Fabian_O'Neill

Fabián O'Neill

Fabián O'Neill

Uruguayan footballer (1973–2022)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is O'Neill and the second or maternal family name is Domínguez.

Fabián Alberto O'Neill Domínguez (14 October 1973 – 25 December 2022) was a Uruguayan professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

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He began and finished his career at Nacional, where he won the Uruguayan Primera División in his debut season in 1992. He spent most of his career in Italy, mainly with Cagliari and also with Juventus and Perugia. He earned 19 caps for Uruguay, starting at the 1993 Copa América and ending at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Nicknamed "El Mago" ('The Wizard'),[1] O'Neill was described by Zinedine Zidane as the most talented teammate of his career.[2] He lost his fortune to gambling, and suffered from alcoholism during and after his career, retiring at 29 and dying 20 years later.[1]

Early life

O'Neill was the oldest of five children born to Luis Alberto O'Neill and Mercedes Domínguez. He was the great-great-grandson of Michael O'Neill, an Irishman from County Cork who arrived in Uruguay in 1837.[3]

Abandoned by his parents, O'Neill was raised by his grandmother, with whom he had to share a bed until the age of 14. He began working at age nine, selling sausages outside a brothel, and was already drinking at that age.[2][4]

Club career

O'Neill began his professional career at Nacional in the Uruguayan Primera División playing in the first team between 1992 and 1995. In his debut season, at the age of 18, his team won the league.[5] In 1996, he moved to Italy to play with Serie A club Cagliari, one of several Uruguayans to join the club through agent Paco Casal.[6] The club was relegated to Serie B in 1997, but promoted again in 1998. In 1999, during a game against Salernitana, he performed three nutmegs against the future World Cup winner, Gennaro Gattuso.[6]

After Cagliari was relegated again in 2000, O'Neill was transferred to Juventus for a fee of 20 billion lire (€10 million).[7] In January 2002 he moved to Perugia as part of a deal involving the transfer of Davide Baiocco to Juventus.[8] He terminated his contract in the summer to return to Cagliari, now in Serie B, although he did not take to the field during his brief stay.[7] In 2012, O'Neill admitted to twice having fixed Serie A games in order to win bets.[9][10]

In January 2003, O'Neill returned to Nacional but played only five times. He retired later that year at the age of 29, due to the effects of alcoholism, and returned to his cattle ranch.[11] He later played and managed semiprofessional football in the Uruguayan lower leagues.[3]

International career

O'Neill played 19 times for Uruguay. He played his first match for the national team on 16 June 1993 in a Copa América group match won 1–0 against the United States.[12] He came on as a substitute for Adrián Paz with seven minutes remaining, but took no further part in the tournament due to injury.[6] The last of his 19 caps was in May 2002 against China in Shenyang. He was a member of the Uruguay squad at the 2002 FIFA World Cup but did not play.[13][14]

Personal life and death

O'Neill had two daughters and a son,[15] each of whom was born to a different mother.[11] As of December 2021, his son Favio was playing as a defensive midfielder for the under-19 team of Peñarol, Nacional's rivals;[16] as of June 2020, his middle child Martina was a field hockey player.[11] His cousin Jairo (born 2001) also played for Peñarol.[17]

In 2013, O'Neill wrote an autobiography, Hasta la última gota (Until the Last Drop).[4] He had a gallbladder operation in June 2016 and was told to abstain from alcohol for three years, but began drinking a month later.[1]

In February 2017, O'Neill said that he lost his fortune of US$14 million on "slow horses, fast women and gambling", but that he did not regret becoming poor.[1] In his autobiography, he said that he once spent US$250,000 on 1,104 cows, having attended a cattle auction while drunk.[2][18]

O'Neill was hospitalised in June 2020 with cirrhosis. He was advised that if he abstained from alcohol for a year, he could have a liver transplant and live to old age.[11]

O'Neill died on 25 December 2022, at age 49, in a Montevideo hospital, where he had been in intensive care with bleeding due to chronic liver disease.[7][19] He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in Paso de los Toros on 28 December.[20]

Career statistics

More information National team, Year ...
Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each O'Neill goal.
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Honours

