Marco Materazzi has revealed he was taken aback by Adriano’s talent during the pair’s first training session together at Inter.
Adriano spent five seasons playing for the Nerazzurri after joining the club in 2001, with a two-year stint at Parma in the middle.
The Emperor dazzled crowds at San Siro with his pace, power and trickery, much like his compatriot Ronaldo before him, but it wasn’t just Inter’s supporters who were impressed.
In an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport for a podcast dedicated to Adriano, Materazzi recalled: “He was a boy we didn’t know anything about, but he showed the strength and technique he had in the first training session.
“He looked like an alien.
“We were used to Ronaldo and Christian Vieri but he immediately impressed us.”
Materazzi also recalled the Brazilian’s thunderous free-kick in his club debut, which came away to Real Madrid in a friendly match.
“We saw him the day before the match when he tried free-kicks,” the 2006 FIFA World Cup winner explained.
“Against Real Madrid there was Luigi Di Biagio, Clarence Seedorf and myself over the ball.
“Hector Cuper wanted Adriano to take it though, and he fired in a missile.
“Di Biagio and I could not believe our eyes.
“He ran to the bench while we stopped because we did not think he could hit the ball that hard.
“There was the moment that the star of Adriano was born.”
During his time with the club, Adriano, who also played for Flamengo, Roma and Corinthians among others in his career, made 177 appearances across all competitions.
He scored 74 goals and provided a total of 27 assists, picking up three Serie A titles, three Supercoppa Italiana titles and two Coppa Italia titles along the way.