Romario, a former FC Barcelona and Valencia soccer player and Brazilian politician, recalled the most memorable moments of his career in ‘The Players Tribune’. He came to agree with one of the clubs where he played to be able to party. Now, as a Brazilian politician, he reveals the reason he got into politics.
Go partying: “I never missed training. I want to make that very clear. When I came back to play in Brazil, I told all the presidents: ‘Look, it’s hard for me to wake up early, so I’m going to train in the afternoons.’ Sunday, it was coming out on Friday. Okay, it may have happened a few times, but it was once in 10, tops.”
Sex before the match: “Sometimes, on the day of the match, I would stay at home, away from the rest of the team. If I woke up feeling like it, I would have sex with my wife and then go to the match. On the pitch, I was relaxed… Light.”
Arrogant: “People said: “Romário likes to party, Romário doesn’t like to train, Romário is a womanizer”. But then, in the game, he scored three, four goals, and things changed: “The guy is the host . He’s cool, but reliable on the pitch.” Is that being cool? No! It’s trusting yourself, what you’re capable of doing.”
Be the best: “By that I mean the best shooter. If it’s impossible to shoot, I pass the ball to someone else. If it’s almost impossible, I try to shoot. That’s the logic: if I’m the best, I’m the one who has the duty to sentence the game, not a teammate, understand? Because it was the best thing for the team. It’s like in basketball, when you have to make a 3-pointer in the last few seconds. Who do you give the ball to? Michael Jordan.”
Pressure: “Fuck, I loved the pressure… When players received the ball right in front of the goalkeeper, the goal became small. When the ball reached my feet, the goal grew.”
Life in Holland, outside of Rio: “When I went to PSV, I was 22 years old and had never lived outside of Rio. I, a true carioca, used to frequenting Ramos beach, Governor’s Island, Copacabana, Barra da Tijuca… I played soccer in the street “All of a sudden I was in a dark and cold place. Man, it got to minus 17 degrees one time. How could anyone criticize me for not training? One time, I didn’t leave my fucking house for three days. The guys got worried. There was a knock on my door and I didn’t answer. If I was hibernating, damn it!”
Cruyff: “He was my best coach, without a doubt. When I moved to Barcelona, I wanted the number 11, my favorite. But Cruyff gave me the 10. I told him: “Mister, it’s a great honor to wear the 10, but I prefer the 11” Everyone wants 10, right? For the first time I was humble! And Cruyff said “no”. I was like: “Fuck, brother, I’m giving up 10! Why not?” And he explained to me: “Because in my team the best always plays with 10″. The guy tells you that… What are you going to tell him? I had to keep 10 forever”.
1994 World Cup: “They would never have called me. Brazil was expected to qualify easily, and since I had fallen out with the technical committee, they would never have accepted me. But in that decisive match against Uruguay we had to win or draw for Brazil to qualify. The coaches knew if they lost, they practically had to leave the country. They had to call me back. I was there to teach those motherfuckers on the technical commission that they should have called me earlier. Ask anyone who’s been in the Maracana that day and he will tell you that it was perhaps the most impressive game a footballer has ever played, especially with the Brazil national team shirt.”
Politics: “I got into politics because of people like Ivy. My daughter was born with Down Syndrome. Ivy made me realize that they needed help and had few representatives in politics. Now I’m known for standing up for those people, especially the underprivileged.” They have the same right as us to be part of society.”
