Fabian O’Neill is considered one of the more underrated soccer talents of all time. The Uruguayan was praised by French soccer legend Zinedine Zidane. O’Neill was born in 1973. Primarily an attacking midfielder, the Uruguayan attracted interest from professional soccer clubs at a young age.
The midfielder started his career with Nacional, the professional soccer team of Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Italian club Cagliari was the first to recognize O’Neill’s talent and brought him to Italy in 1996. It was in the Italian league that O’Neill made a name for himself. In 120 appearances for Cagliari, he scored 12 goals.
2002 – To show how loved Fabian O’Neill was, Richard Morales wore his jersey under his own when he played for @Uruguay vs. @FootballSenegal 🇸🇳
• RIP Legend at age 49 pic.twitter.com/UA5bkYeiqi
— Uruguay Football ENG (@UruguayFootENG) December 25, 2022
His talents were recognized by Italian giants Juventus, who signed him in 2000. It was at Juventus that the Uruguayan was teammates with French World Cup winner Zinedine Zidane. O’Neill played for the Old Lady for just one year, however, appearing just 14 times.
After Juventus, O’Neill signed for Perugia, where he played just 9 games, scoring once in the process. Thereafter, he moved back to his boyhood club Nacional, where he eventually hung up his boots in 2003. O’Neill was capped 19 times by his national side, Uruguay. He scored twice for the La Celeste.
Chronic liver disease kills Fabian O’Neill at 49
Fabian O’Neill battled alcoholism for a long time. He was unfortunately addicted to liquor. The midfielder reportedly had gallbladder surgery in 2016. Thereafter, he was advised by his doctors not to drink alcohol for at least three years. O’Neill tried to adhere to the doctor’s advice, however, he started drinking within a month of the surgery.
By his own description in an interview in 2017, O’Neill said that he lost his fortune of $14 million on “slow horses, fast women, and gambling.” Such was his addiction that in his autobiography, Hasta la última gota (Until the Last Drop), he explained how he exited an auction with 1104 cows that he purchased while drunk.
🙌 Homenaje de @CagliariCalcio a Fabián O’Neill en el encuentro frente a Cosenza. pic.twitter.com/GeukmZ719A
— BUYSAN (@Buysan) December 26, 2022
The alcoholism ultimately caught up with the former midfielder. As a result, he had to be hospitalized in 2020 with cirrhosis, which is an end-stage liver disease. Once again, the doctors advised him to stop drinking for a year, but he opted to ignore their advice.
Fabian O’Neill passed away in a hospital in Montevideo on 25 December 2022 due to chronic liver disease.
What did Zinedine Zidane say about O’Neill?
Zinedine Zidane is one of the legends of the game of soccer. He won the World Cup with France in 1998 alongside the Ballon d’Or, in the same year. During his time in Turin, he came across Fabian O’Neill, who joined the club in 2000.
Even though the Uruguayan only featured 14 times for the club, Zidane saw something special in him. The former Real Madrid boss went on to describe his former teammate as ‘The Most Talented Player Ever.’
Zinedine Zidane has described Fabián O’Neill as his best ever teammate. Fabian was one of the best midfielders in the Serie A before his move to Juve but he was known for his passion for alcohol. He was hospitalized several times in the last years. RIP pic.twitter.com/4WQEugyNFE
— Khaled Al Nouss (@khaledalnouss1) December 25, 2022
It turns out that the Frenchman was not the only one to recognize O’Neill’s talents. Here’s how El Pais newspaper reported the tragic passing of O’Neill: “Uruguayan football is in mourning. One of the best players to emerge in recent decades and who knew how to shine on the field with his talent and magic has left us.”
Most people who saw O’Neill play share the same sentiment. They all agree that, had the Uruguayan’s career not been plagued by alcoholism, he would have gone on to become one of the greats of soccer.
