Poll: Adriano Is Going, Going…Gone?

By: chris | April 9th, 2009

There was big news yesterday. Sort of. Because Adriano – the 27 year old Internazionale wild child – announced his immediate retirement. Sort of. L’Imperatore announced his retirement and not only left the door open for a return but is still using his foot for a door stop.

And because of this, news headlines are ranging from the authoritative “I Qvit” to the cynical “Adriano Takes A Break” to my personal favorite, “Just Gimme a Fuckin’ Breather – Aight!?”. (A personal fave because I made it up, but a fave nonetheless.) So what’s the deal?

Here’s the presser:

“I’ve lost the happiness of playing.”

“I wouldn’t like to go back to Italy, I want to live in peace here in Brazil.

“I wasn’t unhappy in Italy. I don’t know if I’m going to stay for one, two or three months without playing.

“I’m going to rethink my career.”

Adriano’s personal problems are long and storied. A great deal of them have been attributed to the death of his father, which occurred years ago yet supposedly still haunts him, to the point that its impact has a tentacle’s reach. He’s had well-documented battles with alcohol, his weight and a severe addiction to the nightlife – though that isn’t exactly news regarding Selecao stars. (Nor is it news when Adriano still falls a distant second to Antonio Cassano as Serie A’s bad boy.) Much of the latest gossip has surrounded a recently ex-girlfriend, but that was quashed off the bat by everyone and their mother (including Adriano’s).

And while all this was rumbling about, he kept playing. Albeit some of it did require a lengthy stint in Sao Paolo on loan, but he played. And when he came back this year he was far from awful. Not exactly living up to his potential, but still doing enough to earn some love from Dunga.

So maybe his words had no hidden meaning. Maybe he has simply lost the love of playing – slowly and over time. He wouldn’t be the first big name striker to proclaim his lost love even in the last few months, as Didier Drogba took the death of his grandmother so harshly he contemplated hanging up the boots this past summer. Further proving that athletes are, in fact, human, as many capes as we may imagine adorning the coat rack at home.

And going a step further: one needn’t love a sport to be exceptionally good at it. A concept which may very well strike home with Adriano.

So where does that leave him? Is he done for good? Will he comeback soon, in the fall? Or maybe wait until the beginning of next year’s Brazilian campaign and return home for good? Or maybe a couple years sabbatical.

I find it hard to believe he’s done for good, as he’s talented enough to just show up and dominate Brazilian domestic football from start to finish for another five or six years. There are a great deal of people around the globe doing things they dislike more for a much smaller paycheck. And at the end of the day, for some it is just a job. No reason it can’t be merely that for someone with Adriano’s talent.

How long will Adriano stay ‘retired’?
( online surveys)