The conversation with Betfair’s ambassador and one of the greatest football players of all time is on display on the betting house channel on Youtube. Idol of the Brazilian fan and former player of Barcelona, Milan, Palmeiras, Cruzeiro, Corinthians and São Paulo, the midfielder talks about the road that led him to the stardom of world football.
From the difficulties before becoming a football player and how he dealt with his departure from Corinthians to rival Palmeiras in 1994 until his consecration as one of the greatest football players of all time, Rivaldo told everything – or almost everything – to journalist Rosiane Siqueira, manager of international public relations at Betfair.
In ‘Fala Rivaldo’ (Speak Rivaldo), the athlete says: “I came from a very poor family, I had to train, I had to go to school to study, there I also sold popsicles and cotton candy to help at home, it was a very complicated situation. I fought a lot to conquer what I conquered, because I spent a childhood with great difficulty,” said Rivaldo to Betfair.
The five-time champion also commented on his time at Santa Cruz, where he was sent away, and irregularly, he played in a match against Santa Cruz himself playing for Paulistano, a club from his hometown.
“I was sent away at the Santa Cruz base, after I was training for the club. A coach ended up sending me away, sometimes there are so many people, and the coach ended up passing me by unnoticed and sent me away. I have no regrets about that,” declared the former player about his departure from Santa, in 1989.
The star also told about his technical evolution at Mogi Mirim, where he played at Carrossel Caipira in the 1993 Paulista Championship, leading to his being traded to Corinthians, where he had his first call-up to the Brazilian national team.
“I didn't have this dream of making it to the Brazilian national team, but things were going well; I stayed at Mogi Mirim for a year, then Corinthians signed me and I started to think big. Everyone knows that playing for Corinthians is a lot of pressure but things started to get better and, once in Corinthians, I was called up for the national team in 1993 to play against Germany, which I didn't play, and against Mexico, where I made my debut and I scored a goal. But I say that in the beginning it was hard to imagine, but working I saw things happening naturally,” highlighted Rivaldo.
The five-time champion recalls his transfer to Palmeiras: “It was very difficult due to the rivalry between the two clubs. At the time, I was cursed a lot, but later they respected me,” he told journalist Rosiane.
“For Palmeiras, the fans saw me as a Corinthians player, they booed me, I remember a game between against Botafogo at Parque Antártica and the crowd booed me the whole time. The first half ends, I was sad about it all and Vanderlei Luxemburgo says: 'They're going to boo you for another 45 minutes, because I'm not going to take you out'. I remember that, and that message from Luxa marked me and I ended up scoring the winning goal, 1-0. That game will remain in my memory forever,” said Rivaldo in an interview with Betfair.
Second episode
With a 25-year football career, friendships and stories are part of the former player's history. During the second episode of “Fala Rivaldo”, he spoke about partners and Brazil’s five-time champion group. “I have some friends from that time; some that I started to be friends with when I was at the youth team and as a professional at Santa Cruz and Mogi Mirim.”
Rivaldo commented on the players that were most in the review. “Look, at Palmeiras I had Flávio Conceição, Amaral, Antônio Carlos, who was coach at Coritiba, César Sampaio and several players. Vampeta, Denilson, Amaral, animated the changing room, there the player must always be relaxed, playing. Sometimes we used to talk so much that we didn't mention the game the game and enter the pitch relaxed," he commented.
He also highlighted Amaral and Vampeta as the greatest “storytellers”. “They have many stories. Of course they add to the stories so that everyone enjoys and laughs, they really cheer the group up and that's always been very positive.”
Finally, Rivaldo said that the champion players with the National Team in 2002 still have a WhatsApp group with members of that historic achievement for Brazil. "Yes, there is a group, almost all the players are there. I laugh a lot there with all the reviews among the players, sometimes I look just to laugh," concluded the former player.
Source: GMB
