Fábio Coentrão

Fábio Coentrão

Coentrão in action for Real Madrid in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Fábio Alexandre da Silva Coentrão
Date of birth	(1988-03-11) 11 March 1988
Place of birth	Vila do Conde, Portugal
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position	Wingback
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Number	5
Youth career
2001–2006	Rio Ave
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2005–2007	Rio Ave	29	(5)
2007–2011	Benfica	52	(2)
2008	→ Nacional (loan)	16	(4)
2008	→ Zaragoza (loan)	1	(0)
2009	→ Rio Ave (loan)	16	(3)
2011–	Real Madrid	40	(1)
National team‡
2005	Portugal U18	1	(0)
2006–2007	Portugal U19	6	(5)
2007	Portugal U20	3	(0)
2007–2010	Portugal U21	8	(6)
2009–	Portugal	43	(2)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:52, 2 November 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 00:00, 19 November 2013 (UTC)

Fábio Alexandre da Silva Coentrão (born 11 March 1988) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Real Madrid in Spain and the Portuguese national team. Mainly a left back he can also operate as a left winger, and occasionally as a defensive midfielder.

After starting playing professionally with Rio Ave, he signed for Benfica at 19, going on to be loaned several times before becoming an important member of the first team, as a left-back. In 2011 he joined Real Madrid.

A Portuguese international since 2009, Coentrão represented the nation in one World Cup and one European Championship.

Club career

Rio Ave

Born in Vila do Conde, Coentrão joined hometown Rio Ave F.C. in 2004 at the age of 16, playing three first division games in the following season for a northern side that would be relegated from the top division. In the 2006–07 campaign he established himself as first-choice, as Rio Ave barely missed promotion back and had a good run in the Cup of Portugal, ended by Sporting Clube de Portugal with a 2–1 win in Lisbon, with him scoring his team's goal from 30 metres; whilst playing for the club, he earned the nickname "Figo das Caxinas."

After that season, where he was voted the divisions' Breakthrough Player of the Year,^[1] many clubs showed interest in Coentrão, most notably Sporting Clube de Portugal and S.L. Benfica, with Coentrão choosing the Encarnados (reds) on July 2007. His playing style was likened to that of Arjen Robben by World Soccer Magazine in their 50 World Talents 2007 issue.

Benfica

On 1 January 2008, having received insignificant playing opportunities at Benfica, Coentrão joined Madeira's C.D. Nacional, loaned until the season's end. On 3 May, he scored twice in a 3–0 away success against already crowned league champions F.C. Porto.

Coentrão came close to signing with Eredivisie's Feyenoord during the 2008 off-season, with reports of a one-year loan deal being announced on the Internet.^[2] Two days later, however, he joined Real Zaragoza, freshly relegated into Spain's second level.^[3] After almost no appearances during the campaign, however, he returned to Portugal and Rio Ave in January 2009, still owned by Benfica; on 15 February he scored after an individual effort, albeit in a 1–3 loss at Porto.

In the 2009 summer Coentrão extended his contract with Benfica until 2015, with a release clause of €30 million.^[4] On 2 December, having played some matches for Benfica as a left defender, he scored his first goal in European competition, against FC BATE Borisov of Belarus in a 2–1 away win for the UEFA Europa League group stage.^[5]

On 10 February 2010, Benfica sold 20% of Coentrão's economic rights on any future transfer to a third party owner, Benfica Stars Fund, along with other teammates. He was tagged at €15 million, with the fund paying €3 million.^[6] During that season, he had a breakthrough year, appearing in a total of 43 official games (2,851 minutes), as the club won the league and the Portuguese League Cup; he ended the season in style, as he was voted Portuguese League Breakthrough Player of the Year.^[7]

On 27 September 2010, fully established with both his club and the national team, 22-year old Coentrão extended his contract with Benfica until 2016.^[8][9] On 2 November he scored his first career brace, helping to a 4–3 home win against Olympique Lyonnais for the season's UEFA Champions League group stage – in a 67-minute fast break, he combined with Carlos Martins to make it 4–0 for the hosts.^[10]

