Nothing unites the world like football, and few united the world over the last 20 years like Kaká.
The Brazillian megastar, who was widely considered one of the greatest players of his generation and was one of the most dominant of the early 21st century, is now 40 and retired, but as the World Cup in Qatar draws to a close, he has found him reflecting on the days when he was one of the breakout young stars of the tournament, back at the age of 20 when he joined the historic Brazil team of 2002 that went on to win the tournament and cement its players as legends.
The Adidas player came to watch the World Cup, and when stopping through Dubai, sat down with Esquire Middle East to reflect on his career, what it means to win the World Cup, and how he kept himself grounded after his early success.
Read our full inverview with Kaká below.
Esquire Middle East speaks to Kaká
This has been, in a lot of people’s words, the best. World Cup ever. Especially here in the Arab world, as we’ve not only had our first ever World Cup in the region, but had the Arab teams, such as Saudi Arabia and Morocco, make history.
Kaká: Yeah, it’s really nice. Because the whole part of the warm, embrace of those teams was wonderful to watch, as the whole region seemed to get behind Saudi and Morocco. It was beautiful to watch.
Were you impressed by the way Saudi Arabia played?
Kaká: I was really impressed with the Saudi. I watched the game at the stadium against Argentina, and the way that they played really impressive. It was very organized, very coordinated, very well trained.
I want to go back to your memories from winning in 2002. Who was the first person you called after the game?
Kaká: Well, it wasn’t so easy to call when we didn’t have that much of technology back then. So as soon as I could, I called my parents in Brazil and just celebrated with them. And then we had this 48 hours to come back to Brazil and nonstop we were just celebrating on the plane on the bus and everywhere. So it’s very good memories that I have.
You were so young as well, and reached the pinnacle of the sport when you were really just starting your career. Did you feel that you were emotionally ready for that at the time?
Kaká: It’s incredible because I started to realize what happened to me in 2006 years later, when we lost against France in Germany. I realiszed then, oh, well, it’s not so easy to win the World Cup! In 2002, I was 20 years old at the time, and it was really incredible to be there and be part of the team. And year by year, I completely understood what was happening with me in 2002, and was able to reflect on the great opportunity I had.
So you feel like you really learned the lessons when you lost more than when you won?
Kaká: Yes. Because you realize how hard it is to win. In 2002, it was my first one. I went to the World Cup, and we won. So okay, now I think we’re going to win easy. Now you’re going to win all of them. And then you started to realize when you lose that it’s not so easy to get to lift the trophy.
What did you learn about yourself in whenever those early years?
Kaká: There are a lot of lessons and for me, it was incredible to be there and see those kinds of players that I were my idols. And then at the same time, I was teammates with them. So one thing that for me was a great lesson is to watch Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinhoplaying together and seeing what those guys can do. They weren’t afraid to try. That, for me, was a key lesson for my whole career. They just tried. And of course, you can try 10 times and not have any success with that. But it did teach me that it was possible to achieve what you want. That’s enough. It was a great lesson for me to be with those guys in 2002.
How hard was it to keep yourself on track on a personal level? Your biggest personal successes came later, but was it easy to keep yourself as motivated? Was it easy to stay on the right path?
Kaká: For me it was my teammates. They helped helping me a lot with that. I had three captains, first in San Paolo, then Paolo Maldini and Milan and Cafu with the national team. they taught me me a lot with that. Because those guys, they won a lot in football and they still had the same passion and the same motivation. And so for me, it was a the example that I wanted. They were the inspiration for me. After that, I saw those guys training every day with the same motivations to win again. I said, well, that’s what I want. That’s the kind of inspiration that I want.
And also my family. My family was really important for me at the time. And still is, honestly. But back then, if they ever saw me not following the values that they taught me, hey always said to me, ‘look, we’re not being yourself’. That would help me try to understand what’s happening. Try to be aware. See where I started leading myself. My family aws really important in that.
At 40, how do you look back on all this? How do you feel like you’ve changed as a person how does your love for football change in your life?
Kaká: Yes, I realized that I really loved this game because after I stopped playing, it’s not my job anymore. But I had the same passion that I had when I was kid just want to play for fun, just to be there watch some games and I love football. And I wanted to learn a lot of from football as well.
Now, it’s already five years that I stopped playing. And I have done five different sports program. So for me it’s been really nice to learn different subjects to a football. So this is what I’m trying to do. It’s really nice to be here in the Middle East and watch some games at the World Cup.
This is also a World Cup that was all about Ronaldo and Messi from the beginning. People have thought a lot about how this will affect their careers, and shape their legacies. And with Messi now facing his biggest moment, i think that’s crystalized that as the story of this World Cup.
Kaká: People wanted to see Messi or Ronaldo win the world cup and to have this legacy, as you said, in their career. I think everybody was cheering for them and supporting them. And of course, I would like to see those guys winning. It’s something that for someone that loves football, it’s incredible to see what these guys are doing what they have done so far.