MoreoFormer Inter Milan striker Adriano has opened up on his well-documented off-field struggles toward the end of his career at San Siro.
Speaking to Betsson via FCInterNews, the Brazilian superstar admitted that Massimo Moratti had tried to help him overcome his issues.
Widely regarded as one of the best strikers of his generation, Adriano had all the makings of a future Ballon d’Or contender.
Adriano combined raw power, technique, and a lethal left foot, which made him virtually unplayable at his peak.
Furthermore, he was unstoppable for most of his five-year stint at San Siro, earning the nickname L’Imperatore.
Indeed, the Emperor won three consecutive Serie A titles with the Nerazzurri between 2006 and 2009.
More importantly, he was often the decisive factor for Roberto Mancini’s all-conquering side.
Unfortunately, his notorious downfall started when he lost his father to a hear attack just weeks after leading Brazil to Copa America glory in 2004.
From that moment on, Adriano’s life turned into chaos, with the 44-year-old eventually admitting to becoming an alcoholic as a result of this tragic loss.
Inter Milan Icon Adriano Admits Massimo Moratti Had Tried to Save His Life
Aware of Adriano’s potential and his personal struggles, former Inter president Massimo Moratti had tried to help him get back on track.
However, it was already too late. Indeed, the once fiercest striker in Serie A had already lost interest in football.
“In my opinion, I could have won the Ballon d’Or,” Adriano stated. “They gave it to Shevchenko, but at that time, I was at the same level.
“I could have really done more in my career,” he added. “I always think about it.
“When I watch my videos, I think I could have done another 3-4 years at a high level if I had managed to fix my head, I could have won the Ballon d’Or. But what happened happened. I cannot change that.”
“I could have done much more, but at a certain point, Adriano was no longer there. To be an ‘Emperor,’ I first had to be Adriano, with the right mindset, and at that moment in my life, I wasn’t like that.
“I thought too much about what had happened to my father. It’s not an excuse, but it truly saddened me. I had been the top scorer at the Copa América and the Confederations Cup, then my father passed away.
“At first, I didn’t realize it. I kept going, but then it started to hurt.
“At that time, I wasn’t thinking about football or money. I knew I wasn’t myself anymore. I didn’t want to stay just to earn money; I wanted to enjoy myself on the pitch, and at that stage it wasn’t like that.
“And I knew Moratti didn’t want to let me go; he wanted to send me to a clinic, but I refused. After being called up to the national team, I called Moratti and he released me so I could play for São Paulo.”
Adriano Reiterates Love for Inter Milan
Finally, Adriano reflected on the deep affection he still holds for the club that shaped his career and gave him so much.
“When I returned to Inter, I also played some good matches, but it wasn’t the same,” Adriano added. “I lacked joy and desire.
“In 2009, I realized I had to go back to Brazil for good. Moreover, I needed to sort my head out, hoping to fix things in my mind.
“I couldn’t pretend with my teammates. I was no longer interested in playing, and it wouldn’t have been fair to Moratti either, who helped me so much.
“When I come to Italy, I feel a lot of affection toward me, and that gives me immense satisfaction. It hasn’t always been easy. Like all human beings, we can make mistakes, but my life has been full of emotion.
“Inter has always been my second home. Whenever I have the chance to come to Milan, memories of my playing days and the fans come flooding back. I’m happy to be around people who care about me, even supporters of other teams.
“The respect from those who back different colors means a lot to me; they greet me, ask for photos, and that’s truly beautiful for me.”
I was curious why 15 comments under Adriano news. Here is no comment about Adriano at all. 😛 I’m happy for Atalanta too. I hope they go as far as possible. 🙂
They will play either Bayern M or Arsenal….
It doesn’t matter as long as they are there they ve a chance
Oh no. Very tough.
is juventus also going to save serie a? this would be embarrassing for us
It is embarrassing regardless, don’t get it twisted.
true
Don’t worry, they got kicked out too. lol
Juve and Milan fans celebrated Inter getting eliminated so I don’t think Juve have any chances of going through simply because they can’t keep a clean sheet and now have adapted a crybaby mentality. They think their misery is not a direct result of their actions but other people like Inter management Lol
what a game by atalanta, we need to learn from them. they broke dortmunds defense because they had wingers. it was a mistake to sell zalewksi to them.
inter already beat Dortmaund in their backyard.learn what from Atalanta ?
? i’m saying in general not just against dortmund. They had a lot of creativity against a low block team and we suffer against low block teams. We are static they are not
They play nice football, but Inter is still superior to most.Injuries and fatigue has cost us.
idk i hate the fatigue excuse. we always say that when other teams also have the same games as we do. we are def better than atalanta no doubt, but we really lack creativity and dribblers.
Atalanta saving the Serie A rn
They are doing great. Well another Nerazurri.
Good for Serie A but they screwed Inter with Lookman. He is a difference maker
To be fair, we beat dortmund at their home not so long ago. And the algerian was not assisting for 75% of the goals like he did today. Its good for them that they won. But there is a basket full of goals with their name at the meazza. A nice spring present from my team. I’m thinking we should give them 4 and they can go home happy and full. The strongest team in the calcio is Inter. The corrupt refs can only do so much to slow us down and steal some titles from us. But we keep going top again and again.
As for atalanta – i doubt they will play in europe next season. And lookman – yeah…50 for us but only 35 for the spaniards. We should return the favour soon.
To be fair it’s just business. When we sold Zalewisky to Atlanta, it was also higher price. So they definitely want to sell us higher than normal.