Cristian Fabbiani

Lanús and Palestino

Fabbiani was born on 3 September 1983 in Ciudad Evita, Argentina. He comes from a family of footballers, with 13 professional footballers on his father's side, including his uncle Óscar Fabbiani, who played for Chile's national team. On 3 March 2002, he made his debut in the Argentine Primera División, playing for Lanús when coach Carlos Aimar sent him at half-time to replace Santiago Hoyos in a 1–1 draw against Estudiantes. He was used rarely in his first years at Lanus, being loaned to Chilean Primera División side, Palestino, where he began to demonstrate a keen appetite for scoring goals. During his period spent in Chile with Palestino, he was nicknamed El Ogro (English: The Ogre) which was a reference to a goal celebration he performed with a Shrek mask.

Lanús and Beitar Jerusalem

At the beginning of 2005, Fabbiani returned to Lanús, scoring one goal in his first match upon his return, a 2–2 draw against Boca Juniors. He continued to score a week later in a 3–0 home win over Gimnasia La Plata, and netted two doubles until the end of the season, with the first in a 2–0 win over Argentinos Juniors and the second in 6–0 success against Almagro. Fabbiani started the following season by receiving a red card in the third round in a 1–1 draw against Boca Juniors. Subsequently, he scored four goals by the end of the first half of the season, one in a 3–1 victory over Colón, a brace in a 2–1 win against Arsenal de Sarandí and a goal in a 2–2…

In June 2021, Fabbiani started his career as manager at Primera B Metropolitana club, Fenix de Pilar. After one year at Fenix in which he obtained only six victories, his contract was not renewed, but he went to coach Primera Nacional side Deportivo Riestra in June 2022. Fabbiani stayed with them until April 2023 when he returned to Primera B Metropolitana at Deportivo Merlo which he helped avoid relegation. In February 2024 he went back to coach Deportivo Riestra, this time in the Argentine Primera División, making his debut in a 3–0 home loss to River Plate. On 16 May 2024, during a 1–0 loss to Newell's Old Boys in the Copa Argentina, he gave the professional debut to Mateo Apolonio at age 14 years and 29 days, who became the youngest player in Argentinian football. Fabbiani was the subject of criticism when on 11 November 2024, at the club's orders, he used streamer Iván Buhajeruk (Spreen) for about one minute in a 1–1 draw against Vélez Sarsfield for a publicity stunt. After achieving good results with Deportivo Riestra, Fabbiani took over Newell's Old Boys in February 2025. Under his leadership, the team achieved important victories, including one against Boca Juniors. However, in the second half of the year, the team had a six-game winless streak and suffered an early elimination in the Copa Argentina, leading to his dismissal in October 2025.

In 2012, Fabbiani appeared in the music video for "Fuego", a single by Ángela Leiva.

Player

Beitar Jerusalem

Israeli Premier League: 2006–07 CFR Cluj

Liga I: 2007–08 Cupa României: 2007–08