Fábio Bilica

Fábio Alves da Silva (born 4 January 1979), commonly known as Bilica, is a Brazilian footballer.

Club career

Bilica is infamous for his statement during his time at Venezia when he claimed that he would break Roberto Baggio's legs, who was playing for Brescia at that time. Baggio wound up getting injured and stayed on the sidelines for several months.

Bilica made his debut at Bahia. He then later played for many clubs including Palermo, Köln and many more.

In 2004, Bilica was approached by Goiás Esporte Clube, as part of the manager Celso Roth's preparations for the 2004 Campeonato Brasileiro Série A. However, the negotiations with the Goiânia club did not go as expected. Bilica was then signed by the Porto Alegre club Grêmio. At Grêmio, Fábio Bilica was part of the squad that was relegated to the Série B. In a disastrous campaign, Grêmio was virtually relegated with four rounds to go to the end of the season, and Bilica was dismissed by the team after problems with the club, such as a verbal altercation with heckling fans, arguments with the coach Cláudio Duarte, and for the poor campaign and financial conditions of the club. Bilica was released by the club after the end of the season, amidst problems with the club president, Paulo Odone, and allegations of indiscipline and improper conduct.