Nacional

References

  1. [1]
    "La historia de Fabián O'Neill, el futbolista uruguayo que más admiraba Zidane: "Tuve 14 millones de dólares y los perdí, pero a mí no me molesta ser pobre"" [The story of Fabián O'Neill, the Uruguayan footballer who Zidane admired more than any other: "I had 14 million dollars and I lost it all, but being poor doesn't bother me"]. La Nación (in Spanish). 20 February 2017. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  2. [2]
    Carrasco, Eloy (14 December 2016). "Zizou, el mejor era Fabián O'Neill" [Zizou, the best was Fabián O'Neill]. El Periódico de Catalunya (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  3. [3]
    Malcolm, Conrad O'Neill. "Fabián O'Neill, football player". Society for Irish Latin American Studies. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  4. [4]
    Montaño, Pablo (1 November 2022). "Qué fue de Fabián O'Neill, el mejor con el que jugó Zidane" [What happened to Fabián O'Neill, the best player Zidane played with]. Diario AS (in Spanish). Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  5. [5]
    "Muere Fabián O'Neill, exjugador de la selección uruguaya y la Juventus" [Fabián O'Neill, former Uruguay national team and Juventus player, dies] (in Spanish). Radio France Internationale. 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  6. [6]
    Díaz, Juan José (25 December 2022). "La vida de Fabián O'Neill, el mago del fútbol que se desapereció a sí mismo" [The life of Fabián O'Neill, the wizard of football who made himself disappear]. El Observador. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  7. [7]
    "È morto Fabian O'Neill: l'ex Juve e Cagliari aveva 49 anni" [Fabián O'Neill dead: ex Juve and Cagliari player was 49 years old] (in Italian). Sky Sport. 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  8. [8]
    "Significant Events After The Closure of the First Months of 2001/2002" (PDF). Six-Monthly Report at 21 December 2001. Juventus FC. p. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  9. [9]
    Tagliaferro, Gerardo (4 April 2012). "Talento y pico" [Talent and then some (at Q.33)]. Montevideo.com.uy (in Spanish). Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  10. [10]
    "O'Neill: 'I fixed Serie A games'". Football Italia. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  11. [11]
    "Martina, la hija de Fabián O'Neill: "El problema va ser grave si mi papá sigue tomando"" [Martina, Fabián O'Neill's daughter: "The problem will be very serious if my dad keeps on drinking"]. El País (in Spanish). 30 June 2020. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  12. [12]
    "Uruguay – International Matches 1991–1995". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 23 July 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  13. [13]
    "Appearances for Uruguay National Team". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 5 June 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2010.
  14. [14]
    "Squad Profiles – Uruguay – Fabian O'Neill". BBC Sport. 31 May 2002. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
  15. [15]
    "El mensaje de los hijos de Fabián O'Neill tras su muerte" [The message from Fabián O'Neill's children after his death]. El Observador (in Spanish). 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  16. [16]
    "Favio O'Neill, el hijo de Fabián que se entrena en Peñarol: "Cuando me hablaron de esta posibilidad enseguida dije que sí"" [Favio O'Neill, Fabián's son who trains at Peñarol: "When they spoke to me about this opportunity I immediately said yes"] (in Spanish). ESPN. 2 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  17. [17]
    "Jairo O'Neill, el primo de Fabián que debutó en Peñarol y jugó como para no salir del once" [Jairo O'Neill, Fabián's cousin who debuted for Peñarol and played as if he didn't want to lose his place]. El Observador (in Spanish). 21 May 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  18. [18]
    "Cinco perlas de la vida de Fabián O'Neill: la compra de las 1.000 vacas, la defensa a Forlán y la amenaza de Gattuso" [Five pearls from the life of Fabián O'Neill: the purchase of 1,000 cows, the defence of Forlán and the threat from Gattuso]. El País (in Spanish). 25 December 2022. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  19. [19]
    Pathak, Manasi (25 December 2022). "Former Uruguay midfielder O'Neill dies at 49". Reuters. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  20. [20]
    "El último adiós: esparcieron las cenizas de Fabián O'Neill en Paso de los Toros" [The final goodbye: Fabián O'Neill's ashes scattered in Paso de los Toros] (in Spanish). Fútbol.com.uy. 28 December 2022. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  21. [21]
    Fabián O'Neill at National-Football-Teams.com
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