Former Inter forward Adriano answered fans questions and discussed his experiences with the Nerazzurri in an interview on the Inter YouTube channel yesterday.
First, he spoke about his nickname, Emperor.
“I was surprised when they started calling me that, I didn’t even know it referred to me. The head of the fans came to me after a game and told me that from then on, I would be called that.
“I was very happy because I never thought in my career that anyone would call me Emperor, but God blessed me with this nickname.”
The Brazilian touched on how difficult it was to give up on football and return to normal life.
“It’s still difficult not to play anymore, unfortunately I had two operations on my Achilles tendon and this gave me many problems.
“At my age this thing matters a bit, I stopped playing with my friends, even if it is not easy, but unfortunately, I had to stop because the operation disturbed me a lot.
“I am tall, so it is difficult to recover from an operation like that twice and go back to playing like before. With a lot of sadness, I stopped.
“Even today I still miss playing football, the cheerfulness of Brazilian fans, Flamengo and even Inter, so it was a very difficult choice.”
The former Nerazzurri striker spoke about what advice he would give to a young footballer who is just starting out today.
“I have never given up in the hard times, it is not easy to be a footballer. Many people think so, but it requires a lot of work, there are barriers to overcome and it takes the right head to never give up and continue to pursue your goal.
“Whoever really wants to become a footballer goes through them, but in football there are good and bad moments, it takes conscience and a lot of strength to never give up.”
Adriano touched on his greatest emotions as a player.
“Seeing the joy of my family, is priceless. Being able to pass it on to the fans is very rewarding. Then the pride of achieving your goals, also this is priceless.”
The 38-year-old Brazilian commented about his time with Brazilian side Sao Paulo.
“I really enjoyed playing there, I remember it was 2006-07 and I was with Inter, and I went there on loan. It was short but wonderful.
“We couldn’t win the Libertadores because we lost to Fluminense, but it was a very important experience for my life and my career. At the time I had lost my father, coming to Sao Paulo allowed me to take back my career.”
He spoke about how he felt when he signed for the Nerazzurri and how the club felt like a family to him.
“It was like a dream for me, I was always watching the games on TV, it was a huge feeling to have the chance to sign with Inter, in my first game I managed to score on a free kick against Real Madrid and this was very important for me.
“I really realized a great dream playing for a club like Inter. I fought so hard for it and God gave me the opportunity to join that family.”
Finally, Adriano commented on the biggest difficulties he facing during his career, including the painful loss of his father that greatly affected his career and time with the Nerazzurri.
“The biggest was the loss of my father, when I was playing, I could always count on his support, but since he died I felt a great sadness.
“But life is like that, it brings you some difficult things to understand, and for me the loss of my father was like that, the biggest difficulty.”
Adriano spent six years of his career with Inter, scoring 74 goals in 177 appearances.