Adriano opened his heart and explained why everything went wrong: ‘I am the biggest football failure’
Retired Brazilian soccer player Adriano (42) still occasionally attracts the attention of foreign media, although his days in the spotlight are long behind him.
Although he was a big star and earned huge sums of money during his career, he decided to retire to his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, where he now lives in the poor neighborhood of Vila Cruzeiro. He says that his life in that environment is “great”, although he admits that he faces difficult private challenges. Adriano is in the text for Players Tribune spoke openly about his life, admitting that he is an alcoholic, but denied rumors about drugs and crime.
“Do you know what it looks like when they tell you that you promise a lot? I know. But I also know what it’s like when you don’t keep a promise. Biggest football failure: Me. I love that word, miss. Not just because of how it sounds, but because my life is a big failure. That suits me, I enjoy being stigmatized.”
“I don’t do drugs, as some want to portray. I am not involved in any crime. I don’t like going out to clubs. I always go to the same place in my neighborhood, the Nana kiosk. If you want to meet me, come by. I drink almost every day”reveals the former soccer player.
What hurt him the most, he says, was the fact that he was “a promise that was not fulfilled”, even though he was called “The Emperor” because of his success in Europe.
“A boy who left the favela and became Emperor in Europe – that’s incredible. I don’t know how to explain it. I obviously did some things well. A lot of people don’t understand why I left the fame and went back to my old neighborhood, where I drink. It’s a decision that’s hard to reverse.”he explains.
He also talks about the difficult times in Italy, when he played for Inter, where he often felt deep nostalgia.
“When I went to Inter, I was alone in my apartment for Christmas. Italy is depressing during the winter – it’s cold, wet, the nights fall fast. I was homesick, I felt bad. Fortunately, Clarence Seedorf was a great friend and invited me to dinner”Adriano recalls.
However, although he enjoyed company, he most wanted to be at home in the to Rio de Janeiro.
“I was happy to be there, but I couldn’t stop thinking about my family. I would call my mom and family, and I would hear drums in the background. I would start crying, drink a bottle of vodka and be very sad”the Brazilian soccer player recalls.
Although he was in Milan with the goal of improving his family’s life, life in Italy became too difficult for him.
“The cameras were constantly following me, I couldn’t breathe. Here, in my neighborhood, I don’t have to worry about that. I’m not here for alcohol, women or drugs. I’m here because I’m free. I want to live and be a human being again. I want peace”he points out.
Adriano admits that he could not cope with the high expectations that were placed before him.
“I cried on the shoulder of Moratti, I tried for Mancini and Mourinhobut I couldn’t do everything they wanted me to do. Everyone criticized me. All I wanted was to go home. Is that wrong?” he wonders.
Living in Rio de Janeiro brings him a sense of community that he never had in Italy.
“I walk here barefoot and shirtless, play dominoes and dance with my friends on the sidewalk. I see my father in every one of these streets. Vila Cruzeiro is not the best place in the world, but it is my place”he concludes Adrianoexplaining why he always returns home – to his neighborhood, where he is respected and where he learned the true value of community.
