The Tragedy of L’Imperatore

A profile of Adriano, the troubled but prolific Brazilian striker by guest contributor Krisztián Horváth of Behind The Transfer.

“I couldn’t pull him out of depression. It was the biggest defeat of my life. I felt helpless.” Javier Zanetti

“Adri, you’re Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimović at the same time. Do you realize you could be the best player in the world?” Iván Córdoba

Adriano, or as his grandmother used to call him, “Adirano,” was born in 1982 in Rio de Janeiro. He started playing football on the streets of Vila Cruzeiro, a favela ruled by drugs and poverty. Some of his friends were killed, others became drug dealers, but Adriano’s family knew there was real talent in the boy, so they raised him to take football seriously.

The hard work paid off quickly. As a teenager, he joined Flamengo’s youth academy, and on February 2, 2000, he made his first-team debut in a league match against Botafogo.

His talent didn’t go unnoticed by the national team either. On November 15, 2000, he made his debut for the Seleção in a friendly against Colombia. In his first season, he scored 10 goals in 24 matches, earned a contract extension, and by the summer of 2001 Inter Milan had signed him for €13 million.

His first six months in Milan didn’t go as planned, so he was loaned out and later sold permanently, only for Inter to buy him back in the winter of 2004 for €23.5 million from Parma. The Brazilian striker finished the spring with 11 goals and played a key role in helping Inter secure Champions League qualification. The fans gave him a nickname that would follow him forever: L’Imperatore di Milano.

The 2004 Copa América belonged to Adriano. In the final against Argentina, it was his goal that equalized in the dying minutes. In the end, Brazil celebrated, and Adriano finished as the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals. At that moment, it truly felt like a once in a generation player had arrived.

Then, nine days after the final, everything changed.

“When they called him and told him his father had died, we were in the same room. He just held the phone, and then suddenly he started screaming and crying in a way I can’t even describe. I still get chills thinking about it.” – Javier Zanetti

From that day on, the same L’Imperatore no longer ruled Milan.

He kept playing and kept scoring, dedicating every goal to his father, but something inside him had changed forever. The following season, his performances declined. He couldn’t process the grief. He started drinking constantly and partying until dawn.

“Back then, I was only happy when I drank. I could only sleep if I drank. Coach Roberto Mancini and my teammates noticed I showed up to training hungover. If I was afraid I wouldn’t wake up in time, I simply didn’t sleep and went to training drunk. I had to sleep it off in Inter’s medical room, while the press was told I had muscle pain.” – Adriano

In the seasons that followed, he was almost invisible. He appeared in only four league matches. He needed a change of environment, so Moratti sent him back to Brazil on unpaid leave. During that time, he trained with São Paulo and in January 2008 joined them on loan. He scored twice in his first match, and fans bought his number 10 shirt like it was gold.

But after the strong start came another collapse. Adriano struggled with weight problems, headbutted an opponent in a derby against Santos, and even got into an argument with a journalist. Because of the constant trouble, the club didn’t keep him, and after six months he returned to Milan.

In May 2009, he left Inter for free. Still, it seemed like he might rebuild himself back home.

Seventeen years after their last title, he helped Flamengo win the league. With 19 goals, he was one of the team’s most important players.

At just 28 years old, he received what would be his final chance in Europe when AS Roma brought him back to Italy in the summer of 2010. But incredibly bad luck struck again. He immediately injured his ankle, then later his shoulder. He played only eight matches before quietly leaving through the back door.

In March 2011, he signed for Corinthians, but a torn Achilles kept him out until October. During the long recovery, Adriano didn’t know what to do with himself, so he returned to drinking and partying.

“Sometimes we were at his place, but Corinthians staff were monitoring the apartment, so we went out to bars instead. One day the club organized a therapy session at his house, but he didn’t go home because we were still partying in the morning.” – one of his friends

In March 2012, Adriano left Corinthians. After that, he had short spells again with Flamengo and Athletico Paranaense, but in four years he played only three matches.

The Brazilian genius has since burned through an estimated $25 million fortune and fell so far that for a time he even associated himself with the Red Command, a Rio-based criminal gang that controls several favelas.

The L’Imperatore reign ended in tragedy.

And who knows, if fate hadn’t interfered with his career, maybe today we would speak of him as one of the greatest footballers the world has ever seen.

Words by Krisztián Horváth, Behind The Transfer.