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In his latest interview, Arsenal midfielder Fabio Vieira revealed his inspiration while growing up.
THE LOWDOWN: PLAYING A PART
Fabio Vieira has not started a lot of games for Arsenal since his move to the Emirates from Porto in the summer. The midfielder has been able to make a mark off the bench in games for Mikel Arteta’s side this season.
Notably, he scored on his full Premier League debut against Brentford earlier in the season and followed that up with another stunning performance in the Europa League.
By and large, he has been a good deputy to captain Martin Odegaard in the attacking midfield role.
THE LATEST: CHILDHOOD INSPIRATION
Fabio Vieira was asked about his inspiration while growing up and he had the following to say in the lengthy interview with Arsenal media.
“My mum,” he says with an impish smile.
“I have always been a mummy’s boy. My mum has always been my biggest supporter – a warrior and a fighter.”
“My mum and my dad were both an inspiration to me when I was a child,” he adds. “Since a young age, I have been crazy for football and from the moment my dad saw I really liked football he decided to sign me up to my local team. From then onwards I started developing as a footballer and for that I need to thank my dad a lot, as he is one of the reasons I am here today.”
“I was a crazy kid,” he added. The 22-year-old believes his family have given him strong foundations for life and the career he has pursued since childhood.
“I have always been super-humble,” he says.
“I like spending time with my family, I don’t really recall going out in the evening. I had no time for that because I started playing football at a young age.”
Once he began to progress through the age groups, there was one coach in particular who the youngster found had an inspirational effect on him. “Yes, Mario Silva,” he says.
“At the start I was just a kid and just wanted to have fun and play football with my friends,” he recalls. “I never thought it could be something so serious, but from the moment I started to grow and develop and when I signed for Porto I knew that the responsibilities were different. From then on everything became very serious and thankfully I have managed to make it and be here today.”
“Mario really interacted well,” Fabio reflects. “He understood the players and he brought the best out of me. It was great to see him working and he really helped me develop to a level I had never been at before.”
Apart from his parents being a huge inspiration for him, the Portuguese mentioned his two favourite players who have inspired him a lot.
“The two biggest influences for me are Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Ronaldo not because he is Portuguese, but he is really someone who really inspires others with his work ethic, how he had to leave his family and his comfort zone to sign for Sporting, and for him to build the career that he has built inspires everyone. Messi is more to do with my style of play. I am similar to Messi and I appreciate the way that he plays.
“I have met Ronaldo,” he adds. “I met him with the national team as we would both be at the gym, and again recently in our game at Manchester United. He would always provide support and give advice to young players.”
Finally, the 22-year-old also mentioned the last person whom he got some inspiration from. “My grandad, who has passed away but was someone who was very important in my life. He followed me everywhere I would go and he really liked watching me play at the Dragao.”
THE VERDICT: GOOD PICKS
Vieira got the right guide while growing up and it is not surprising that he has such an amazing football brain as well. The impact of these persons on and off the pitch has helped his football growth.
He has a lot of years ahead of him at the Emirates and there are high hopes that he could grow to become a star in North London.
