Chapter 14: The Wonders of Brazilian Football

"Although I don't want to admit it, we didn't lose to São Paulo, but to that young player named Kaka," Botafogo's coach remarked in his post-match press conference, introducing many fans who missed the game to the peculiar name "Kaka."

"São Paulo has uncovered a youngster remarkably similar to Raí. He has the potential to become another Raí," renowned football pundit Bossert wrote in his São Paulo Page column the day after the match. "Sharing the same background, position, elegance, and brilliance, this young talent named Kaka has begun following in his predecessor's footsteps. We hope he's not just a flash in the pan but becomes a true midfield superstar..."

Raí was the famous brother of Brazilian legend Sócrates, emerging from the São Paulo club, possessing exquisite skills and an elegant style. He was instrumental in São Paulo's success, arguably one of the club's greatest stars. Comparing the raw Kaka to the legendary Raí undoubtedly filled fans with high expectations for this youngster who had only played one official match.

"The Second Raí" was probably the highest praise São Paulo fans could bestow upon Kaka at this stage.

Such an assessment was certainly a compliment and an honor, but it also meant Raí had become the benchmark, perhaps even the ceiling many envisioned for Kaka's potential.

While Raí was initially Kaka's idol, being labeled "The Second Raí" now meant, "If you don't work hard enough, that's all you'll ever be."

So, the day after the match, while many of his teammates indulged in the rare off-day, Kaka, the man most deserving of celebration, arrived early at the indoor futsal court to continue honing his techniques.

He couldn't match Cristiano Ronaldo's extreme discipline, but having lived two lives and understanding his potential ceiling, he approached matters with a sense of unflappability uncommon for his age.

Not quite zen, but his mentality was undoubtedly more mature than most young players.

Kaka had a clear perspective on his current situation.

The system was his greatest asset, but its current assistance was limited to a dribbling skill and a long-range shooting talent. These strengths were sufficient to establish himself in the Brazilian league, but fell far short of his envisioned perfect version of himself.

Generally, even supremely gifted superstars undergo a developmental process, with their technical styles and game intelligence requiring extensive refinement before reaching maturity. However, the system had bypassed this process for Kaka, installing the peak "Shooting Star Run" like an app, allowing him to shine spectacularly on his debut despite lacking exceptional ball control or experience.

Most future stars possess immense potential but average ability, but Kaka was the opposite – already boasting considerable tactical prowess at a young age but woefully lacking in potential, excluding the system's external advantage, of course.

Such an uncertain variable made accomplishing an epic feat like "surpassing Messi" seem implausible without absolute dedication.

When you realize your utmost efforts still pale in comparison to others' casual attempts, it's time to push yourself harder.

This was the primary reason he refused to waste any free time.

Yesterday's match only lasted around thirty minutes, far from exhausting his stamina, and the futsal intensity was trivial for him, with no risk of over-exertion.

Falcao, being a professional, had already reported back to his club, leaving Kaka's futsal companions as retired players or skilled amateurs.

Kaka held no personal grudges; to him, without considering physical attributes or competitive pedigree, everyone present was a formidable opponent.

They congratulated him on his recent performance before thoroughly humbling him on the court.

With training the next day, Kaka didn't linger too long, leaving once he'd had his fill.

After joining the first team, opportunities like these casual outings would become scarce, let alone proper training sessions.

Because the fixture schedules of Brazilian professional clubs were downright frightening.

Apart from the standard national leagues and cup competitions implemented globally, Brazil's 26 states and the Federal District each had their own state leagues, coupled with various continental tournaments – playing matches had become the norm for Brazilian clubs instead of training.

For São Paulo, their year revolved solely around a relentless stream of matches.

January-May: São Paulo State League, which hadn't undergone reforms, employing a format akin to American major leagues with regular seasons and playoffs. Over five months, they couldn't avoid the 15-game single round-robin, potentially reaching 19 matches if they progressed to and won the playoffs.

May-December: Brazilian top-flight league, the national league with 20 teams playing a 38-game double round-robin.

July-November: São Paulo State Cup, with varying participant numbers each year but conservatively estimated at 20 matches in a double round-robin group stage leading to the final.

March-November: Brazilian Cup, theoretically allowing up to 7 rounds and 14 matches, with stronger teams participating in the last 4 rounds (8 matches maximum).

February-July: Copa Libertadores, spanning 16 matches from the preliminary round to the final.

Combining these five competitions, São Paulo could play over 100 matches in a calendar year.

And this didn't include the Copa Sudamericana – according to the rules, a club could participate in both the Libertadores and Sudamericana simultaneously, akin to a European team competing in the Champions League and Europa League concurrently – the football kingdom was that indulgent.

The most conservative estimate was 100 matches over 365 days, averaging one match every 3.5 days – essentially a year without rest, playing twice a week.

However, this was merely an average; the actual schedules were far more extreme. For instance, the Brazilian league often scheduled rounds within 24 hours of each other, while domestic competitions completely disregarded international breaks, plowing through friendlies, World Cup qualifiers, and the Copa América without pause, only pausing for a month during the World Cup itself.

Let's examine an example: In 1999, traditional powerhouse Palmeiras aimed for a treble but had their Copa Libertadores quarter-final, Brazilian Cup, and State League matches all clash, resulting in... three matches in a single day.

The brave Palmeiras soldiers didn't forfeit; they spent the entire day either playing or traveling between matches, completing an audacious treble in a day.

Unsurprisingly, apart from the Copa Libertadores fixture, they lost the other two matches.

One could say Kaka was fortunate to have experienced the most extraordinary realms of football.

(End of Chapter)