Adriano, former Brazil and Inter Milan striker, played his jubilee this Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, and was entitled to a very moving tribute.
He couldn’t hold back his tears. This Sunday, Adriano Leite Ribeiro, nicknamed “the Imperatore” (“the Emperor”), played a gala match, eight years after his last official match. The former Brazilian striker was celebrated in front of more than 20,000 spectators at the Maracana in Rio. The match pitted the legends of Flamengo against a team from the “Friends of Italy”.
At 42, the former striker, who also played for AS Roma, scored goals for both sides in Flamengo’s 4-3 victory. He also played alongside his son Adrianinho.
This jubilee was interrupted for a time by a message from his deceased father, generated by artificial intelligence, and Adriano was warmly greeted by each of the players present. At this moment, the one who was presented with a commemorative silver plaque on which the word “Imperador” was inscribed, then burst into tears.
Winner with Brazil of the Copa America in 2004, then the Confederations Cup the following year, Adriano returned to live in the favela of his childhood, in Rio, after the death of his father and physical problems. He confided his alcoholism problems last month in “The Players’ Tribune”.
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