Adriano looks back on his descent into hell

Young or old, every football fan knows the name Adriano. “ The Emperor » marked the mid-2000s for his ball skills which recalled a certain Ronaldo Nazário, in the colors of Inter Milan. Destined for a bright future, he was ultimately affected by injuries, before falling into alcoholism after the death of his father. Returned to the favelas of Brazil alongside his loved ones and far from his former fame, the ex-Brazilian international spoke out for The Players Tribunes. Ronaldo's former heir – whose videos of him in his neighborhood have surfaced in recent days – has returned to the deep pain he endured during his years as a player.

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« Do you know what it feels like to be a promise? I know it. Including a broken promise. Biggest waste in football: Me. I love that word, “waste.” Not just because of how it sounds, but also because I'm obsessed with wasting my life. I'm fine like that, in frantic waste. I like this stigmasaid Adriano, who returned to live in his native neighborhood of Vila Cruzeiro (Brazil). I don't like giving explanations to others. But here is one. I drink because it's not easy to be a promise who remains in debt. And it's even worse at my age. A lot of people didn't understand why I gave up stadium glory to sit in my old neighborhood and drink myself into oblivion. Because at one point I wanted it, and it's the kind of decision that's hard to come back from. (…) I was ten years old when my father was shot. I grew up experiencing these crises. The responsibility for providing for the household fell entirely on my mother. And what did she do? She coped. She counted on the help of our neighbors. After his death, everything got worse, because I isolated myself. I was alone in Italy, sad and depressed, and I started drinking. (…) People didn’t understand why I returned to the favela. It was neither for alcohol, nor for women and even less for drugs. It was for freedom… The only thing I look for in Vila Cruzeiro is peace. Here I walk barefoot and shirtless, just in shorts. I play dominoes, I sit on the sidewalk, I remember my childhood, I listen to music, I dance with my friends and I sleep on the ground » Adriano (42 years old) will make his return to the field, one last time, during a meeting between Flamengo and Inter, on December 15. A way of saying 'goodbye' to all those who supported him and who still support him.