I'd have won Ballon d'Or but football slipped through my fingers – I didn't want to earn so much while not performing
FORMER Brazil star Adriano has opened up over his startling fall from grace, admitting he could have won the Ballon d'Or if not for his hasty decline as a footballer.
Adriano, 43, once had the world at his fingertips after bursting onto the scene with Flamengo in 2000.
3
Adriano reckons he could have won the Ballon d'Or if not for his sharp career nosedive
Credit: AP:Associated Press
3
The icon was once a household name and one of football's most feared strikers
Credit: AP
He became a household name when he joined
But following the 2006 World Cup, Adriano's form quickly declined and he began suffering numerous fitness problems due to his partying lifestyle.
Adriano later admitted that
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
And his career was never the same again despite playing for the likes of Roma, Corinthians and boyhood club Flamengo once more.
Adriano, who retired in 2016, has since
And now, the icon believes he would have 'won the Ballon d'Or with the mind I had today.'
He told Amazon Prime Video: 'I wasn't in a good place mentally. After my father died, football slipped through my fingers.
Most read in Football
'I went out to avoid thinking and the next day I was worse. I didn't do what I did because I wanted to party or let loose; I did it because I had a heavy heart.'
Adriano also thanked Inter Milan for offering him professional help – which he did not accept at the time.
Brazil legend Adriano breaks down in tears during farewell match after late dad 'sends message' using AI
3
Adriano also starred for Brazil before retiring from football in 2016
Credit: AFP
He continued: 'They offered me admission to a specialised centre because I was depressed.
'But I didn't understand that I needed help. I thought what I was doing was normal, it was a big mistake.
'(Former Inter president Massimo Moratti) always offered me everything in his power to help me, but I didn't accept it. I made a mistake.'
Adriano also felt guilty at receiving huge wages while being unavailable to play, leading to his decision to quit Inter in 2009.
He added: 'I spoke with Moratti and told him I accepted any sanctions they might impose on me.
'I didn't want to continue earning a high salary without being able to perform. I didn't have the brains to continue.
'I've always said I could have done more but that wasn't the case. Things happened that held me back.'
Adriano's career stats
Flamengo, 2000-2001: 59 games, 16 goals
Inter Milan, 2001: 14 games, 1 goal
Fiorentina (loan), 2002: 15 games, 6 goals
Parma, 2002-2004: 44 games, 26 goals
Inter Milan, 2004-2009: 163 games, 73 goals
Sao Paulo (loan), 2008: 29 games, 17 goals
Flamengo, 2009-2010: 51 games, 34 goals
Roma, 2010: 8 games, 0 goals
Corinthians, 2011-2012: 7 games, 2 goals
Atletico Paranaense, 2014: 4 games, 1 goal
Miami United, 2016: 1 game, 1 goal
Brazil, 2000-2010: 48 games, 27 goals
Trophies
Flamengo: Serie A, Campenoato Carioca
Inter Milan: Serie A x3, Coppa Italia x2, Italian Supercup x3
Corinthians: Serie A
Brazil: U17 World Cup, South American Youth Championship, Copa America, Confederations Cup
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
an hour ago
- RTÉ News
Guardiola unsure how Club World Cup will affect league campaign
Pep Guardiola concedes he does not know if Manchester City's next Premier League challenge will be "destroyed" by their Club World Cup campaign or not. England manager Thomas Tuchel recently said the involvement of City and Chelsea in this summer's tournament in the United States would hand the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal a "huge advantage" in the title race. Former Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has also described the event as "the worst idea ever implemented in football" because of concerns over player welfare. Guardiola, however, insists City - who face Al-Hilal in a last-16 tie in Orlando at 2am on Tuesday morning - are focused on rediscovering their best after a frustrating 2024-25 season and claiming the prize. The City manager said: "I try to relax, enjoy the days here and the good vibes that we have, the competition and we try to win it. "The most important thing is to recover and find within ourselves what we were. That's my main target in this tournament. "I want them to feel that this is our path again to be competitive like we have been in eight of the last nine years. "After this, let's see what happens. Let's see what happens after the final. We will rest for the time the Premier League allow us. "Maybe in November, December or January it will be a disaster, we are exhausted and the World Cup has destroyed us. "I don't know, it's the first time in our lives that this has happened. We will see when we come back."Guardiola says he can understand the viewpoint of his old rival Klopp, now head of global soccer for Red Bull, who had a team involved in the tournament in Salzburg. Yet he suggested people complaining might be jealous. Speaking at a press conference, Guardiola said: "I fought a lot with Jurgen many, many times. I know where his idea comes from. "I respect him, I would defend his argument as well. At the same time, as managers, we are in a job. We don't organise the competitions. "Once we are here, we are proud. Many, many teams complain about these competitions because they are not here, otherwise they might love being here." Weather problems have been a recurring issue in the tournament both in terms of intense heat and thunderstorms. Chelsea's last-16 victory over Benfica on Saturday was suspended for almost two hours due to lightning in the vicinity. Guardiola said: "I am an extraordinary manager but to control lightning and thunder, still I am not good enough! "If it is (suspended) here the same reason as why they suspend the other one, I will go inside and we will continue to be active and play again. "It is not the ideal situation but I grew up to understand not to be worried about the situations that I can't control. So no problem."
