About 10 years ago, a young Brazilian going by the name of Adriano Leite Ribeiro was making an increasingly big name of himself in European football. On loan at Parma from parent club Inter Milan, Adriano fired in goal after goal, before return to his owners to deliver yet more match winning performances. Fast forward to 2012, he has just been released from his home town club, Corinthians, and all the years of promise, trophies (4 Italian Titles) and goals (27 for Brazil) appears lost as the 30 year old looks set to quit the game. What went wrong then?
In 2004, Adriano’s father sadly passed away, and it is perhaps this which was the main nail into the coffin of the talented star with the worlds at his feet, literally. Suddenly, the 22 year old became head of the family, left with his loved ones depending on him. It is such a position which he clearly struggles to adapt to, both in his personal and professional life. When Roma offered him a chance again in the latter stages of the last decade, paying him an annual salary of around 5 million Euros, he was again the go-to man, who people looked up and demanded something of.
It all went wrong, and in his 7 month stay in the Italian capital there-in lies a microcosm of his life. He couldn’t handle the pressure, and extremely sadly he couldn’t in his personal life either, it all fell apart. Now, after 8 months at Corinthians, with numerous discipline breaches and a clear lack of interest, it has all happened again. He has decended into the horrible position of depression and alcoholism.
Is there something football could do to save this once greatly talented youngster? His 48 league goals in only just over 100 appearance for Inter Milan seem almost an eternity away, and it’s looking like his promise is going to be lost forever. There is a long list of sportsmen to have suffered with illness’ like depression over the years, and there are clinics designed to help this very issue. But, with football now almost all about the winning and success, there is an argument that loyalty to players is diminishing in favour of merely winning games. It is a very sad tale, as are all of the lost careers in similar fashions. His weight gain and demise mirror those of Ronaldo and Ronaldinho in recent years, what does this reflect upon Brazilian culture and football? Who knows, but we can only hope that from somewhere, Adriano finds it within himself to continue his career, and finds a club with some willing to work with him.
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