Fabián O'Neill

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

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'), He lost his fortune to gambling, and suffered from alcoholism during and after his career, retiring at 29 and dying 20 years later.

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.

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.

In 1996, O'Neill moved to Italy to play with Serie A club Cagliari, one of several Uruguayans to join the club through agent Paco Casal. The club were 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. He was signed as back-up to Zinedine Zidane, but did not become a regular starter after Zidane left for Real Madrid in 2001. Zidane himself described O'Neill as the most talented teammate of his career. along with an estimated £3.5 million.

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. He came on as a substitute for Adrián Paz with seven minutes remaining, but took no further part in the tournament due to injury.

Púa called O'Neill up for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea. The last of his 19 caps was on 16 May 2002 in a 2–0 friendly win against China in Shenyang. He played no games at the World Cup due to an Achilles tendon injury, and Vickery considered his absence a reason why Uruguay were eliminated in the group stages, having prepared their attack around him.

Personal life and death O'Neill had two daughters and a son, each of whom was born to a different mother. As of December 2021, his son Favio was playing as a defensive midfielder for the under-19 team of Peñarol, Nacional's rivals; as of June 2020, his middle child Martina was a field hockey player.

In 2013, O'Neill wrote an autobiography, Hasta la última gota (Until the Last Drop). In his autobiography, he said that he once spent US$250,000 on 1,104 cows, having attended a cattle auction while drunk.

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. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered in Paso de los Toros on 28 December.

Career statistics

Scores and results list Uruguay's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each O'Neill goal.

Honours Nacional Uruguayan Primera División: 1992