Irish Times
2 hours ago
- Irish Times
Women on wheels with World Cup ambition: `I've been fortunate, all I've broken playing derby are a few fingers'
A community centre hall in Inchicore in Dublin 8 isn't the most likely place to find some of the country's talented athletes preparing for a World Cup, but then there's never been anything typical about roller derby. Although the full contact sport played on quad roller skates has shaken off its reputation for spectacle, quirky names and theatrical costumes to become recognised as a legitimate sport, its DIY ethos and 'by the skaters for the skaters' mantra endures. The Team Ireland Roller Derby squad are in training for the Roller Derby World Cup taking place in Austria in July. Video: Bryan O'Brien The Roller Derby World Cup 2025, beginning next Thursday, will see a record number of 48 teams and thousands of spectators from across the globe descend on the town of Innsbruck in Austria . It will be the second time Team Ireland captain Elaine Snowden, a 12-year veteran of the sport, has donned the green jersey, having competed in the 2018 World Cup when Ireland took a respectable 14th place, punching above its weight given its small size and scant funding. Alongside her will be 19 of the country's top roller derby players. Team Ireland: Pippa Van Welie (Pippa), Susan Verney (Verney), Anna Blix (Blix) and Ashley Lowcock (A Lowcock). Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Founded in the United States by Leo Seltzer during the Depression era, roller derby initially involved a roller-skating marathon on a banked track. The sport became hugely popular in the late 1930s, with Seltzer taking the travelling event to more than 50 American cities and five million fans. However, when the US entered the second World War , the sport declined in popularity and seesawed in and out of fashion in the decades that followed before fading into obscurity. Roller derby returned as a sort of punk rock DIY sport in Austin, Texas, around the turn of the century. READ MORE The game consists of two teams, each with five skaters who compete on a flat, oval track in a series of two-minute timed plays called 'jams'. One player from each team, known as the jammer and identifiable by the star on their helmet, attempts to lap the opposing team's skaters, known as the blockers. The role of the blocker is to stop the opposing jammer from passing, by using a series of shoulder, hip and body blocks and hits. The game is fast, physical and a lot of fun. Ciara Powell (Powell) (left) and Lisa Diamond (Diamond Weapon) of the Team Ireland Roller Derby squad in training at Inchicore Community Sports Centre in Dublin. Photo: Bryan O'Brien / The Irish Times Sonya Raposa (left) (Sionnach), Elaine Snowden (Dashing Trudy Snow) and Natasha Isabelle (Gnasher). Photo: Bryan O'Brien / The Irish Times Under the moniker Marilyn Monroadkill, I spent half of my 20s skating around London sports halls as a member of the London Rockin' Rollers, before a series of injuries – including a broken ankle and slipped disc – forced me into a reluctant early retirement. The sport had reached a global audience thanks to the 2009 movie Whip It, staring Drew Barrymore and Elliot Page . Although an exaggerated and comic depiction of the sport – in real life, punching opposing players would most certainly land you in the penalty box if not a jail cell – the film introduced a new generation to the joys of skating fast and hitting hard. As someone who had actively avoided any organised sports as though they were radioactive, discovering that I could get fit on roller skates while wearing fishnets and smoky eyeliner appealed to my inner 1990s riot grrrl. Most of my team-mates were of a similar background, a motley crew of punks and athletic misfits with shared experience of being the last one picked on school sports' day. As the game grew in popularity again in the 2010s, competitiveness ramped up and the focus turned to skill, technique and strength. These days, the emphasis is more on fitness than fishnets. In 2020 roller derby was one of eight sports considered by the Olympic Committee for inclusion in the games and, although it didn't make the final cut, the recognition cemented its position as a competitive sport played by top level athletes. Members of the Team Ireland roller derby squad in training at Inchicore Community Sports Centre, Dublin. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Team Ireland at training in Inchicore, Dublin. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Like Snowden, Ashley Lowcock has been playing roller derby since 2012, first in Vancouver, Canada, and since 2014 has been a player and head coach of Dublin Roller Derby, as well as a current member of the Team Ireland squad. Sport had always been a part of Lowcock's life; she played ice hockey and football at school. 'When I first saw roller derby in Kingston, I couldn't believe it was real,' she says. 'It looked like so much fun, and I couldn't wait to try it.' An average week for Snowden, who works as a marketing designer for a children's educational app, includes multiple two-hour training sessions with Dublin as well as solo gym workouts where she focuses on weightlifting, endurance and cardio. Weekends frequently involve travelling for games or intensive boot camp-style training sessions with Team Ireland. Snowden is one of the team's jammers – a position that requires speed, agility and a complete lack of fear. Is she nervous about injuries? 