The Match Kaka Least Wanted to Play

Undoubtedly, Kaka was on fire, blazing hot. Stories of players becoming famous after scoring a single goal happen every year, but none had been as emotionally charged as Kaka's.

The now nearly isolated Kaka could not feel this heat, but his parents, friends, agent, and teammates at his club all knew that Kaka would embark on a completely different professional path.

'The Next Ronaldo', 'The New Pele', 'Kaka Leads the Top 10 World Cup Newcomers'...

In the latest World Cup news, Kaka was an unavoidable name. Kaka had not accessed these reports, but through the snippets his parents mentioned on the phone and the changing attitudes of the staff around him, he could roughly imagine the external reaction.

A little smugness, but... it was all within expectations, right?

If this question was thrown at Scolari, his answer would definitely be: Are you kidding me? Who could have predicted that in just over ten minutes, you would cause such an uproar?

Painfully happy, this was probably the most accurate portrayal of the Brazilian coach at the moment.

Let Kaka continue as a substitute? Unthinkable, it seemed too extravagant.

Start him? Then the whole plan would be in disarray.

As for whether Kaka was just an occasional outburst... that was not a concern, Kaka's abilities had already been proven in various training matches and friendlies. Scolari just didn't expect him to be that fierce in an official match.

Not only Scolari, but the entire Brazilian team was grappling with this issue.

On June 7, 2002, in the Brazil vs. China match, Scolari provided the answer to the problem.

Kaka continued as a substitute.

The Brazilian team largely retained the starting lineup from the previous match, allowing Kaka to relive the performance from a different perspective on the sidelines.

Three minutes into the game, Hao Haidong broke through two defenders, but Cafu used his physical advantage to push him away. A minute later, Qi Hong received a pass around 20 meters from the goal and shot, but the ball deflected off a defender.

In the 14th minute, Ronaldinho was fouled by Li Weifeng after breaking through, and Brazil was awarded a free kick on the right side, 35 meters out. Ronaldo and Rivaldo stood in front of the ball as a screen, Carlos took a run-up and struck the ball with his left instep, sending it over the Chinese wall and past goalkeeper Jiang Jin's reach into the top corner.

1-0.

In the 32nd minute, Cafu crossed from the right sideline, Du Wei headed it away to the far post where Ronaldinho chipped it back into the middle, and Rivaldo volleyed it in from 5 meters out.

2-0.

In the 44th minute, Ronaldinho played a through ball, Ronaldo beat Li Weifeng and Du Wei but was brought down by Li Weifeng in the box. Swedish referee Frisk pointed to the penalty spot, and Ronaldinho converted.

3-0 at halftime.

In the dressing room, the atmosphere was joyful. When a match was going this well, it was probably hard to be too serious anyway.

"Kaka, cheer up dont be sad if you cant play," Carlos was probably the most easygoing member of this Brazilian team, seeming to get along well with everyone. "You're still young, the future is yours. Soon you won't even be able to rest if you want to."

"No problem," Kaka tried to explain with a shrug. "Actually, how about that number 10 earlier? I felt he almost got past you."

"He was alright, pretty quick on his feet. I heard he's supposed to be Asia's top striker?"

"There's talk like that, so..." Kaka had a strange look on his face, a sort of half-smile as he said, "You're not thinking of swapping jerseys with him, are you?"

"I hadn't planned on it, but if I happened to run into him after the match it wouldn't be out of the question. Why?"

"I'd advise against it."

"Why not?"

"No reason, I just heard he doesn't really like swapping jerseys with other players."

"Where did you hear that?"

"Just a rumor, can't even remember where."

"Your rumor sources are pretty out there if they reach all the way to Asia."

"You may not know this, but I'm into Asian culture. Fluent in the languages."

"I think you're more into the Asian ladies."

"Beauty transcends nationality..."

And the topic quickly veered off course.

The legend goes that after this match, Carlos did swap jerseys with the Chinese number 10. As for the number 10, he reportedly threw Brazil's number 6 jersey on the floor in the locker room and stormed off, saying "You're my opponent, I respect that you won, but if you want it back you'll have to come get it and wash it yourself first - I'm not into that!"

The second half continued, with Ronaldo being subbed off for Denilson right after the restart. 

In the 47th minute, Carlos threw a sideline ball into the box and Lucio was called for a foul on a header.

In the 55th minute, Rivaldo played a diagonal ball from midfield to the right side where Cafu chested it down between two defenders, cut into the box and slipped a low cross to the far post where the unmarked Ronaldo tapped it in from 5 meters.

4-0. 

A minute later, China had a great chance when Hao Haidong slipped it to Ma Mingyu at the edge of the box, but Cafu came across to poke it away.

In the 61st minute, Ma Mingyu played a through ball, Zhao Junzhe cut inside Lucio but his shot from 17 meters out smacked off the post as China narrowly missed their first ever World Cup goal.

Around the 72nd minute, both teams made a sub, with Ricardinho replacing Juninho and Qu Bo coming on for Hao Haidong. 

To be fair, China played pretty well in this match. Though criticized harshly at the time, fans would later realize how difficult it was to find players of that caliber on subsequent national teams. What was thought to be the start turned out to be the peak.

Although not on the field, the cameras frequently found Kaka, perhaps hoping to capture some hint of disappointment on his face. After all, having just played the hero in the previous match, continuing on the bench in this one did seem a bit hard to justify - like he had accomplished the feat but didn't get the reward.

But Kaka's acting skills were fully maxed out. He furrowed his brow when the team was in danger, celebrated their goals, just another bystander to all appearances. Only his teammates beside him sensed his mood wasn't that high.

Of course, he wasn't that dramatic - if the coach gave the order, he would have gone in. But Scolari didn't seem to have any intention of sending him on.

Lost in his wandering thoughts, the final whistle blew.

Brazil 4, China 0. Brazil remained top of the group. 

(End of chapter)