Luis Fabiano - a star is born, at the age of 27

 Occasionally these stars burn out before they reach maturity - which could be the fate of Barcelona's Ronaldinho - occasionally a star is born at a relatively late age.

 At the moment Luis Fabiano is the leading example of such a "late developer."

   His 27th birthday was two weeks ago, when he was still a relative unknown in world football.

 He is the talk of Planet Football right now, thanks to his two goals in Brazil's 2-1 defeat of Uruguay on Wednesday - and thanks to him having powered his way to the top of the Spanish scoring chart, with eight goals for Sevilla.

 It has been a long, rocky road to stardom for Luis Fabiano.

 He was born in the small town of Campinas, rose up through the youth sections at Guarani and cut his teeth as a striker at modest club Ituano.

 He made a name for himself as an explosive and temperamental forward for Ponte Preta between 1997 and 2000, scoring 25 goals but getting himself sent off four times.

 In 2000 he crossed the Atlantic and signed for Rennes, but the cold and damp of Brittany "took away my natural happiness," he now recalls - and he was soon back in Brazil.

 From 2001 to 2004 he scored 118 goals in 160 matches for Sao Paulo, vital statistics that earned him a second chance in Europe. In 2004 European champions Porto came in for him, but he again failed to catch fire in the Old World, scoring just five goals in 22 games.

 In June 2005 he was signed by Sevilla, on the insistence of wily sporting director Monchi.

 "What caught my eye about him," Monchi told television channel Canal Plus earlier this year, "was his sharpness in front of goal, and his habit of doing something unexpected."

   Monchi was aware of Luis Fabiano's fiery temperament and he admits that "this has really annoyed all of us in some matches...But you have to put up with his occasional explosion, because he is such a high-quality striker."

   Luis Fabiano's most infamous explosion came in last season's defeat away to Zaragoza, when he engaged in an unsightly punch-up with local defender Carlos Diogo which led to both men being sent off in shame.

 But Sevilla are clever to overlook Luis Fabiano's occasional outburst, because his goals have contributed to the most successful spell in the club's 102-year history.

 He has scored 23 goals in 56 appearances for the Andalusians - including the opener in the 2006 UEFA Cup final against Middlesbrough - forming a lethal partnership with Frederic Kanoute.

 Luis Fabiano made his Brazil debut in 2003 and has scored eight goals for the "Canarinha", the most important being Wednesday's brace against Uruguay.

 The most uncomfortable moment of his on-off career came in 2005, when his mother was kidnapped by gunmen back in Campinas. She was rescued by police 61 days later.

 Now this "late developer" is all set to enjoy the best years of his career - providing that he can keep that explosive temperament under some sort of control.

DPA