Alexandre Pato (32) will never forget the evening of December 17, 2006. With the Brazilian club Internacional Porto Alegre, the 17-year-old beat the Champions League winners Barcelona 1-0 in the final of the Club World Cup – his star is on the rise.
A great victory, which thanks to opponent Ronaldinho enjoys an even higher status: “You would have to invent a new word to describe this guy. He’s magical, not a real person. That day I wasn’t an opponent on the pitch, just a fan. I asked him before kick-off if I might have his jersey and although everyone else asked him following the final whistle, he gave it to me,” says the center forward to The Players Tribune.
600 kilometers for a trial session
Half a year later, the 27 million transfer across the pond to AC Milan followed. The money worries of his childhood? Blown away.
Pato recalled being spotted by Internacional Porto Alegre when he was ten years old. His father drove him 600 kilometers for a trial session: “We were on the road for nine hours. Our family didn’t have much money because my mother mightn’t work because of back pain. My dad realized there that we mightn’t afford a regular hotel, so he checked us into a sex hotel.”
“A girl next to me consumed coke”
It was the beginning of a career that stalled in Milan. The body went on strike. The injuries wouldn’t go away. He sought help, visited doctors in the USA, Brazil and Germany – in vain. “I just cried, cried and cried. I was afraid of never wanting to play football once more.”
His Italian adventure ended in 2013. Pato was drawn back home. After stints at Chelsea and Villarreal, he landed in China in 2017. During this time, a trip to Los Angeles finally opened his eyes: “I ended up at a party where a girl was consuming coke next to me. I just asked myself: ‘What are you even doing here?'”
He is now married, plays football for Orlando in the USA, draws energy from faith and is completely satisfied: “If life is a game, I’ve won.” (nab)
