Chapter 82: The Talented One

Kaka was the most popular player in the Brazilian football field in 2001. Not only fans, but also many famous Brazilian coaches and celebrities supported Kaka's inclusion in the national team. The most famous advocate was coach Pereira.

The former Brazil national team coach had taken the 17-year-old Ronaldo with him to the World Cup in 1994. Although Ronaldo didn't play a single minute, he personally experienced the atmosphere of the World Cup and ultimately lifted the trophy with his teammates.

Now, Kaka had taken over the mantle of Brazilian football and become the sharpest arrow of the national team.

In Pereira's view, Kaka was the second Ronaldo, the biggest discovery of Brazilian football in recent years, the kind of player who only appears every 20 or 30 years. He believed that Kaka could follow in Ronaldo's footsteps and become a legend.

The media were also crazy about Kaka. Almost every player list they drew up for the national team had Kaka's name.

With such momentum, the newly appointed Brazilian coach Scolari certainly would not overlook Kaka. Before the first month of 2002 was over, Kaka was called up by the national team.

He was included in the 23-man squad for the friendly match between Brazil and Bolivia.

As club competitions were in full swing, the national team did not conduct extensive training this time, leaving only a few days for the players to get familiar with each other. The main purpose was to assess the players' strength and form.

In this context, everyone seemed to be in a hurry. Kaka, who arrived hurriedly after the Brazilian Cup game, was actually one of the first to arrive.

Traveling with him were club captain Ceni and defender Belletti. The three of them were key figures in Sao Paulo's four-championship win the previous year. It was natural for them to be selected for the national team.

They didn't know the complete list of players. They thought that Scolari had only recruited local Brazilian players this time, as some of the national team's main positions were almost untouchable, and there was no need for further inspections. As a result, the next day, as soon as all the players gathered, Kaka was directly blinded by the star-studded lineup.

Cafu, Carlos, Juninho, Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo...

From the perspective of fans, such a lineup was extremely powerful and formidable. Several of them even represented the best in the world. They were already qualified to participate in the highest tier of international football, but based on the results of the Brazilian team in the qualifiers, Scolari was really not optimistic about this team with incredible strength on paper.

Having the most luxurious offensive combination in the world, only to narrowly qualify in the last round of qualifying, this was embarrassing...

It was conceivable that Scolari would definitely be dissatisfied with such a Brazilian team, but he was expected to do so. It was not realistic to replace a group of big names and bring in a bunch of new players.

Kaka was the youngest in the team in terms of both experience and age, but he had made a lot of noise in the past year. Not only were several people who had played against him deeply impressed by him, but also several top players in Europe had heard about this talented youngster.

Everyone got along quite happily, and there was no awkwardness. Although Kaka, a handsome and sweet-tongued person, did not become the team favorite, he left a good impression on many.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to practice free kicks, Kaka, Ceni, Ronaldinho, and Carlos quickly became familiar with each other.

Kaka remembered that in 2020, someone had launched an activity on social media, which was to bring together free kick masters from various countries and then ask which combination was the best.

The result was not much of a surprise, and the responses were almost all "the team with the yellow jersey."

The representatives of the yellow jersey team were the three players around Kaka and Juninho, who was not selected for the national team this time.

Someone summarized the characteristics of their free kicks:

Ceni, Juninho: Steady!

Ronaldinho, Juninho: Accurate!

Carlos and Juninho: Powerful!

And now Kaka was a less accomplished version of Juninho when it came to free kicks. He was steady, accurate, and powerful, but not as steady, accurate, or powerful as Juninho.

Fortunately, the three of them did not hesitate to teach, and Kaka's free kick skills had improved somewhat under their guidance.

It's worth emphasizing that Kaka had never stopped learning, and his progress was not without reason.

Of course, Ronaldinho had so many interesting skills, and one free kick was definitely not enough, but those tricks of his were too talented, and Kaka could not learn them with his current ball control. In contrast, he was more interested in some rumors.

For example, the widely circulated video of kicking the crossbar four times.

Some fans said that the video was real, and some said it was synthesized. Ronaldinho himself gave vague answers during interviews. He said at one time it was a special effect for an advertisement, and at another, he said, "Didn't you see it on TV? Why don't you pay me, and I'll do it again?"

Kaka was naturally curious, and now that he had the opportunity to interact with Ronaldinho, he naturally wanted to ask for the truth.

Of course, the video incident hadn't happened yet, so if he wanted to ask, he could use other methods, such as... betting.

"Bet?" Ronaldinho asked with interest, "What's the bet?"

"If you win, I'll cover your next trip to Sao Paulo. If I win, next time I go to Barcelona... No, you'll pay for my trip to Paris. You have to be responsible."

"Okay, how?" Ronaldinho showed his trademark smile.

