Johannesburg, June 29: Brazilian superstar Kaka was set to arrive in Madrid Tuesday, and his luggage was a bit heavier than usual: he has just won the Confederations Cup title with Brazil, and he was voted the best player in the tournament that ended Sunday in South Africa. “I already started winning as a Real Madrid player. I hope I can now continue the same way in this new phase in my life,” said the former Milan player.
At 25, Kaka is a unique character among global football icons: profoundly religious and he never followed the nightclubs-casual sex script that so many of his colleagues live by.
“I try to relax as much as I can, and I do that with my family. I have a one-year-old son, and I really relax well with him,” the playmaker said in Johannesburg.
On Sunday, Kaka was one of the commanders of Brazil’s heroic 3-2 comeback win over the United States, which gave the South American giants the Confederations Cup title.
His aura as the “perfect family man” comes coupled with that of a very disciplined professional – enthusiastically praised by all the coaches and club officials that Kaka has worked with over the years – and with a humble and pleasant personality, very far removed from the arrogance of some idols of sport.
In South Africa, just days after he became the object of the third most expensive transfer in history, after Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo and Frenchman Zinédine Zidane, Kaka had his photo taken with children and reacted with patience and friendliness to the requests of his fans.
“That admiration makes me happy. I am glad to know that wherever I go people appreciate my work with the club, with the Brazilian national team.
“Of course I would often want to be calm when I go out with my family and I find ‘papparazzi,’ and that is something invasive, but I think that is part of the life of a football idol,” he says.
Linked to the Brazilian Pentecostal church Rebirth in Christ since his teenage years, Kaka thinks his religious views explain how he can reconcile in harmony the life of a sports icon with that of a family man, without getting distracted by the millions of dollars he has amassed in the course of his career.
“I have my Biblical values, and I set those above everything else. In my scale of values, money is not a priority.
“Of course money is important, it is a very good thing, but for me it’s just a consequence of what I do. I get pleasure and joy from playing football, I feel love for the sport. I am paid because I do my job well,” he said.
That love for football perhaps explains how Kaka could keep his smile throughout the 30 days which – instead of enjoying his holidays – he spent on national team duty.
Brazil first played Uruguay and Paraguay in the South American World Cup qualifiers, and then moved on to the Confederations Cup.
Loyal to his Mr Nice Guy image, the playmaker followed with care every instruction from Brazil coach Carlos Dunga.
He devoted all his attention to the national team and staunchly refused to comment on his high-profile transfer to Real Madrid while he was in South Africa.
“Now I only want to talk about the Confederations Cup,” he warned, when asked.
Such blind obedience to Dunga’s “number one rule” pleases the demanding coach, widely regarded as an “enemy of superstars” but who points to Kaka as an example of what he expects from members of the Brazilian national team.
“We want players who are really focused on the Brazilian national team, rather than thinking of their clubs or of potential transfers,” Dunga explained.
For Kaka, discipline is not a sacrifice, but an essential prerequisite to keep up a good performance on the pitch. Some say he learned that from former Milan defender Paolo Maldini, whom he refers to as “my captain.”
“He was an example: he won everything he could have won, but everyday he had the motivation to train, everyday he wanted to be the best.”
Kaka is set to take that same motivation on to Real Madrid, where he was to be presented officially Tuesday as a new signing alongside another, much less humble football icon: Cristiano Ronaldo.
The two men – most unlike each other – are set to be rivals in the fight for the favour of the Real Madrid fans, but also in the race for awards like the Ballon d’Or and the FIFA Player of the Year.
–Agencies