Real Madrid

On 5 July 2011, after extensive negotiations, Benfica and Real Madrid reached an agreement in principle over the transfer of Coentrão, who signed a six-year contract the same day, for €30m –^[11][12]Ezequiel Garay went in the other direction as part of the deal.^[13] He made his debut in a pre-season friendly against Los Angeles Galaxy on the 16th, creating an assist for Karim Benzema and also receiving Man of the match honours.^[14] His first two official games were against FC Barcelona for the season's Spanish Supercup: in the first leg, he replaced Sami Khedira in the second half of a 2–2 home draw and played as a defensive midfielder, and he started as left back in the second match, a 2–3 loss at the Camp Nou.

Coentrão made his La Liga debut on 28 August 2011 against former club Zaragoza, appearing as a central midfielder in a 6–0 away win (90 minutes played).^[15] While he played mostly in these positions, he was also deployed by manager José Mourinho as a right defender, against Sporting de Gijón on 3 December^[16] and against Barcelona the following week.^[17]

In the last minutes of the second matchday in the 2012–13 season, Coentrão was sent off after insulting referee Pérez Lasa whilst on the substitutes bench, in an eventual 1–2 loss at Getafe CF. He subsequently received a four-match ban.^[18]

Coentrão scored his first goal with Real Madrid on 16 December 2012, netting after an assist from Cristiano Ronaldo to help the hosts come from behind against RCD Espanyol, as the game eventually ended 2–2.^[19] On 2 September of the following year, Manchester United launched a late loan bid for him on transfer deadline day. It was accepted by the Spaniards, but the deal fell through when they failed to secure a replacement in Guilherme Siqueira from Granada CF, who subsequently joined Benfica on loan.^[20]

International career

An international for Portugal at youth level,^[21] Coentrão was voted MVP in the 2007 Madeira Cup for the U-20s,^[22] also being crowned the competition's topscorer. Subsequently, he represented the nation in the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup^[23] and, also during that year, made his U-21 debuts.

After consistent performances at Benfica, although he started rarely in the early 2009–10, Coentrão earned his first senior call-up in November 2009, for the decisive 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification playoffs against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and made his debut in the first leg on 14 November at the Estádio da Luz, playing the second half of the 1–0 win.

Coentrão was chosen for Carlos Queiroz's squad of 23 for the final stages in South Africa, starting as left back ahead of another adapted player, Duda. He played in all the matches in Portugal's eventual round-of-16 exit.

On 10 August 2011 Coentrão scored his first international goal, netting through a rare header in a 5–0 win over Luxembourg. He played all the games and minutes at UEFA Euro 2012, acting as left defender as Portugal reached the semifinals.

International goals

Fábio Coentrão: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	10 August 2011	Estádio Algarve, Faro/Loulé, Portugal	Luxembourg	3–0	5–0	Friendly
2	22 March 2013	Ramat Gan Stadium, Ramat Gan, Israel	Israel	3–3	3–3	2014 World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

Benfica

• Primeira Liga: 2009–10
• Taça da Liga: 2009–10, 2010–11

Real Madrid

• La Liga: 2011–12
• Supercopa de España: 2012; Runner-up 2011
• Copa del Rey: Runner-up 2012–13

Individual

• Second Division Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2006–07
• Portuguese League Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2009–10^[7]
• Benfica Breakthrough Player of the Year: 2009
• Benfica Player of the Year: 2011^[24]
• Portuguese League Young Player of the Month: October 2009,^[25] March 2010,^[26] April 2010,^[27] September 2010^[28]
• UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 2012

Statistics

Club

As of 5 February 2014^[29]