'I've been fortunate,' she says. 'The only thing I've broken playing derby are a few fingers.' Although an amateur sport, the commitment required is akin to that of a professional athlete. And that's before we get to the admin. In Ireland, roller derby is entirely skater run and skater managed, and everybody is assigned additional jobs to ensure the smooth running of operations. Lowcock's role as head coach with Dublin involves prepping training plans, strategies, and developing drills with the team. Other skaters look after insurance, booking flights and accommodation for away games, finding training halls and fundraising. For Team Ireland, raising funds is a constant battle; almost all costs involved in training and participating are paid by the skaters themselves. Although the team received some sponsorship from a US-based uniform company in 2018, the company folded during the pandemic and the team are currently without a sponsor. A GoFundMe page has been set up, but the costs of sending 20 players and four coaches to Austria quickly adds up, and the sum raised won't offset much of the final bill. The team receives no local or Government funding either, despite the fact that they are representing their country on the international stage. It might seem intimidating, but it's actually very inclusive and welcoming In countries like France, government funding for the sport is widespread. In the US, where skating is more established and profitable, some skaters receive sponsorship deals that allow them to give up jobs and focus on skating full time. The US won each of the last four world cups. The costs involved are also partly responsible for the decline in leagues around Ireland. Given roller derby's relative obscurity, insurance companies are reluctant to provide cover and most of the Irish leagues previously availed of insurance via a British company. However, following the Brexit referendum, insurance companies began to rethink coverage to leagues based outside Britain and ended their relationship. 'The alternative was to obtain coverage in Ireland, at approximately 10-times the cost of our previous policies, or to skate without insurance,' Snowden says. But without insurance, it's impossible to rent halls or to practice or stage games. Many leagues were forced to fold. Elaine Snowden (Dashing Trudy Snow) among members of the Team Ireland Roller Derby squad in training. Photo: Bryan O'Brien / The Irish Times Dublin remains the largest league in the country and will be represented on Team Ireland by 13 players. Three hail from Belfast Roller Derby and others, like Orla Fitzpatrick who will represent Ireland for the first time in Innsbruck, play for leagues in England and Scotland and travel back and forth to Ireland for training sessions. Originally from Belfast, Fitzpatrick, who works as a locum doctor, confesses that the move to Manchester just more than a year ago was not so much a career decision, but a roller derby one. Manchester's Rainy City Roller Derby, where Fitzpatrick skates as a blocker, are currently the number one ranked league in Europe. Members of Team Ireland at training in Inchicore, Dublin. Photograph: Bryan O'Brien Hard work and athletic excellence aside, roller derby hasn't lost its fun factor, or abandoned its theatrical roots. While some skaters including Snowden, Lowcock and Fitzpatrick use their own name on the track, they're joined by skaters who prefer to use their chosen nicknames like 'Malice in Chains' and 'Cardinal Spin'. It's all about what makes a player comfortable, an ethos at the very heart of the sport. Ask any skater what they love about roller derby, and you'll hear mentions of community and belonging. The sport has long been synonymous with acceptance and was built on the spirit of inclusivity. Regardless of age, body type, gender or background, skaters are made to feel welcome and supported – there's a position for everyone, and most leagues will work with you while you figure out what that is. Melisa Halsband (left) (Argie Bargie) and Alice Mellon (Malice in Chains) of the Team Ireland Roller Derby squad. Photo: Bryan O'Brien / The Irish Times 'It might seem intimidating,' says Lowcock, 'but it's actually very inclusive and welcoming.' With just days to go until Team Ireland take to the track, they are in the final stages of preparation. How do they feel? 'Proud,' Fitzpatrick says. Pride, like inclusive, is a word that comes up repeatedly when talking to these powerhouse skaters. 'I'm still in disbelief that I'm going to the World Cup. I just want to play as well as I can and keep up. And show the world that there is a strong Irish presence.'
Irish Independent
3 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Fionnán Sheahan: Why Micheál Martin and Simon Harris should be wary of repeating predecessors' Áras missteps
Your memory plays tricks on you. It's 35 years ago tonight since Ireland were beaten by Italy in the quarter-finals of 1990 World Cup. The Irish take on the game is we were narrowly knocked out by the Italia '90 hosts in Rome after a tight game.
