Athletic Club announced the signing of midfielder Fabrício Isidoro, son of former player Paulo Isidoro, who shone with the Galo jersey
In search of a reaction in Série B of the Brazilian Championship, Athletic Club announced this Wednesday (11/6) the signing of midfielder Fabrício Isidoro. Trained in the Cruzeiro youth system, the 33-year-old player is the son of Paulo Isidoro, an idol of Atlético and Grêmio between the 1970s and 1980s and number 7 of the Brazilian National Team in the 1982 World Cup. Fabrício Isidoro played for Cruzeiro’s under-15, under-17 and under-20 categories, but never played for the main team. He belongs to the generation of right-back Mayke, defensive midfielder Lucas Silva, midfielder Alisson and forwards Elber and Léo Bonatini (all born between 1992 and 1994).
After leaving Toca da Raposa in 2011, Fabrício played for Minas Gerais football clubs, including Poços de Caldas, Democrata de Sete Lagoas, Villa Nova and Tupi. In 2016, he transferred to Louletano in Portugal and scored six goals in 32 games in his first season in the Portuguese third division. In 2017/18, Fabrício signed with Farense, where he remained for eight years. According to the OGol platform, the central midfielder played 207 matches, scored 16 goals and was a key player in the club’s historic campaigns, such as promotion from the third to the second division in the debut season and from the second to the first in 2019/20 and 2022/23.
Fabrício’s last club was also Portuguese team Leixões, from the Second League. Before that, he played for Al-Muharraq, from Bahrain. When announcing the player, Athletic highlighted his “vision of the game”, “quality in distribution” and experience. “Isidoro arrives to add intelligence and consistency to the Esquadrão de Aço”.
Fabrício’s father, Paulo Isidoro, was born in Matozinhos, in the Metropolitan Region of Belo Horizonte, on August 3, 1953. Skilled and fast, he played both on the right wing and in midfield. During two spells at Atlético – from 1973 to 1979 and from 1985 to 1987 – he played 399 games and scored 98 goals, winning the Minas Gerais State Championship in 1976, 1978, 1979, 1985 and 1986. With Grêmio, Paulo Isidoro won the biggest title of his career, the 1981 Brasileirão, and was awarded the Golden Ball, an award given by Placar Magazine to the best player in the competition. The midfielder played for the Rio Grande do Sul club from 1980 to 1982, scoring 49 goals in 173 matches, according to the Gremiopedia website. He also played for Nacional-AM, Santos, XV de Jaú, Guarani, Cruzeiro and Inter de Limeira.
In addition to Fabrício Isidoro, Athletic signed Portuguese center forward Ronaldo Tavares. The 27-year-old athlete was playing for Yverdon in Switzerland, after playing for Penafiel, Estrela Amadora and FC Seoul (South Korea). At Sporting, the club where he was discovered, he played alongside midfielder Matheus Pereira from Cruzeiro and striker Rafael Leão, number 10 for Milan in Italy. Both Fabrício and Ronaldo were recommended by the recently arrived coach at Esquadrão, the Portuguese Rui Duarte, 46 years old. The former coach of Farense, Casa Pia, Trofense, Braga and Marítimo will have the mission of taking the Minas Gerais team out of the relegation zone of Série B.
Athletic is in second-to-last place, with six points in 11 rounds (two wins and nine losses). The Squadron returns to the field at 8:30 pm on Saturday (14/6), against Operário-PR, for the 12th round of Série B. The match will mark the return to Arena Sicredi, in São João del-Rei. In recent months, the stadium has undergone modernization works and had its capacity increased from 4 to 8 thousand people.