Club	Season	League			Cup1			League Cup			Europe			Total
		Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists	Apps	Goals	Assists
Rio Ave	2004–05	1	0	0	0	0	0	—			—			1	0	0
	2005–06	3	1	0	1	0	0	—			—			4	1	0
	2006–07	25	4	0	2	0	0	—			—			27	4	0
	Total	29	5	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	32	5	0
Benfica	2007–08	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	7	0	0
	Total	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	1	0	0	7	0	0
Nacional	2007–08	16	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	4	1
	Total	16	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	4	1
Zaragoza	2008–09	1	0	0	0	0	0	—			0	0	0	1	0	0
	Total	1	0	0	0	0	0	—			0	0	0	1	0	0
Rio Ave	2008–09	16	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	3	2
	Total	16	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	16	3	2
Benfica	2009–10	26	0	9	2	1	0	4	1	0	13	1	1	45	3	10
	2010–11	23	2	2	6	1	0	2	0	0	14	2	1	45	5	3
	Total	52	2	11	8	2	0	9	1	0	28	3	2	97	8	13
Real Madrid	2011–12	20	0	2	5	0	0	—			8	0	0	33	0	2
	2012–13	16	1	1	6	0	0	—			8	0	0	30	1	1
	2013–14	4	0	0	3	0	0	—			0	0	0	7	0	0
	Total	40	1	3	14	0	0	—			16	0	0	70	1	3
Career total		154	15	17	25	2	0	9	1	0	44	3	2	232	21	19

¹Includes other competitions, including the Supercopa de España, Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira.

International

• Correct as of 7 June 2013

Portugal national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2009	1	0
2010	10	2
2011	8	1
2012	12	0
2013	5	1
Total	36	4

References

External links

• Real Madrid official profile
• Stats and profile at Zerozero
• Stats at ForaDeJogo
• BDFutbol profile
• Fábio Coentrão at National-Football-Teams.com
• Fábio Coentrão – FIFA competition record
• 2010 FIFA World Cup profile
• Transfermarkt profile

v t e Real Madrid C.F. – current squad 1 Casillas (c) 2 Varane 3 Pepe 4 Ramos 5 Coentrão 6 Khedira 7 Ronaldo 9 Benzema 11 Bale 12 Marcelo 13 Jesús 14 Alonso 15 Carvajal 16 Casemiro 17 Arbeloa 18 Nacho 19 Modrić 20 Jesé 21 Morata 22 Di María 23 Isco 24 Illarramendi 25 López Manager: Ancelotti

Portugal squads v t e Portugal squad – 2010 FIFA World Cup 1 Eduardo 2 Bruno Alves 3 Ferreira 4 Rolando 5 Duda 6 Carvalho 7 C. Ronaldo (c) 8 P. Mendes 9 Liédson 10 Danny 11 Simão 12 Beto 13 Miguel 14 Veloso 15 Pepe 16 Meireles 17 Amorim 18 H. Almeida 19 Tiago 20 Deco 21 Costa 22 D. Fernandes 23 Coentrão Coach: Queiroz v t e Portugal squad – UEFA Euro 2012 semi-finalists 1 Eduardo 2 B. Alves 3 Pepe 4 Veloso 5 Coentrão 6 Custódio 7 C. Ronaldo (c) 8 Moutinho 9 H. Almeida 10 Quaresma 11 Oliveira 12 Patrício 13 R. Costa 14 Rolando 15 Micael 16 Meireles 17 Nani 18 Varela 19 M. Lopes 20 Viana 21 J. Pereira 22 Beto 23 Postiga Coach: Bento

Awards Preceded by Hulk Portuguese League Breakthrough Player of the Year 2009–10 Succeeded by Incumbent Preceded by Miguel Vítor Benfica Award for Breakthrough Player of the Year 2009 Succeeded by Incumbent v t e UEFA Euro 2012 Team of the Tournament Goalkeepers Gianluigi Buffon Iker Casillas Manuel Neuer Defenders Jordi Alba Fábio Coentrão Philipp Lahm Pepe Gerard Piqué Sergio Ramos Midfielders Xabi Alonso Sergio Busquets Daniele De Rossi Steven Gerrard Andrés Iniesta Sami Khedira Mesut Özil Andrea Pirlo Xavi Forwards Mario Balotelli Cesc Fàbregas Zlatan Ibrahimović Cristiano Ronaldo David Silva

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fábio Coentrão.

Persondata
Name	Coentrao, Fabio
Alternative names
Short description	Portuguese footballer
Date of birth	11 March 1988
Place of birth	Vila do Conde, Portugal
Date of death
Place of death