That video... think about it.

"It's very simple. In this position," Kaka stood slightly outside the penalty area line, "we kick the ball onto the crossbar, let the ball bounce back, and then kick it back. During this period, the ball cannot fall to the ground, and no one can enter the penalty area. Whoever hits the crossbar more times wins, how about it?"

"Huh? That sounds interesting, add me?" Before Ronaldinho could answer, Carlos became interested.

"I have no problem, just ask Ronaldinho."

"Of course, the more people there are, the more fun it is," Ronaldinho said enthusiastically, "Who goes first?"

"I'll go first," Kaka said.

"Okay."

Ceni kicked the ball over. Kaka picked up the ball, hit it twice, looked up at the crossbar, and suddenly kicked it over. The football accurately hit the crossbar and bounced with a "thud" sound.

The ball that flew back missed a little far. Kaka rushed a few steps to the side and saved the ball just as the football was about to hit the ground.

"Oh!" The three people nearby applauded generously, and the teammates not far away looked over when they heard it.

Ronaldinho waved, and Ronaldo, Cafu, and others also walked over curiously.

Kaka adjusted a few times and kicked the ball out again. This time, the football still hit the crossbar, but it hit the middle and upper part of the crossbar. It flew high before falling into the penalty area.

According to the rules, he naturally lost. Kaka was too lazy to run in to save the ball. He could only spread his hands and said, "Two?"

"Not bad, let me try." Carlos walked over and lifted the ball. Outside the penalty area, he also made a few adjustments and then kicked the ball away.

Ronaldinho had just finished explaining to the others and looked over quickly.

The football hit the crossbar with a bang and bounced back quickly.

Carlos was startled and ran to save the ball. Unfortunately, his shot was too powerful and hit the center of the crossbar. The ball bounced back flat and fast, and he couldn't catch it at all.

He held his head and said "Oh" in an exaggerated way, and the people next to him also yelled a few weird words in response, and everyone was very happy.

It was Ronaldinho's turn.

Everyone knew that this kid was very charming, and they all fell silent for a while to watch his performance.

Ronaldinho picked up the ball lightly, performed two tricks, suddenly put away the smile on his face, and kicked the ball out.

The football hit the crossbar accurately and bounced back to him.

Ronaldinho squatted down, stopped the ball with his chest, then pushed it with his thighs a few times, and kicked the ball out again. 

The football still hit the crossbar, but this time it bounced a little low. Fortunately, Ronaldinho moved quickly and kicked the ball up with the instep of his foot. After a few adjustments, he kicked the ball out again.

It still hit the crossbar, and the speed and distance it bounced back were just right. 

Everyone looked at each other a few times, unable to hide their amazement.

Not to mention kicking the crossbar repeatedly, even if they tried to kick something as small, they were sure to miss it, but to let the ball bounce back like this...

One could only say they were in awe of his skills.

Ronaldinho kicked the ball out again, and this time it still hit the crossbar, but it hit the lower part of the crossbar and bounced directly into the net.

Four times!

Ronaldinho didn't know whether it was regret or pride on his face, but it was still that trademark smile. No matter how you interpreted it, the people next to him wanted to go up and wipe that grin off his face.

The fun was over, and official training began. 

Kaka was severely shocked again.

In an interview, Henry had once talked about his feelings when he saw Messi training after moving to Barcelona. A bunch of exaggerated verbal descriptions and action gestures helped him secure a top spot in the club's hierarchy. Kaka had always thought that was just Henry being politely complimentary. After all, he was a world-class superstar who had dominated the Premier League and the world stage. What kind of special talents had he not seen before? To be shocked like that by a younger player?

But now, Kaka could somewhat understand Henry's feelings.

The wealth of information in his previous life had allowed him to witness many football geniuses through various videos. In this life, he had devoted himself to football. He had also come into contact with many talented players from Brazil to Argentina. He could be regarded as someone who had seen it all, but when he saw Ronaldinho and others training, he suddenly felt that what he had seen in the past was too childish.

Talent really did make a difference when it came to playing football.

Needless to say, their play was both flashy and practical, their shots accurate and full of imagination. The teamwork between them seemed very casual, but it was just right. 

Smooth, natural, and extremely lethal.

In comparison, both his club Sao Paulo and the National Youth Team were far behind. 

Kaka's former high school teacher had once said that a poem you memorized by rote as a child may not be fully understood or empathized with until the moment you work, get married, have a child, or even prepare to face death.

He had felt this way many times in the past years, and he felt it again at this moment.

Originally an outsider, he was occasionally a guest in front of the elite. He danced drunkenly with half-understood knowledge, sat in a small space and talked about how vast the world was.

Sitting in a well and looking at the sky, Kaka.

(End of chapter)