Wow: Fabio Coentrao

I’ll tell you what, this is a star in the making: Fabio Coentrao. Playing for Portugal in the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 19 year old SL Benfica player has been heads and shoulders above all the players I have seen so far in the tournament. He impressed me so much on the left wing; I made a video of his moves in the game during New Zealand (hey, gimme a break, first try). He plays very much like Arjan Robben of Chelsea and even has a similar body style.

He needs a bit of muscle but the package, for his age, is there. He has great vision, is active, crosses well, and interweaves play.

Fabio Alexandre da Silva Coentrao played last season in the Portuguese second division for club side Rio Ave where he was voted the second division player of the year. He’s certain to take up a place in the Benfica first team where I can easily see him in a starting role. He was born in Vila do Conde, Portugal on March 11th 1988. He also won top scorer and MVP at the 2007 Madeira Cup.

It’s claimed that Chelsea’s Jose Mourinho was keeping tabs on the player but Benfica signed Coentrao to a 6 year contract that he will begin this season. Expect to see this youngster again, here is the video, unfortunately, I couldn't download the game in English: