Chapter 28: Futile Advice for the Stubborn

"So, are you coming or not?" Burgess had no intention of giving up on inviting Kaka, as several hot girls had agreed to attend the party only after hearing that Kaka would be there.

"I'm not going." Kaka could easily predict the party's activities with his toes, so it wasn't about being unmotivated, but...damn, he was still just a kid! 

"Buddy, listen to me, you're doing it wrong. I know you're a good kid who could probably get a scholarship if you didn't play football, but..."

Kaka couldn't stand it anymore. Burgess was actually trying to teach him how to live his life.

"Burgess, is your head filled with stones? As black and hard as yours?" Kaka's words were a bit abrupt and rude, but Burgess probably hadn't realized that he might have already made it onto the head coach's blacklist, making Kaka worry about his intelligence.

"Hey, Kaka, do you look down on black people?"

"No, I just look down on you."

"I'm just inviting you to a party. If you don't want to come, then don't come. Why do you have to insult me?" Burgess had a high temper and didn't think Kaka had the right to mock him.

"You still have the mood for parties? No, to host parties?" Kaka was truly amazed. "Let me ask you a few questions."

"First, how do you evaluate your performance since joining the first team, on a scale of 100?" 

"Second, how much do you think you contributed to this championship? If you weren't here, do you think the team could have won the title?"

"Third, what are your short-term goals? Or, more specifically, what are your goals for this season? Is it to score a certain number of goals or attend a certain number of parties and sleep with a certain number of models? Is it to improve your shooting ability or earn a certain amount of money and buy a certain number of cars? Or is your goal simply to join the first team, and now that you've achieved that, you can enjoy the rewards?"

"Fourth, never mind, just answer the first three questions for now." Kaka was afraid he wouldn't even remember the third question.

Burgess didn't know how the conversation had taken this turn, but after pondering for a moment, he said, "For the first question, on a scale of 100, I'd give myself 95. You know, I did miss a few good opportunities, like the ball you passed to me yesterday. Yes, I remember that. My performance then was really poor, but we both know that's not my usual level; I just had bad luck. What was the second question?"

Kaka was stunned, not because he had overestimated Burgess's memory, but because he couldn't understand how he had arrived at a score of 95.

Perhaps it was based on a standard like scoring a goal equals 20 points, and missing a goal subtracts 1 point?

"...The second question is, do you think your position in the team is secure?"

"Are you trying to scare me, brother?" Burgess's head wasn't filled with stones after all. After hearing Kaka's question, he became a bit panicked.

Even though his playing time was more than Kaka's, Kaka was Alvarez's favorite, so perhaps Alvarez had let something slip that Kaka had heard.

Hearing the surprise in his tone, Kaka finally believed that this guy thought his biggest problem was accidentally kicking a few balls away. In his heart, he still had the ability, his teammates still trusted him, the coach still loved him, his positioning was fine, his shooting was fine, his mentality was fine, and his attitude was fine too.

Such envy-inducing optimism and self-confidence...

"Let's make a bet," Kaka said. "In the next game, you'll either be a substitute or not even make the squad. And even if you're a substitute, unless you can pull off a game-changing performance or a hat-trick, you'll definitely be a substitute again in the game after that. If you go a few more games without scoring, you might even be sent down to the reserve team."

Kaka was just making exaggerated claims to unsettle Burgess, but it didn't seem to have much effect.

"Come on, brother, don't joke with me. I'm a member of the championship team, a starter in the final. Unless Alvarez goes crazy..."

Okay, I know you can call anyone your "brother," but do you also consider Alvarez your brother? You played like that and still think you're a rising star.

Some people are just like that. They miss every chance to succeed that God gives them. Yet, when fate only offers them a few options to be a fool, they grasp those opportunities with precision. 

Hopefully, Adri isn't as hopeless as Burgess.

Thinking about the current national team, and then about the future generation led by his peers, Kaka suddenly felt sorry for himself.

If you were a striker, which option would you choose?

A. Compete for a spot with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Rivaldo. 

B. Lead a group of problem youngsters in international competitions.

What level were the three guys in Option A? At certain points, they were the best in the world, capable of leading an era and making defenders go weak in the knees just by seeing them on the field together.

And the youngsters in Option B? They had the potential to become the best in the world but ended up in the backwaters...

If he really had to choose one...his teacher had said, "When given two short options and one long option, choose the longest."

So Kaka chose C. 

C. Compete with Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, and Rivaldo in the early stages, and lead a group of problem youngsters at his peak.

Satisfying? Exciting?

But thinking about Neymar, Kaka felt he was being too melodramatic.

The problem youngsters were more fun, even though their own national association wasn't exactly great in the eyes of players and fans.

Brazil loses many self-destructive talents every year. The only reason Kaka had so much patience with Burgess was that he wanted to try pulling this former nobody out of the abyss and see if the legendary force of historical inertia was as powerful as they said.

The result was clearly not very pleasant. He and Burgess were on completely different wavelengths, and there was almost no possibility of rescuing Burgess. It was foreseeable that this insignificant person would slide down the same path again. And Kaka didn't know if he could escape those suffocating dark moments after all his struggles.

If historical trajectories could only be slightly influenced, then this life would be eventful for him: the Shame of Istanbul, the groin injury, being sent off in the 2010 World Cup, being dumped by his wife...twice. 

Just thinking about it was exciting. 

Shaking his head to push those worries aside for now, Kaka gave a few casual responses before hanging up.

Good advice is wasted on the stubborn. There's a reason some people end up where the waves of history leave them.

Burgess, out.

(End of chapter)