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The Brazilian was tipped to become one of the greats, but he ultimately succumbed to the pressures of sporting fame
“Football’s biggest waste: Me. I like that word, waste. Not only because of how it sounds, but because I’m obsessed with wasting my life.”
Adriano Leite Ribeiro – more simply known as Adriano – is considered the ultimate cult hero for a certain generation of football fans. Brazil has produced a seemingly endless line of talented attacking players throughout their history, from all the way back to Pele’s glorious heyday to the current Neymar-led era. But Adriano was a special case.
There has never been a striker who inspired fear in his fellow man quite like the 6’2 titan from Rio de Janeiro. He was strong, blisteringly quick and technically brilliant, with a cannon for a left foot that famously earned him overpowered shooting statistics on Pro Evolution Soccer.
Even Swedish maverick Zlatan Ibrahimovic was left completely in awe of Adriano’s quality in the prime years of his career. “He could shoot from every angle, nobody could tackle him, nobody could take the ball, he was a pure animal,” the former Inter striker told Sport Bible in 2020.
However, there was a caveat to Ibrahimovic’s assessment. “I enjoyed playing with him, playing against him, but it’s a shame that it lasted such a short time,” he added. “Fifty percent of everything you do is the mental part. If you don’t have it in your head, it’s difficult.”
Adriano scored 74 goals in 177 games during his time at Inter, and recorded another 27 for Brazil at international level – which would be respectable totals for most centre-forwards. But he could have been a record-breaker had it not been for his unpredictable temperament.
His time at the top only lasted for a very short while, and his public decline was painful to watch, with the now-42-year-old having recently opened up on his struggles with alcoholism in an emotional interview in The Players’ Tribune.
His legend continues to grow year after year, however, thanks to Adriano’s incredible impact at San Siro and on the wider footballing world.
From the favelas to Flamengo
Adriano was born in Rio de Janeiro’s notorious Vila Cruzeiro favela – an uncompromising environment riddled with crime, violence and corruption. He grew up in poverty and with only the basic necessities to survive, but it didn’t break him.
He developed a quiet resolve amid the chaos all around him, and found an escape in football. Adriano would take to the streets and dirt pitches barefoot to hone his skills, practicing relentlessly in order to earn a shot at the big time.
When recalling those days in an interview with the Player’s Tribune, Adriano spoke only of the “fun” he had, insisting he benefitted from a “real childhood, not this bullsh*t tap, tap, tap on the screens that these kids do now”.
At the age of seven, he joined Flamengo’s academy ranks, after his family members had pooled their money together for him to attend the school in Gavea. For the next eight years, he worked towards his ultimate goal of becoming a professional footballer. Adriano never had any doubts that he would get there. “A ball was always at my foot. It was put there by God,” he said.
He eventually graduated to Flamengo’s senior squad at the tender age of 16, despite some reservations from coaches over his size. Adriano went on to open his scoring account in only his second first-team appearance against Sao Paulo, and his intimidating physical frame soon became a weapon he would utilise to devastating effect.
Adriano found the net nine times in his breakthrough 2000-01 campaign, while also becoming one of Brazil’s youngest-ever national team debutants at 18, and scored three in his first five Brazilian Serie A appearances at the start of the following season. By that stage, Inter had already identified him as their next big superstar.
Ronaldo’s heir
Adriano announced himself to Nerazzurri supporters in his very first game: A glorified pre-season friendly against Real Madrid at Santiago Bernabeu. He showed no signs of nerves after being introduced to the action as a second-half substitute, running at the Real defence at every opportunity.
When Inter won a dangerous free-kick right on the edge of the box, he wasted no time in putting himself forward to take it. Adriano proceeded to take a long run-up and smash an unstoppable shot into the top corner past helpless Real No.1 Iker Casillas.
The special strike, which he claimed to have hit at a world-record speed of 105mph, sealed a 2-1 victory for Inter. And his overall performance made a huge impression on club captain Javier Zanetti. The Argentine told reporters after the game: “I said to myself: ‘This is the new Ronaldo’.”
