Sunshine Kids

Da Silva Fabio

Description

The Sunshine Kids is no ordinary autobiography. Twins Fabio and Rafael Da Silva have seen it all in football - from the favelas of Brazil to the height of the European game with Manchester United. Their performances and contribution to one of the most glittering periods in the club's history cemented their place in the heart of every United fan. Theirs is an incredible journey and story - and, with Wayne Barton ('The pre-eminent writer on Manchester United' - Martin Edwards) the pair tell all. The sheer personality pours from the pages as Rafael's energy shines through in tales of fierce rivalries with Liverpool and Manchester City, and Fabio reveals his battle with anxiety as he sought to establish himself at Old Trafford. From the experience of joining the best team in Europe, to the human aspect and difficulty that comes with it, their familial relationship with Sir Alex Ferguson and their careers since leaving United - you'll discover just why the twins have been adored wherever their football careers have taken them.

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing Ltd
• Date de parution: 09 août 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781785319730
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2021
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Fabio Rafael Da Silva with Wayne Barton, 2021
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Any oversight will be rectified in future editions at the earliest opportunity by the publisher.
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A CIP catalogue record is available for this book from the British Library
Print ISBN 9781785318788
eBook ISBN 9781785319730
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Contents
Foreword by Sir Alex Ferguson
Introduction
Destination Manchester
Rafa - Out of Nowhere
Fabio - Intense Times
Rafa - Reunions
Rafa - Comeback
Fabio - The Beautiful Game
Rafa - Interpretation
Growing Up, Apart
Rafa - The Hardest Goodbye
Fabio - The Hardest Goodbyes
Rafa - Standing Up
Rafa - Lyon
Fabio - Bluebirds and Canaries
Fabio - Fight
Rafa - Turkish Delight
Harmony
Acknowledgements
Photos
This book is dedicated to our parents and to God.
Foreword by Sir Alex Ferguson
I AM writing this foreword for the two brothers Fabio and Rafael Da Silva. Every time I hear their names mentioned I smile. Of all the great players I managed, no one delighted me as much as these two young lads. Not that I put them in the lead in regard to performance, but in terms of their manner, their character and personality they took some beating.
When they first came to train with us at 14 years old, they had that quality that made them a must to sign. They were so keen to be players that they were the first out in the training ground every day. From the day they joined us, until the day I retired, they retained that habit - first out, last in, and despite the coldest of weather they never wore tracksuit bottoms! Honestly, they were gems!
Fabio was a bit unlucky in his time with us with repeated shoulder injuries, but it never took his enthusiasm away. The pinnacle of their time with United came on 12 March 2011, my wedding anniversary, which is why it will always stay in my memory. We were crippled with injuries, especially in the midfield, and I had to put Antonio Valencia, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes on the bench knowing they could only give me a limited amount of time on the pitch. So, the midfield was Rafa wide left, wide right was Fabio, and in the centre were John O Shea and Darron Gibson. The climax for these two young lads was our first goal. Rafa makes a road in towards the Arsenal box, crosses, a bit of a flurry in front of their goalkeeper then from nowhere Fabio nipped in to score! What a day for them!
Of course, their team-mates loved it when they swapped identities. When I would want to talk to Rafa he would say he was Fabio and when I went to talk to Fabio, he would say he was Rafa - the players loved it.
At the end of their first season, I pulled them into my office to congratulate them on doing so well and said to them, Now go home and have a good rest. Their reply was, No, Boss, we play every week for the village team. Their father had built a pitch at the back of their house! Now I often wonder if this is the recipe which makes all those great Brazilian players: they never stop playing!
There are too many examples of the energy that comes from that country s players but there is one example I ve referred to many times. When we played AC Milan in the second leg of the European Cup in Milan and this guy Cafu is up and down the pitch all night as if he had two hearts! The Da Silva boys had that same approach to the game. They re now at other clubs but, for me, I loved being their manager. Their enthusiasm spread right through the club.
Sir Alex Ferguson, CBE
Introduction
PEOPLE ASK us all the time what it is like to be twins. We re the same, but different. That applies to us and our journey.
European football fans think of a Brazilian upbringing, especially in Rio de Janeiro, as playing football with balls made from rolled-up socks in favelas. We grew up in Petr polis, around 45 minutes from Rio depending on traffic, and, while we can say we had a little experience of that, it was different to the way most people imagine it. Our father grew up in that era. By the time we were born, our town was more developed and it was harder to play on the street.
