Giovanni Fabbian is an Italian offensive midfielder playing for Bologna and attracting the interest of several clubs, especially in Serie A.
Under the management of Vincenzo Italiano, Fabbian has succeeded in becoming a crucial midfielder for Bologna, especially in the current season, as he has been very valuable in the Rossoblù’s tactics and starting lineup, having participated in most of his team’s games as a starter.
Fabbian’s goalscoring has been crucial for Bologna recently, as they made another unprecedented achievement by reaching the Coppa Italia final for the first time since 1973/74, when they lifted their second and last Coppa Italia trophy.
This is not the first time Fabbian has impressed with his goalscoring and crucial finishes, as he was also very impactful last season with Bologna FC 1909.
He scored goals at the last minute during complicated games, which further highlights the player’s strong personality, confidence, and finishing traits.
Fabbian’s goalscoring impact has therefore been an important factor in making the player much more attractive to numerous teams, such as AC Milan, who are rumoured to be interested in the services of the Italian midfielder, and Inter Milan, who are eager to offer the player a comeback opportunity.
In this tactical analysis and scout report on the Italian midfielder, we will primarily explore his abilities in terms of playmaking, goal-scoring, and defensive contributions.
The analysis will also reserve a section to study his profile, roles, and positions within Bologna’s tactics.
Giovanni Fabbian Position & Role At Bologna
Fabbian is a modern midfielder who is trying to adapt to the different situations he is put in by utilising his excellent physical abilities and his continuously improving technical skills.
He can be considered an offensive midfielder as well as a central midfielder, executing both attacking and defensive duties.
Having the ability to master both positions makes Fabbian a special player who can be beneficial for most teams, as he is more than useful for Bologna at the moment.
Having started his career at Padova and then moved to Inter Milan, where he spent four seasons with the youth team, Fabbian had the opportunity to learn a great deal at these two clubs before being loaned out to Reggina for the 2022/23 season.
Fabbian won the Serie B Footballer of the Year that season and, more importantly, improved a lot as a midfielder, having gained valuable experience in a brief period.
This Serie B experience made it easier for him to then join Bologna and be ready to take on the challenge of playing in Serie A, putting in the needed performances as a midfielder at Bologna, since Inter Milan had no plans to integrate him into their squad at that time.
Giovanni Fabbian Stats
The following radar map effectively highlights Fabbian’s strengths and weaknesses.
It shows that the Italian is exceptional in winning aerial duels, knowing that his 1.86 meters height helps him a lot in this regard.
Moreover, we can confirm that his passing accuracy is also excellent.
However, Fabbian is not the type of midfielders who go for risky passes so often, and that’s an area of improvement for him if he plans to become among the best midfielders soon.
Working on his defensive positioning can also be helpful, as it will help him increase his low defensive duel won rates and become more useful in the defensive phase.
At the same time, we must shed light on the fact that Fabbian’s attacking positioning is excellent, as he was already capable of putting himself in perfect spots to win second balls and score goals on multiple occasions, mainly thanks to his intelligent positioning during his team’s attacking actions.
These striker-like movements inside the box, as well as his penetrations towards the box whenever needed, have been making Fabbian one of the team’s reliable weapons in the attacking phase.
Although his goal contribution and shooting rates are quite low in the pizza map, Fabbian has proven on many occasions that he can be very beneficial in this regard, whether through goal scoring or assists.
The only aspect that he needs to work on regarding this topic is the continuity in terms of goals and assists, because he has only scored three times this season.
Giovanni Fabbian Goalscoring Ability
Fabbian’s goalscoring traits have been confirmed this season with the crucial goals he scored and his continuous attempts to finish the actions whenever he positions himself well inside the box.
His movements without the ball inside the area have consistently helped him create scoring opportunities, especially during crosses, set pieces, and second balls.
Movement Without The Ball & Finishing Against Lazio
During this corner-kick, he positioned himself well to receive the ball, and when the ball went to the other side, he exploited the confusion in Lazio’s defence.
He was the only player who followed Riccardo Orsolini’s follow-up cross and inserted himself between two Lazio defenders to be the one who finished the action inside the net.
In addition to moving with ease and intelligence inside the box to be at the receiving end of crosses, Fabbian can also be crucial when having the ball, especially by exchanging short passes while advancing to put himself in suitable goalscoring situations.
Giovanni Fabbian Volley Against Lazio
The following goal example highlights his ability to break defensive lines simply by providing a pass to his teammate and attacking the space to receive the ball back in front of goal.
Finishing with a left-footed volley in a confusing way for the goalkeeper and the defender who tried to prevent him from shooting further confirms the player’s goalscoring skills.
It shows that he has the potential to become a more consistent goalscorer too.
Fabbian has also been crucial in Serie B, and his numerous goals with Reggina have significantly helped him gain the confidence needed inside the box when playing in Serie A.
Positioning himself inside the box and becoming a second striker during games is an idea that has usually been fruitful, whether at Reggina or Bologna, since Fabbian was usually capable of creating danger in such situations.
Giovanni Fabbian Striker-Movements
The following picture shows Fabbian inside the box between two opponents and waiting for a through pass.
He was exactly positioned as a striker and made the movement that any reliable striker would attempt in such situations: timing his move and advancing as soon as the pass was launched before finishing with a first-touch left-footed shot inside the net.
As seen on the pizza map, Fabbian has been exceptional in aerial duels so far, especially inside the box, where he has scored numerous goals, particularly with Reggina and recently with Bologna, although at a lower rate.
He scored headers from different situations and from various spots.
Yet, what’s special is that Fabbian masters the needed movements without the ball, in order to win the advantage and orient it the way he wants.
His height, indeed, gives him a significant advantage.
Still, at the same time, his anticipatory movements make things less complicated for him, especially when he is being tightly marked.
Giovanni Fabbian Headers
The following goal action highlights his ability to anticipate defenders, resist their marking, and orient his header with confidence, despite looking towards a distinct side.
Intensifying his anticipatory movements on such occasions would surely increase his goal-scoring rate and make him even more impactful in terms of goalscoring.
Giovanni Fabbian Playmaking & Defending
According to the actual footage of Fabbian, it is evident that the Italian midfielder has not provided numerous assists in his career so far, and this is an aspect that he needs to improve as soon as possible to become a more complete offensive midfielder.
That being said, Fabbian’s passing is usually accurate and reliable.
At the moment, Fabbian’s passing becomes more dangerous when he plays with his back towards goal and acts like a stationary striker while providing backward passes to those coming from the back.
He has provided such passes and headers successfully on numerous occasions, but the actions did not result in goals inside the net afterwards, which reduced the impact of those passes.
Giovanni Fabbian Defensive Work
At the same time, Fabbian’s defensive work, whether in terms of high pressing or marking inside the team’s own half, should not be overlooked, as Fabbian intercepts many passes per game on average and often disturbs opponents using his physical strength to win the ball back, like in the example below.
Conclusion
Giovanni Fabbian has been very useful for Bologna during the last season and this season so far, as he has been able to score a few decisive goals, such as the one that qualified the team for the Coppa Italia final.
Ensuring consistency in scoring goals and becoming more impactful with passes to start providing assists is essential for Fabbian to become a more complete midfielder.
He still needs to take more risks with his passes to reach the next level as a playmaker.
