Chapter 90: I, Kaka, refuse to play a minor role.

At the start of the second half, Scolari made a statement by bringing on four substitutes within ten minutes as a warning.

Fortunately, Kaka was not one of those five players substituted, although he played quite isolated in this game. However, it was not to a disgusting level. 

When Oliveira came onto the pitch, he winked at Kaka. Kaka nodded back, having already understood Scolari's player management approach from the substitutions. It was better to be compliant.

Iceland kicked off first after halftime. I don't know what their coach said during the break, but every player seemed to have a fire burning in their eyes. 

Who involved in competitive sports hasn't lost their temper at some point?

Fired up by this passion, Iceland started strongly and posed a considerable threat to Brazil's goal at one point. Finally, Cheney got what he wanted and saved two goals in a row from Gudjohnsen's close-range efforts, severely denting Iceland's newly-raised morale.

Then it was time for Brazil to take control. 

Whether it was the individual ability of the players or the team's overall strength, Brazil was completely dominating Iceland. Not to mention Brazil had home advantage. Under these conditions, this friendly quickly turned into an exhibition match for Brazil.

In the 51st minute, Kaka and Juninho played a neat one-two before Kaka chipped a ball over the top for Oliveira, who scored with a powerful shot as expected.

Ten minutes later, it was Kaka's through ball again, but this time Oliveira failed to get a shot away and was instead tripped by the defender. Brazil was awarded a penalty kick. 

Juninho stepped up and scored from the spot.

6-0.

But it wasn't over yet. In the 70th minute, Kaka received a corner from Ricardinho on the left side of the box and succeeded with another long-range strike.

7-0, a hat-trick for Kaka, who was then substituted off. 

The entire crowd rose to applaud him. 

Kaka raised his hands high in appreciation to the fans around him. No one from the Icelandic team tried to hurry his departure, instead they watched the deadly striker leave the field with a mixture of awe and relief.

The final score was a 7-0 win for Brazil.

Kaka participated in two friendlies, one as a sub and one in the starting lineup. He scored four goals and provided one assist. Once again he earned a lot of attention in Brazilian football. The media continued to build hype around him, and also brought his coaches and teammates into the spotlight. A group feverishly called for Kaka's inclusion on TV shows and in newspapers.

"The World Youth Championship, the Rio-São Paulo Championship, the São Paulo State League, the Brazilian Serie A, the Copa Libertadores...this young man who only turns 20 next month has won everything. I've watched almost all of his games and personally commentated on some of the biggest ones. I think I know his development path very well. Kaka never seems fazed by any pressure - the bigger the game, the better he performs. I really can't think of any reason why Scolari wouldn't take him to the World Cup."

"I can't say we won the World Youth Championship solely because of Kaka - that would be unfair to the other players. But Kaka can create assists, score goals, help unite his teammates, is humble and respectful, and implements the coach's tactics diligently...In short, he has countless strengths and is definitely a key player who can bring trophies to the team...Scolari? Of course I called him and recommended Kaka and Adriano. I believe they are Brazil's future. These two young players deserve to showcase themselves on the biggest stage..."

"Kaka? No, he's not a genius, but he's scarier than one. I've never seen anyone work as hard as him. He's training while we sleep, training while we party, training even during vacations. Some players' success comes naturally, but Kaka's is inevitable. Of course he should go to the World Cup, and so should I."

Those comments came from renowned Banner TV commentator Jeck Cafu, Brazilian U20 head coach Carlos Cesar Costonio, and Kaka's club captain Cheney, who was reading from a newspaper article. It was Deegan. 

This young man had finally followed Kaka's path into football and was now a member of the Sao Paulo youth team.

In addition to Kaka's family, there were also people like Silva and Dario studying how to get Kaka onto the plane to the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

"These people really..." Cheney shook his head, "If you have the guts to praise someone, do it to their face. What kind of hero praises behind their back?"

"Kaka's not a genius?" As a big Kaka fan, Deegan took issue with Cheney's words. "If Kaka's not a genius, then who is? Cheney himself?"

Bosco silenced his younger son's childish outburst with a look, then said to Silva: "Thank you Silva, you've done excellent work. Now almost every coach and teammate who has worked with Kaka has publicly recognized and highly praised him. Many columnists also back Kaka going to the World Cup. What else do you think we can do to convince Scolari?"

Silva replied: "I've discussed it with Kaka. We don't need to do anything further. There's still over two months until the World Cup. What Kaka needs to do now is continue performing well across all competitions. Our main obstacle is Deja Minha, who also has many supporters after just helping Deportivo La Coruna win La Liga two seasons ago. He's been in great form these past two years too. I suspect Scolari is wavering between him and Kaka now, but Dejaminha didn't make the squad for these two friendlies. I think Kaka has a better chance, provided he stays fully fit of course."

After that last point, he glanced at Daniel, the highly-paid personal doctor hired by Kaka.

Daniel was clearly well-prepared, immediately responding: "Kaka is in excellent physical condition currently, but I don't recommend he continues participating in such an intense schedule of games. His training load can be maintained, but should not increase further."

"The games still need to be played, but the priorities are the Rio-São Paulo Championship and the Campeonato Paulista, defending those titles. The club can't sacrifice those. As for the World Cup spot, I'm not too worried now after strong performances in these friendlies and having multiple trophies from last season to back me up, plus my previous body of work. I really can't see a reason for being left out."

What Kaka was thinking about was how to improve his place in the pecking order. Even if not a starter, he needed to secure a genuine substitute role rather than being a mascot on the bench every game only entering in garbage time, before being labelled a 'World Cup winner' by everyone.

Some regrets, if not addressed, cause a lifetime of pain.

(End of chapter)