Former defender who won the World Cup with Italy in 2006, Marco Materazzi, is in Brazil where he will participate in O Grande Jogo, a reality show organized by Blockchain. In an interview with Uol, Materazzi melted for two stars in the history of Brazilian football: Ronaldo Phenom and Adriano, the Emperor.
In Materazzi’s view, Ronaldo is the greatest in history. “For me, he’s not the most important Brazilian in Inter’s history. He’s the best player in history. For me. This is subjective. It’s quite subjective what I’m saying, because what Ronaldo, for what he did 30 years ago, and he was lucky enough not to have physical problems, would have won ten, 12, 13 Ballon d’Or because he was unreachable,” Materazzi said.
He compared Ronaldo’s skills to two current superstars: Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Italian was Phenomenon’s teammate at Inter and also an opponent. “Ronaldo made Messi’s moves, with Cristiano Ronaldo’s speed, to compare with two players of the modern era. He did things that no one else was able to do, because of the speed and the technique he put into the execution,” he added.
Materazzi also revealed a request to the Brazilian on his last day at the Italian club. “The last day he came to La Pinetina (Inter’s CT), when we went to see him, he wanted to stay at Inter. I asked him on my knees to stay at Inter, because with him it would be fun and we would win even more. But he said, ‘I can’t be with this coach anymore. If he leaves, I’ll stay.’ But the club chose. I cried, because my dream was to play with him.”
Another Brazilian delighted the former defender. Adriano Imperador, who had arrived at Inter Milan along with Materazzi. During the interview, he told the origin of the nickname. “We arrived together, Adriano and I. The episode that we have, still a little disoriented at the club, is that we play about two, three days later, against Real Madrid. And he scored the goal that made Adriano discovered in Europe. On the free kick, I come forward to hit. It was with Di Biaggio. The coach said: ‘No, Adriano shoots’. He sent that missile to Casillas. We won the Bernabéu trophy, which a lot of people didn’t win. Maybe two, three. With that goal, almost at the end, we won the trophy. I hugged Di Biaggio falling down and laughing, because it wasn’t possible for him to score that goal. It was there that the Emperor was born.”
Finally, the Italian says “that he feels like a Brazilian”. “They’re cheerful and so am I. I feel a little Brazilian, as a spirit. But they are exceptional guys, who live life as it should be lived. They experienced football as joy and not as work. We are public figures, but we have the great fortune to make a job our amusement. Because in the end, it’s our passion. That’s happiness when you go out into the field, happy and transmit joy to people.”