We still did - in fact, that s where we learned many valuable lessons. We were five years old and playing with our brother and his friends who were seven years older than us. They didn t take it easy on us. It was very competitive. We were lucky that our brother Luiz, who we call Zerrique, was there to look out for us, but we were never afraid, and even though it was difficult we matured - in a football sense - much more quickly than other boys our age were able to. We were spotted by a local coach - not a professional coach, just a coach for a small club - who was walking past and saw how we handled ourselves against the much bigger boys. His team was for boys who were the same age as our brother s friends, but that was no problem for us.
Our father was a footballer. He never made it professionally. He felt he was good enough but when he got to the age where he had to decide to play football or get another job or career, he was put under pressure by his parents to work. At 15 he was already working, and some clubs were asking him to come and play, but his dad thought it would be too competitive and told him he had to find a different job. Becoming a footballer is a dream in Brazil but it is also very competitive. We were encouraged to play - we were just kids - but our dad never put any pressure on us to play or to stop. He taught us the skills that would help. We were both right-footed so he encouraged us to play with our left foot as well.
Our parents came from big families. That was always the way, back in those days - maybe they had nothing else to do to entertain themselves! We were a close family, bonded by our grandparents, so when we went to see them we would see everyone else. Our mum and dad were very hard-working. Seven days a week. They were housekeepers for a family who owned a mansion in Petr polis. At the weekends, the family would come from Rio to spend time in the house, and our parents were still needed then to take care of everything. In the week, when the owners were not there, we were allowed to go in the pool. It was a taste of a different life and a bonus from the work of our mum and dad.
We grew up appreciating the value of everything because of how hard they worked. By European standards you might have said we were poor, but we always had everything we needed. Our parents are our heroes in life. From the moment we were able to work we knew we d be working hard to try and repay them for everything they d done for us.
Dad was very strict, but also very emotional. Zerrique got into trouble a couple of times at school and Dad wouldn t go because he would become too frustrated - he d tell Mum to go alone. We were very young but we observed it all and learned from it. We didn t want to upset our parents in that way.
Because we were twins, we did everything together. We were so close in ability, so whenever we played football against each other - and we were as competitive as we were inseparable - it was very difficult because we were just the same. Sometimes we d play on huge football pitches, one against one, running until we were exhausted from trying to beat each other. Usually when you play against someone else there is a difference in quality. It can become uncompetitive. It can be boring. That wasn t the case for us.
People see us and think we re so nice with each other and we love each other and that is true. When we were playing, especially in Manchester when one of us might be getting a game instead of the other, we were always very happy for who was playing and wanted him to do well. But on the training pitch, we fought for that position just as hard as we would against any other opponent.
Rafael: We ve changed over the years. When I was younger, I was so calm, relaxed
Fabio: And I was always agitated! Now it s the other way around! It s funny. I think we just bring that out in each other. When he s calm, I want to upset him or get on his nerves, and I know that when I am relaxed, he wants to do the same.
We fought, we argued. That s part of life, part of any family. The day we wrote this we had an argument. That s what happens when you re close. Of course, when you are a twin you are closer than normal. We slept in the same bed when we were young. We shared the same bedroom when we were teenagers. Even after we went to Manchester United, we shared a room; we were allowed our own hotel rooms for games, but after a while, the club noticed we were only using one of the rooms. Sir Alex Ferguson even asked us if it was true, and why. We were honest and said we didn t need it - from then on, they only booked one room for us.
Our brother had already been to Europe to try his luck at becoming a professional. He was offered a chance by Brescia and they liked him very much. In fact, they liked him so much that they said they would even sign us up to their academy to help him settle. Everything looked like it might happen, but then there were complications in the deal when an agent asked for too much money and Brescia said no.
Zerrique was a brilliant footballer. He had more talent than us. Everyone has those stories of someon