Adriano, L'Imperatore: The heir to Ronaldo Nazario and his unfulfilled potential

Adriano Leite Ribeiro, L'Imperatore. The heir to Ronaldo Nazario’s throne was destined for greatness, but he succumbed to tragedy and the pressure of World Football. Throughout Brazil’s footballing history, the South American nation has produced legends of the beautiful game every year with players like Rivaldo, Ronaldo Nazario, Romario, Ronaldinho, and many more gems in an endless line of footballing talent in the storied nation of Brazil. Adriano was at the top of the footballing world, destined for club and international-level greatness. He was 190 centimeters tall, strong, had intense speed, and had a rocket attached to his leg. Adriano was an anomaly; there was no single player like him before, nor is there in today’s game. Ronaldo Nazario was declining due to injuries and age, due to this Adriano was destined to inherit the Brazilian throne. L'Imperatore was bound to have his glory in the world’s game, but tragedy and the pressure of World Football.

Adriano was meant to be the best out of all the Brazilians; in a way, Adriano was the chosen one. Before showing the world the player he could be, Adriano made his way through the ranks in the Brazilian favelas. Adriano grew up in a dangerous neighborhood in Rio De Janeiro riddled with crime, violence, and corruption, the infamous Vila Cruzeiro favela; growing up in such an area forced Adriano to find an escape, an escape from all the crime and violence, that escape was Football. Adriano took to the streets of the favelas to sharpen his skills in O Joga bonito, playing barefoot and practicing obsessively to secure a shot at the top level of Football to escape the crime-ridden Favela. At age seven, Adriano joined Clube de Regatas do Flamengo’s academy; his family had finally gathered enough money to help Adriano pursue his dream of making it to the biggest stage; the next eight years consisted of determination and hard work saw Adriano rise to the senior team at just 16 years old.

When Adriano finally made his senior debut, he had no doubt that he would achieve it, citing God for his fantastic achievement. "A ball was always at my foot. It was put there by God," he would say. Adriano rose to the senior ranks of Flamengo at just 16, and despite being relatively young, he showed the nation and the world why he was the next big superstar. Adriano scored nine goals in his debut season, which helped him achieve his dream, a big move to a European club. Internazionale had bought the Brazilian superstar. Adriano's dream had been fulfilled, and he had big shoes to fill as Internazionale purchased him to become Ronaldo Nazario's successor. Injuries had plagued Ronaldo, and he was on his way out, where he would eventually turn to Real Madrid. Adriano would become Ronaldo's heir for the Brazilian selection and the Nerazzurri.

Adriano's time at Inter represented the exact player that Adriano was, and the writing was on the wall for Adriano to become an all-time great, with one of his signature moments being a free kick against European Giants Real Madrid. However, despite the hot start for Internazionale, he was loaned out to Fiorentina, where he scored six goals in 15 matches; Adriano would return to Inter at the end of the season. After his loan spell at Fiorentina, Adriano was sent to Parma, where he would continue to live up to Ronaldo's Serie A Legacy; in the emperor's time at Fiorentina, he tallied 23 goals, which got him a return move to Inter when they re-signed him for 24 million in 2004 for four years. Adriano returned to Inter and built his Empire back up; the emperor had regained his throne and showed the world that he was ready to become Ronaldo Nazario's throne. In Adriano's first season, he scored 16 goals in 26 starts and 28 in all competitions, leading Inter to the Coppa Italia in 2005-2006. Adriano's time at Inter was Adriano scored 101 goals for Brazil and Inter in 225 appearances, an excellent feat for other ordinary strikers, but Adriano was no ordinary striker. A great career was ahead of Adriano's, but tragedy struck his career just as he was on top of the world after the 2004 Copa America and was destined to become the second coming of R9. In 2004, Adriano took Brazil to the Copa America final against Argentina, scoring the most goals throughout the tournament, looking like the rightful heir to Ronaldo Nazario's throne. Brazil won in a penalty shootout and lifted their 7th Copa America in their storied history.

Adriano was on top of the world, returning to Italy after winning a major trophy for his beloved nation and the tournament’s best player award…however, it would not last very long; in August of 2004, Adriano received news that would change his life forever. Adriano had received news that his father had passed away, and it changed Adriano’s career; nothing was the same for Adriano ever again. Adriano’s old teammate Javier Zanetti has referenced Adriano’s reaction as one that still shivers to him today. Adriano’s Football was never the same; in 2004-05 and 05-06, Adriano dedicated his goals to his late father by pointing to the sky whenever he would score. Adriano has said that his love for Football was never the same after his father passed away. This is true; Adriano’s career took a bad turn after the passing of his father.

