Fabulous Fabio, 44, Is One Of Fluminense’s Saviors In Club World Cup

He has never performed for the Brazilian national team, yet Fabio is making national and international headlines back in his native country these days.

At an age when many of his contemporaries have retired, 44-year-old goalkeeper Fabio is also making saves for Fluminense at the FIFA Club World Cup.

“Whole generations of players who I used to play with have stopped,” Fabio said on Fluminense TV in March, according to The Athletic. “I could never have imagined this career when I was growing up. Only God could have made this possible.”

After conceding only three goals and recording three clean sheets over five matches, Fabio and his teammates will try to defeat Chelsea in the semifinals at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. on Tuesday, July 8 at 3 p.m. ET.

Some goalkeepers are ageless wonders

Goalkeepers have been known to play into their late 30s and early 40s.

For example, Egypt's Essam El-Hadary was 45 years, 161 days old when he competed at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, according to Olympics.com.

The 6-foot-2, 187-lb. Fabio could wind up as the oldest keeper to play in first division soccer as long as he remains healthy.

A combination of factors is vital. Of course, they need to be good, very good. They need to be mentally tough because they are the last line of defense and will be blamed for goals, even if it’s not their fault. They need to be healthy and stay away from injuries, minor and major. And they need to be on good teams, so they don't get worn out or run into the ground.

Speaking of which, keepers’ bodies do get a pounding, diving to make a save and hitting the ground hard, to give his or her team a chance to win or draw.

Fabio's secret for success?

Would you believe little sleep?

“I normally sleep for about three hours a night,” Fabio told Globo last year. “It’s not much, but it’s enough for me to recover.”

Just who is this goalkeeper named Fabio?

Why haven't we heard about Fabio until this tournament?

Well, not playing for his country's national team has been one reason. Another is that Brazilian goalkeepers haven't always forged reputations as superior netminders as their European colleagues, although they have been pretty darn good in their own right over the years.

And sometimes it’s just not being at the right place at the right time.

Then again, Fabio has managed to make sure he has been at the right place more times than not when tending goal.

“He’s a genius, spectacular,” former Fluminense head coach Fernando Diniz told The Athletic. Diniz guided the side to the 2023 Libertadores Cup, which qualified the team for the Club World Cup. “He’s a light person, positive, a leader who is liked by everyone. He deserves every bit of praise he gets.”

Born as Fabio Deivson Lopes Maciel (many Brazilian players prefer to use one name) in Nobres, Mato Grosso, Brazil, on Sept. 30, 1980, he broke in as a 17-year-old keeper with União Bandeirante. The team reportedly paid him with bus tickets and lunch vouchers, according to LatinAmericanPost.com.

He eventually moved on to Atlético Paranaense in 1998 and then Vasco da Gama, from 2000-2004. He launched an amazing 16-year tenure with Cruzeiro in 2005-2021, backstopping 789 matches while winning a pair of Brazilian championships. Debt-ridden Cruzeiro, which had dropped to the second tier of Brazilian soccer, gave him his release after the 2021 campaign. He went to a Pentecostal chapel and walked straight in without an appointment. “I asked God if He had misdialed,” he recalled to O Estado de Minas, according to www.LatinAmericanPost.com.

A record-setting goalkeeper

He joined Fluminense in 2022 and helped the team win the 2023 Copa Libertadores title at the ripe young age of 43.

Fabio's longevity has allowed him to set world records. He passed Italian goalkeeping legend Gianluigi Buffon on the all-time list with his 507th clean sheet in a scoreless tie with Mamelodi Sundowns in the group stage on June 25. Inter Milan, the UEFA Champions League runners-up, became his next victim with shutout No. 508 in a 2-0 Round of 16 triumph on June 30.

There were no records set in the 2-1 win over Al-Hilal in the July 4 quarterfinals, although Fabio was called on to make a big-time stop, pushing away Kalidou Koulibaly's header from Ruben Neves' free kick to help preserve the win.

His next target is England's Peter Shilton. Depending on how statisticians count appearances, Shilton finished his career with either 1,387 or 1,390 matches. Entering Tuesday's game against Chelsea, Fabio has 1,379 contests under his belt.

If there is one line missing from Fabio's resume, it would be a national team cap. He has been called into the team but has never seen any action on the pitch.

He performed in the Under-17 Men's World Cup in 1997. For the full squad, he was an unused substitute at the 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup and on the 2004 Copa America championship team. He also was called in for several friendlies, but never got off the bench.

"I am very motivated to achieve the goal of going to the national team, I will continue to work." he told copadomundo.uol.com in 2015. “I'm respecting everyone. Everyone had the opportunity, I never had it. I want the opportunity. The World Cup is coming. It would be the fairest, like everyone who had the chance in other positions. Everyone who is in the group had the chance, those who are not also had it. I always have to think about the national team. ”

There are more saves to make

This is Fabio’s second bite at the Club World Cup apple, ironically, very close to the Big Apple, as the Brazilian club lost to Manchester City in the 2023 final, 4-0.

Nothing would be sweeter than a world championship.

In case you're wondering, Fabio, who turns 45 on Sept. 30, has at least one more year left in his tank to frustrate the opposition and make some more history. He is signed with Fluminense through May 2026.

After that who knows?

The ball is in his court. Or perhaps better yet, the ball is in his hands, which is something the fabulous Fabio has achieved for more than 2 1/2 decades.