Football: Brazilian legend Adriano retires during tribute match

Adriano bids farewell to football this Sunday, December 15, at the Maracana in Rio EFE – ANDRE COELHO

Adriano dans une favela au brésil où il vivait depuis sa retraite EFE – Antonio Lacerda

Former Brazilian international striker Adriano said his official “farewell” to football this Sunday, December 15, eight years after his last professional match.

A match in his honor, Sunday in Rio in front of more than 20,000 spectators, pitting the “legends” of Flamengo, his training club, against the “Friends of Italy”, ended with a 4-3 victory for the former. Now 42 years old, the player nicknamed “the Imperatore” (“the Emperor”) during his splendor in the 2000s has retired.

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Adriano in the Champions League with Inter Milan LUSA – ESTELA SILVA

This tribute comes more than eight years after his last meeting

The match was interrupted for a moment by a message from his deceased father, generated by artificial intelligence, and then Adriano was warmly greeted by each of the players present. This tribute comes more than eight years after the last professional match played by the former Inter and Flamengo striker, who had decided to return permanently to Brazil for family reasons well before his thirties. Winner with Brazil of the Copa America in 2004 and then of the Confederations Cup the following year, at barely 22 years old, Adriano (48 selections) had then gradually disappeared from the radar.

He had spoken of his problems with alcoholism shortly before the match

Having returned to live in the favela of his childhood, in Rio, he had declared in “The players' Tribune” his problems with alcoholism last month. “Do you know what it's like to be a hopeful? I do. Including being a disappointed hopeful. The biggest waste in football: Me. I like that word waste… I don't do drugs, like they try to make you believe. I'm not a criminal but, of course, I could have been… I drink every day,” he wrote.

This legendary player scored 203 goals and notably won 4 Serie A and 1 Copa america