The Philadelphia Union announced yesterday the signing of Brazilian defender Fabio Alves, more commonly known as Fabinho. The Union sign the defender from Sydney FC, in Australia’s A-League. Fabinho played 18 matches for the Sky Blues last season majority of his appearances were starts at left back. Fabio Alves announced on his personal twitter account late Thursday night that he is happy to be apart of the Union organization. He also had a Facebook post and checked in at the Union’s stadium. Once word caught wind to the fans, the post were mysteriously deleted. It has been rumored that Fabinho has been training with the Union but now all mystery and rumors are clear and he is a member of the Philadelphia Union.
The Union have been thin at left back since trading away Gabriel Farfan to Chivas USA. When the Union traded away Farfan they gave the spot solely to second year man Raymon Gaddis and zero depth. Philly will now have depth at left back but will the new singing solve the problems and be an upgrade? Let’s take a look at the Union’s current left back situation and then Fabinho.
Raymon Gaddis, the current starting left back for the Union has been average at best this season. He has been beaten easily, and has been a liability to the Union. Ray has used his speed to make up for his lack of ability and skill. When he gets beat he often has the speed to catch up and get beat again. Going into the transfer window it was clear the Union need to upgrade at LB. To think that Fabinho is the man to take the place of Gaddis is a bit of a stretch. This looks to be a rather poor signing.
The reasons why this is a poor signing are as followed. Fabinho is a 28 year old player who will not be getting any better. He is coming from a Sydney FC who plays league ball in the A-league, this league is below the MLS. That does not mean you can not scout stars from the A-league but Fabio Alves was not a star. He may have adaptation problems, the physicality and speed of the MLS. Many players fail to make the adaptation to the league. Another reason why this signing is a poor signing is that the Union are using an international spot on him. It seems a waste of an international spot that could be used to lure a potential star or DP.
On a personal note, I have watched a number of Sydney FC games this season. Sydney FC signed Alessandro Del Piero, who is one of Italy’s all time great goal scorers and one of my personal favorite players. After watching the highlights from games I watched of Sydney FC I noticed nothing spectacular defensively. Fabio Alves did not stand out in the games he played. It is hard to see what Hackworth sees in him. Looking up A-League fan forums, Fabinho has been ranked as average at best and some people were even calling him the worse defender in the league.
All this info points to one thing, the Union have found the new Porfirio Lopez. If you can’t remember Lopez could have been the Union’s worse defender in the club’s short history. He was signed to become the starting left back and it blew up in the Union’s face. He was unable to make plays, mark defenders, and clear the ball. It was a comedy of errors watching Lopez play. With all the information I gathered about Alves it looks like he may be the next Lopez.
Fabinho will be eligible to play for the Union starting the 12th against Chivas USA. If Fabinho turns out to be better then advertised I will personally apologize.
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