São Paulo – He was a substitute for Brazilian football legend Sócrates at the São Paulo-based club Corinthians, played in remote places as Mineiros, in the state of Goiás, and Thessaloniki, in Greece, played in arch-rival teams like Rio Grande do Sul’s Grêmio and Internacional, and played footvolley with Maradona in Dubai. Today, Luís Fernando Abichabki can be found working at a football club in São José do Rio Pardo, in the countryside of São Paulo state, his hometown and the place to where he likes to return. He is the sports director of Associação Atlética Riopardense, which was part of his childhood and teenage years and has now become part of his routine again.
The surname Abichabki reveals his Arab origins and hides the Italian family names from the mother’s side. When in doubt about the country from which the family came, he immediately added, ‘Syrian-Lebanese.’ All the former player knows is that his great-grandfather was a merchant who ended up in the countryside of São Paulo. In addition to the last name, he inherited the taste for delicacies such as stuffed grape leaves.
Nando, as his friends and relatives call him, grew up playing a bit of everything at the club and on the streets. When the opportunity came to play football for the Guarani club in exchange for a scholarship to attend college at PUC Campinas, it was a success. And off he went for the first of his many moves of city and house.
In 1981, at the age of 20, the player received a proposal to train at São Paulo-based club Corinthians. The place, according to him, was very precarious, in no way honoring the distinguished Brazilian club. Gradually, the football stars started to appear, and he recognized them one by one. Zenon, Wladimir, and Sócrates would shine in the following years as the “Immortal Squad.” Osvaldo Brandão, then coach, in the presence of President Vicente Matheus, said: “The boy will stay.”
At a young age, he experienced Corinthian’s peak. He was part of the so-called Corinthian Democracy, marked by the figures of Socrates and Walter Casagrande. According to Luís Fernando, the movement was not only a political position against Brazil’s declining military dictatorial government but also a remarkable event. “We were very united, and this harmony happened on and off the field,” he recalled.
From “Doctor Sócrates,” only good memories and great teachings. The player, who died in 2011, used to take books on trips and share ages aloud with his roommates. “He would read and make us reflect and discuss what he had just read,” recalled Luís Fernando. In 1984, when he left for Fiorentina club in Italy, Sócrates said Luís Fernando would be his successor. “It was to give me strength, very generous of him, but he knew, I knew, everyone knew that no one would replace him,” he said.
From São José do Rio Pardo to Dubai
Luís Fernando played for Corinthians until 1987 and was even loaned to Internacional club in Rio Grande Sul, where he was state champion. Later, he went to arch-rivals Grêmio. He also played for Paraná-based clubs Coritiba and Atlético Paranaense and Campinas-based Guarani and Ponte Preta. The former player was never one to plan every step of his career or life. Outside Brazil, he played for the Greek team Paok in Thessaloniki and Bellinzona in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland.
After marrying Christiane came the children, Eduardo and Leonardo, and a phase of coming and going among minor teams in Brazil. Tired, Luís Fernando retired his boots and returned home, where he opened a football school. After obtaining a Physical Education undergraduate degree, he taught at a school and the local club. However, life would still take him out of peaceful São José do Rio Pardo a few more times.
In 2010, thanks to old s from his playing days, he received an invitation to coach in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. Having already a short career as a coach at São Paulo-based club Santo André, he saw the invitation as a chance to give his children a life that would not be possible in Brazil. For seven years, the Brazilian coached the sub-19 team of Al Nasr and the substitute team of Al Shabbab.
In 2017, he returned to Brazil. But not for long. Soon came the invitation to work for the government of the emirate of Sharjah, where he managed nine professional teams and youth categories. “I developed a specific teaching pedagogy for them; we built a training center with five fields specifically for the project.” Classes were for both players and coaches, all native or children of UAE residents.
In the Gulf country, he played footvolley with Maradona, the Argentine football legend who lived in Dubai and coached local teams in the 2010s. Altogether, Luís Fernando spent ten years in the country, where he learned to speak technical football and essential everyday words in Arabic. From there, he misses the beauty, safety, and opportunities his children had. “It’s an oasis, a paradise; you will have a very good life there. In addition, the Brazilian community is big, and we made many friends,” he recalled.
Homesick, the Brazilian decided it was time to go back. For once? “I’ve already been called to go to Dubai, and I could even accept new proposals if I think that’s what I should do. There I had an apartment, a car, a great job, and a very good salary,” he explained. But what about here? “Here I have affection.”
Translated by Elúsio Brasileiro
