SQUAD PROFILE - Fabio Frassinelli (10)

NAME: Fabio Frassinelli

BIRTHPLACE: Genoa

YEAR OF BIRTH: 1984

POSITION: Defender

CLUB APPEARANCES: 61

GOALS: 12

DEBUT: WLF Genova - Dunfermline 1-0 (2006/07)
BEST MATCH: Le Café - Dunfermline 5-6 (2008/09)

PREVIOUS CLUBS: Genoa, Sestrese, Praese, Pontedecimo, Culmv

OFF THE PITCH: Fabio Frassinelli is a graduate IT Engineer, and is now in the process of completing a master degree in the same discipline.

It may be rare to see a defender don the No 10 shirt, but the first time Fabio ever did wear a Dunfermline shirt, well, it bore No 9.

That was back in 2006/07, when he was recruited by Clegg amidst a birthday party at the unusual (for Clegg himself) venue of Mako, a Genoa disco-club.

That's where and when the story began, but a lot of time has elapsed since, and Frassi has grown to become the second longest serving member of the squad, and the second highest Pars' players as far as club appearances are concerned.

He scored only once in his first season for Dunfermline, a brilliant backheel goal in the 8-4 thrashing of Olimpique Sestri, however he got injured soon afterwards and didn't appear on the pitch until the Primavera Tournament was played.

The following term, Dunfermline gained promotion to Division C, and he performed as the best defender in the whole league, by a mile.

He often contributed with goals, a few decisive ones too and, even more importantly, he rarely lost an aerial battle for the ball.

A mountain of a marker, and an inspired defensive leader, he even stood in as manager on one occasion, as the gaffer couldn't make it to the pitch in time for the 4-1 victory over Las Cuevas.

As for most of his team-mates, 2008/09 was good but not particularly enthusing, and the sense of belonging to the common cause, to the Dunfermline "project" sort of diminished, so it wasn't particulary heart-breaking when the Pars finally failed to gain back-to-back promotions.

The ensuing Primavera Tournament did restore faith in the common cause to a certain degree, and he and the rest of the team are now ready to take on the forthcoming season.