45-year-old player shines at FIFA Club World Cup

The football world has been amazed by Fluminense's veteran center-back Thiago Silva (41 years old) in recent days. But they also have an even older star, 45-year-old goalkeeper Fabio.

Fabio shines at FIFA Club World Cup

Fabio Deivson Lopes Maciel was born on September 30, 1980 and will officially celebrate his 45th birthday in 2 months. Before the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, he was still a relatively unknown name to the football community outside of Brazil.

Fabio may be a household name in the land of samba, but he has never played in Europe. He has never even played for Brazil.

The goalkeeper's career has been linked to his home teams. He started at Uniao Bandeirante, Atletico-Paranaense, Vasco da Gama and then became an icon at Cruzeiro with 16 years of dedication, before joining Fluminense from 2022.

Thanks to his longevity on the pitch, Fabio has broken records one after another. In April 2025, he became the second goalkeeper in history to reach 500 clean sheets, after Gianluigi Buffon. And to date, Fabio has completely broken Buffon's record (501 matches) to become the person with the most clean sheets in football history.

At the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, Fabio's appearance at the age of nearly 45 caught the attention of the football world. He kept a clean sheet in 2/3 group stage matches, making a great contribution to helping Fluminense advance.

In the 2-0 win over Inter Milan in the round of 16, Fabio became the hero of the team when he made 4 saves. He also received a score of 7.7 from Sofascore in this match, the second highest scorer.

Fabio continued his fine form with three saves against Al Hilal, helping his side progress to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win.

After 5 matches, Fabio kept 3 clean sheets, made 14 saves and was rated 7 to 4 times higher by Sofascore. The Brazilian goalkeeper is one of the most prominent names so far at the FIFA Club World Cup.

Goalkeepers Fabio and Thiago Silva (striped shirt, right) are two outstanding veterans of the tournament - Photo: REUTERS

AS newspaper called Fabio "the old man who dominates the tournament". Major newspapers such as The Guardian and Reuters both emphasized Fabio's importance. They rated him and Thiago Silva as the two most important stars of Fluminense.

With Thiago Silva, fans are not too surprised by the performance of the former Brazil captain. This 41-year-old player was once rated as one of the best central defenders in the world , and it is understandable that he regained his peak form in a short period of time.

But with Fabio, he is really stepping into the light at the age of 45. Fabio is the same age as Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca - the team that will challenge Fluminense in the semi-finals, and is older than many strategists in the tournament taking place in the US.

Fabio is a typical example of Brazil's extremely rich football, with hidden dragons and crouching tigers. A player who has been quietly playing football for nearly 30 years, can still beat the world's top superstars.

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cau-thu-45-tuoi-ruc-sang-tai-fifa-club-world-cup-20250705113934454.htm