of 44 appearances for Liverpool in the last two seasons.

Another possible outcome I really wouldn’t like to see would be if Aurelio decided to give in to his injuries and call time on his career. Of course it isn’t nice to think about but there is a realistic chance of him being forced to go down that route after a career where he unfortunately hasn’t been able to show his true potential.

I truly believe that an injury free Aurelio would prove to be one of the most formidable left backs in the league, and I would love nothing more than to see him stay fit for the majority of the season and play as well as he did in 2009 when we only just missed out on the Premier League title to Manchester United. The only problem is, I hold these same hopes for Aurelio at the start of every season, and with his aging body still struggling to fight off the niggling injuries, it may just be a matter of time before his Liverpool career is brought to a premature end.

Whatever happens, I’ll always see Fabio Aurelio as a player with huge potential whose body unfortunately never allowed him to show his true ability. At the very least I would love to see Aurelio kept as a backup option for the left side of defence but Kenny Dalglish is the boss and we will have to wait and see over the coming weeks whether the Brazilian fits into his plans or not.

Article is courtesy of Mark Wilson at Live4Liverpool

 

8 responses to “Does this defender still have a future at Liverpool?”

  1. MG01 says:

    Whatever else he does, I’ll always remember Fabio for his free-kick against Chelsea!

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6bVyLFm9xI

  2. alex says:

    I’m not doubting that Fabio is quality, but he’s never fit, and for me that doesnt merit a place in the squad. Unfortunately, I think it’ll be Insua who is sacrificed at LB.

  3. sicnarf says:

    of course if does he’ll be a good backup for Enrique, it’ll do them both good to split time and keep fit. http://sicnarfsports.blogspot.com

  4. Oscar says:

    Him and Downing seemed to link up quite well at LB against Valencia. However, if up to me I would play Johnson LB and Kelly RB. It seems Insua is likely to leave after he wasn’t included in the squad for Valencia and was instead playing for the reserves against Tranmere Rovers, alongside: Degen, El Zahr, Jones, Ayala (Who has already left) and Jones. I have to say I expect all these players to leave by the end of the window.

  5. Bill Shankly says:

    Fabio Injurio is an awful player .
    The only reason he claims to be injured so often is because the more often he plays the more often his bloody awful inconsistent passing , average tactical awareness poor concentration & weak tackling is exposed & therefore he takes a wage drop by moving back to a lesser club in a lesser league … FRAUD !!!!!!
    Paul Koncheskey is twice the player that Brazilian con artist is .
    Fabio Injurio is so fucking bad that even when his biggest fan Rafa who signed him at two different clubs kept him on the bench for the still developing Insua !
    Gimme a break !
    Aurelio is quality because in 5 seasons he has had 5 memorable moments ?!!!!!!!!
    Thats quality all right , 3’rd division Pub League quality !!
    Leighton Baines is 3 times the player Fabio Injurio is .
    If he linked well with Downing its because Downing is an excellent player !
    Aurellio was never more than squad player standard & in terms of effective consistent play he isnt even as god as our other squad full back Degan but Degan isnt Brazilian he is Swiss so he gets Scapegoated !!! FUCKIN HYPOCRITES !!!!!!!
    Aurelio has a decent footballing brain but his poor tactical play & poor concentration overshadow his versatility as does his consistently giving the ball away needlessly instead of doing the simple thing .
    He is one of the worst full backs I have seen in the Premier League & he is one of the worst full backs to ever sign a pro contract at LFC & he is one of the worst fullbacks to ever play for LFC , he makes Jullian Dicks look like Andreas Brehme !!!
    The only question about him is , can Kenny get the useless 31 year old weak little poofter playing anywhere near a consistently acceptable level ???
    Other than that you have to ask how someone as useless as him has remained so long at our club while idiots WERE ALLOWED TO SUCCESSFULLY scapegoat genuine quality players like Robbie Keane one of the TOP 10 scorers in the Premier League & Paul Koncheskey one of the best LB’s in the premier League this past 10 seasons into being bombed out of the club within 6 months ?!!!
    Simply put ,
    Fabio Injurio is a fucking joke , he is fucking shite & he isnt good enough to hold down a starting place in Norwich’s starting 11 let alone Boltons , Stokes or Sunderlands .
    We are LOSERPOOL because of players/con artists like Fabio Injurio

  6. adelani says:

    oscar leave this site cos u dnt no what u ar saying fabio aurelio may there is mixed up somewhere fabio is a class we need him,average play give big problem to some of big name in the club like agger gerrard aurelio even torres when he was stil with lfc.now we have little class l believe injure we be less in the squad cos there we nt be overwork of big player the work wil be shared pls pls pls kenny dalglish get a central defender like cahil or aly cissokho 4get enrique insua and robinson can play the LB But if big match play KellyRB cahillCR aggerCL johnsonLB best if aurelio stil*on injure but if not play aurelio good defend opponent will suffer before they get one goal thanks oscar leave cos u ar controversial manchester united.

  7. adelani lives in a mudhut says:

    adelani
    Fuck off you ignorant savage .