After the passing of his father, Adriano's off-the-pitch problems became more and more apparent, with his drinking and weight problems fluctuating. His life on and off the pitch began to crumble. When Adriano's father passed away, a hole was created in his soul, and it was never filled again; it led to his divorce from Inter when he was battling addiction and would constantly show up to training intoxicated, and it was clear that Adriano needed a step away from Inter. Adriano was sent back home to Brazil to rediscover his love for Football, and during his loan at Flamengo, a familiar site was shown: Adriano's scoring goals. Adriano scored 11 goals in 19 matches on his loan in Brazil. Adriano returned to Inter, and for a while, he focused on Football, but it didn't last; Inter canceled his contract, and he returned to Flamengo. In Adriano's return to Flamengo, everything from the outside looked like sunshine and rainbows, with Adriano bringing the championship back to Flamengo for the first time in 17 while scoring 19 goals. Still, things weren't as good as they seemed. During the time that Adriano was scoring goals for Flamengo, he was constantly falling out with staff members. His fitness was still a concern; he was interviewed by the local police over his contact with a known drug trafficker, and on top of that, he suffered a foot issue. At the end of his time at Flamengo, the Brazilian club saw the once-great Brazilian striker as a hassle to take care of, but Adriano gave some of Europe's top clubs enough of an impression for the once-Brazilian striker to be able to score as he once did in the early stages of his career.

Adriano’s stint at Flamengo was a failure and disappointment. Adriano returned to Europe, this time suiting up for AS Roma. Roma was grasping at a straw at this point in Adriano’s career. Roma signed the Brazilian as a free agent in the summer of 2010 and, in an unexplainable fashion, paid the aging striker 5 million pounds a year. The move didn’t start well; Adriano showed up late and overweight to pre-season training and looked like a shell of the player that once slotted a rocket past the great Iker Casillas. During his time in Roma, Adriano would forget how to play, and injuries would plague his time in Roma as they had everywhere else since that first stint in Internazionale. Roma saw that Adriano was not right, so they sent him back to Brazil, which went terribly wrong. Adriano stayed longer than what was agreed upon, and he didn’t see a problem with when he apologized for his wrongdoings. Adriano missed several return flights and was absent from a medical. Roma saw the behavior as unprofessional, so they released him shortly after. Roma’s attempt at reviving the once-great striker’s career had backfired for both sides. Adriano didn’t muster one goal for Giallorossi, and Roma was taken aback and embarrassed by the whole Adriano affair.

Adriano had departed from Italy and returned to Brazil. Adriano had his eyes on his hometown club, Flamengo, but the Flamengo coach blocked the move due to Adriano's problems outside of the pitch. Adriano turned to Corinthians, who signed him. Still, the final attempt at a fairy tale didn't last but only a month after destroying his Achilles, another injury that halted Adriano's career, an injury serious as the Achilles proved to be fatal for Adriano's career. As he has said before, the Brazilian striker had a hole in his ankle and his soul. Adriano's Achilles injury put the final nail in the coffin of what should have been an excellent career for Adriano. Flamengo's emperor had truly been defeated by pressure and the inability to deal with his father's unexpected passing; Adriano retired in 2016 at 34 years of age, and the emperor had been dethroned.

The heir to Ronaldo Nazario, the truth is that Adriano's career was never the same after the passing of his father; he battled a drinking addiction and depression, and it slowly and sadly destroyed what should have been an all-time career. Adriano was on top of the world, destined for greatness. The once great Brazilian striker looked as if he was the second coming of Ronaldo, as everyone waited for his throning moment. Adriano's throning moment was the 2004 Copa America, but it wasn't long since his father's passing. Adriano could not fulfill the expectations and potential expected of him from a young age, from winning the Copa America from Brazil to being the player that everyone expected to fill the shoes of Ronaldo Nazario to inherit Ronaldo Nazario's throne. The passing of his father destroyed him as he lost his love for Football without his number one supporter; just as Adriano lost his father, the footballing world lost what should have been a fantastic career. Adriano's soul had been destroyed; his empire was destroyed from the inside and not by his enemies. An Empire like that of Adriano's that was toppled from the outside can rise again, but one which crumbles from within? That's gone... forever. Adriano's career is a tragedy of the story in world Football, and the Brazilian's career will be forever remembered for the goals he scored, especially against Iker Casillas and against Argentina in the 2004 Copa America final. Still, the question remains: what if Adriano filled his potential. Would we talk about him in the same breath as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo? Adriano was an astonishing player for both club and country in the early stages of his career. Still, the pressures of world Football and the tragedy of his father's passing stopped him from becoming the true heir to Ronaldo Nazario's throne and the player he was destined to become, the player that everyone expected Adriano to become, an all-time great.