CESC FABREGAS

Cesc Fàbregas

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler was born on 4 May 1987. He is a professional central midfielder who captains the English Premier League club Arsenal and plays for the Spanish national team.

Fàbregas started his career as a trainee with Barcelona but was signed by Arsenal in September 2003 at the age of sixteen. Following injuries to key midfielders in the 2004–05 season, he established himself as Arsenal's starting central midfielder and playmaker. He went on to break several of the club's records, earning a reputation as one of the best young players for his position of his generation.

In international football, the Spaniard's national career began when he represented
the winning Under-17 side at the 2003 FIFA U-17 World Championship in Finland.
As a result of his club performances, he was called up to the senior squad in
2006. He has played in the 2006 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2008, where he helped
Spain to become eventual winners in the latter

Personal information


Full name Francesc Fàbregas i Soler
Date of birth 4 May 1987 (1987-05-04)

(age 22)
Place of birth Barcelona, Spain
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Central midfielder

Club information
Current club Arsenal
Number 4

Youth career
?–2000 Mataró
2000–2003 Barcelona
Senior career*
Years Club Apps (Gls)
2003– Arsenal 166 (21)

National team
2002–2003 Spain U16 8 (1)
2003–2004 Spain U17 14 (7)
2005 Spain U20 5 (0)
2004–2005 Spain U21 11 (2)
2006– Spain 45 (4)



Early years

Fàbregas was born in Vilassar de Mar,Barcelona to Francesc Fàbregas, Sr., who runs a property company, and Núria Soler, the owner of a pastry company. Fàbregas has supported Barcelona since childhood and went to his first match when he was nine months old with his grandfather. It was at Barcelona where Fàbregas began his club football career. Initially, he was played as a volante (defensive midfielder), yet he was also a prolific scorer, sometimes scoring more than 30 goals in a season for the club's youth teams. However, he did not manage to play a first-team game at the Camp Nou

ARSENAL

After the departure of Vieira to Juventus, Fàbregas was given the Frenchman's number 4 shirt and featured regularly in the Arsenal central midfield alongside Gilberto Silva. He made 49 appearances in all competitions during the 2005–06 season. Despite his young age, his performances came under greater scrutiny due to his increased involvement in the first team. Further, as Fàbregas possessed a smaller frame and played with less aggression than Vieira, there were initially doubts over his ability to fill in the void left by the Frenchman. Nevertheless, Fàbregas asserted his own style of play and impressed pundits in the Champions League against Real Madrid and Juventus. In the latter, he scored Arsenal's first goal and set up Thierry Henry for the second, at the same time proving that he could compete against tough, hard-tackling midfielders like Vieira. He then played in the final
against his former club Barcelona, but arsenal were defeated 2–1,completing a trophyless 2005–06 campaign for Arsenal.

Fàbregas' increase in exposure drew transfer speculation during the summer; Real Madrid expressed a desire to sign the Spaniard despite his long-term contract with Arsenal, but Arsenal manager Arsène Wenger stated that Arsenal would not listen to any offers. In September 2006, with six years left on his deal, Arsenal offered a new five-year deal (with an option to extend by a further three years, making eight years) to the midfielder, which he signed on 19 October 2006. While the contract was unusually long, Fàbregas cited Arsenal's playing style and Wenger as reasons for his long-term commitment to the club.

The 2006–07 season was a learning experience for the young Arsenal squad and Fàbregas. The club again failed to secure any major honours and were defeated by city rivals Chelsea in the League Cup final.However, Fàbregas emerged as one of the key creative players for the team, playing in every single league game. He kickstarted Arsenal's 2006–07 UEFA Champions League campaign when he scored a brace in a 3–0 win over Dinamo Zagreb in a qualifier match. In the Premier League, he notched up 13 assists, which was the second-highest total in the league. He ended the season with several individual honours, including the Golden Boy award, presented by the Italian paper TuttoSport, based on a poll of leading writers across Europe. He was also named in the 2006 UEFA Team of the Year, and named FA Premier League Player of the Month for January 2007. Additionally, he was nominated for both PFA Players' Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year, although both awards went to Manchester United's Cristiano Ronaldo. In June 2007, he was named Arsenal's Player of the Season, taking in 60% of the votes.The 2007–08 season began with much uncertainty for Arsenal. First, David Dein, the club's vice-chairman, left amidst allegations of internal strife, followed by the departure of the club'sall-time top goalscorer and captain, Thierry Henry, who signed for Barcelona. There was also speculation over Wenger's future with the club. Fàbregas knew that he would become the most important player for Arsenal, but stated he was ready for the challenge. He started the season well, chalking up goals and assists, and website soccernet attributed the early success of Arsenal to the young Spaniard.

His start to the season also earned him the O2 Player of the Month award from Arsenal fans for August, September and October, as well as the Premier League Player of the Month for September. With Arsenal leading the league table until March, Fàbregas was equally instrumental in the club's 2007–08 Champions League campaign; in the return leg against Milan, the midfielder scored late in the game to send Arsenal into the quarter-finals. Though Arsenal ended the season trophyless,Fàbregas amassed several personal awards. On 11 April 2008, Fàbregas was nominated for the PFA Player of the Year and PFA Young Player of the Year awards for the second year running; he was later crowned the winner of the latter, and named in the PFA Team of the Year. He was also named the 2007–08 Arsenal.com Player of the Season.

Captaincy

On 24 November 2008, 14 league games into the 2008–09 season, Fàbregas was named as the successor to William Gallas as club captain. However, just as Arsenal were getting back into the title race after a poor start to the season, the Spaniard was ruled out for four months after sustaining a knee injury against Liverpool.The Gunners eventually finished the season without any silverware, coming in fourth in the league and being knocked out at the semi-finals of the 2008–09 Champions League campaign.In tandem with Arsenal's policy to groom its young players, the team that Fàbregas led into the new season comprised mostly of the same young nucleus as before, with the likes of Nicklas Bendtner, Gaël Clichy, Abou Diaby, Denílson, Alexandre Song and Theo Walcott in tow.

In the opening league game of 2009–10 season, Fàbregas scored a brace and managed two assists in Arsenal's 6–1 away win against Everton. Arsenal went on to
secure qualification for the Champions League by beating Celtic over two legs, but their early momentum to the season was disrupted by consecutive league game losses to Manchester United and Manchester City.

Honours

Arsenal

* FA Cup: 2005
* FA Community Shield: 2004

International

* UEFA European Championship: 2008

Individual

* FIFA U-17 World Championship Golden

Shoe: 2003
* FIFA U-17 World Championship Golden

Ball: 2003
* UEFA European Under-17 Football

Championship Golden Player: 2004
* Bravo Award: 2006
* UEFA Team of the Year: 2006, 2008
* Premier League Player of the Month:

January 2007, September 2007
* ESM Team of the Month:

September-October-November 2007
* PFA Young Player of the Year:

2007–08
* PFA Team of the Year: 2007–08
* UEFA Team of the Tournament: 2008