Cristian Fabbiani: Last of the Overweight Footballers?

By: Daryl | March 3rd, 2009

If you really think Frank Lampard is fat, then either a) you’re blind, or b) you have a special type of anorexia where you project your weight issues onto Chelsea midfielders. You want to see a proper overweight footballer? Then how about River Plate striker Cristian Fabbiani (left). Also known as “El Ogro”.

That picture is more than a little unflattering. And to be fair that’s not all belly bulging out from under that shirt. But Fabbiani’s weight has become enough of a problem for River coach Nestor Gorosito to intervene.

Right now Fabbiani is over 100kg (220lbs for US readers, or 15 and a half stone to UK readers). Here’s what Gorosito said in a radio interview:

“I’ve told him that even if he eats salad, if he eats three bowls of salad, it’s the same as eating something else.”
“Because a cow eats grass and it’s a cow, it eats all day and it’s a cow.

“Fabbiani needs to accept responsibility and lose weight. I don’t need him to go down to 92 or 93 kilos, but he has to get down to 97 and at the moment he’s a hundred and a bit.

“We want him to play 90 minutes, not just half an hour.”

I’m not clear on whether he’s nicknamed El Ogro because he once celebrated a goal in Chile by wearing a Shrek mask, or because he’s carrying a bit too much blubber. Seems like a chicken and egg situation.

Here’s some recent (Feb 15th) footage of Fabbiani scoring the winner for River against Rosario Central (around the 1:00 mark in the vid)

Clearly the lad’s got talent. But just as clearly, there’s a lot of him to go around.

And I’m a little torn on this. I miss the days when overweight footballers like Micky Quinn (He’s fat, he’s round, He scores at every ground!) could have a professional career. And cult figures like Fabianni and Quinn are – for me- what makes football so much fun.

On the other hand, football has changed and everyone’s a lot fitter. I blame Arsene Wenger. So if Fabbiani can’t put the effort in and lose a little weight then maybe he doesn’t deserve a professional career. How about a joint weight loss program with similarly blubbery FC Volendam keeper Jeroen Verhoeven?