Alexandre Pato (32) is probably what is called an “eternal talent” in football. A player who caused quite a stir at a young age, but could not maintain this level.
At AC Milan, the Brazilian was considered a jewel. For many years he was a beacon of hope. A whole club, a whole city was itching to have a future world footballer in his ranks.
In the early summer of 2022 – after being without a club for a while, Pato now plays in the MLS, which is at best second-rate internationally – he asks himself questions that should be of burning interest to all fans.
“What happened to (Alexandre) Pato?”, “Why didn’t he ever win the Ballon d’or?”, “Why was he always injured?”.
With these words, Alexandre Pato’s contribution begins at “The Players Tribune“, which gives an insight into the beginnings of his career and the further path of life, which the majority of fans stopped following at some point. There have long been other interesting young players.
Alexandre Pato was discovered at the age of ten in his homeland Pato Branco, located in the south of the state of Paraná. Although he had previously only played futsal on a small pitch, he convinced a scout from Internacional Porto Alegre. His father drove him 600 kilometers south to enable him to try out.
571 hp arrival at the DFB
Wing racer Sané comes in a gullwing!
Quelle: Twitter / @itstheicebird
“We were nine hours away. Our family didn’t have much money because my mother couldn’t go to work because of back pain. My dad realized there that we couldn’t afford a normal hotel, so he checked us into a sex hotel.” The only accommodation that was affordable at the moment.
“Thank God,” said Pato, “they took me to Inter.” Even if at that time he hadn’t dreamed of one day becoming famous as a professional footballer.
Probably also because he almost lost his left arm a year earlier. During an X-ray, the treating doctor diagnosed a tumor. “He said that I had to be operated on immediately, otherwise an amputation would be unavoidable. I was in total shock, 24 hours away from losing my arm.”
The family couldn’t afford the surgery, but because his father begged the doctor to show him videos of his son playing soccer, what Alexandre Pato now calls a “miracle” happened. “Maybe he heard the voice of God. He said he would take over the operation, which he did.”
“I will never forget his name: Paulo Roberto Mussi. He gave me a new life!”
“Ronaldinho is magical, not a real person”
Pato fought his way through the club’s youth teams once he arrived at Porto Alegre. His huge talent brought him to the professional team at 17.
With whom he suddenly met Champions League winners FC Barcelona on December 17, 2006 in the final of the Club World Cup.
“It was the first time I met Ronaldinho. You would have to invent a new word to describe this guy. He’s magical, not a real person. I wasn’t an opponent on the pitch that day, just a fan. I asked him before kick-off if I could have his shirt and even though everyone else asked for it after the final whistle, he gave it to me.”
In front of more than 67,000 spectators, Porto Alegre surprisingly won 1-0 against the star ensemble, which included Ronaldinho, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi and Carles Puyol on the pitch that day.
At the side of the world stars: Pato (r.) next to Jankulovski, Pirlo and Beckham (from left to right)
Foto: picture-alliance/ dpa
Six months later – Pato was still only 17 – AC Milan signed him for €24m. The step to Europe! The step to a club full of world stars!
At Milan, coach Carlo Ancelotti quickly became a father figure. Pato learned from legends like Andrea Pirlo, Clarence Seedorf and Ronaldinho, who moved to Serie A a year after his much younger compatriot and fan. Pato scored against Barcelona in the Champions League, made his debut for Brazil national team and was the celebrated hero amidst a world-class side.
But then it went downhill…
“I just cried”
“I was unstoppable living in the here and now, but my head was already caught in the future,” Pato writes today. Caught up in the idea of what he could still achieve, the young attacker’s body went on strike. He was injured more and more often. If he ignored an ailment and played anyway, it would only get worse afterwards.
He traveled to see doctors in the USA, in his native Brazil and in Munich. Fueled by the hope of once again reaching its previous level. The carefree. the fun The overwhelming joy when stepping onto the lawn. Vain.
In 2010 Alexandre Pato met Real and Cristiano Ronaldo with Milan in the Champions League
Photo: picture-alliance / augenklick/firo Sportphoto
“I just cried, cried and cried. I was afraid of never wanting to play football again.”
In January 2013 Alexandre Pato moved back to his native Brazil. Years later, Chelsea loaned him out for half a year, and shortly afterwards he tried his hand at Villarreal in Spain, but his heyday was long gone. If he once thought too much about the future, now at the latest only the memory of the past remains for him.
China club Tianjin Tianhai signed him at a time when the owners of various clubs wanted to adorn themselves with some (ex)stars from Europe. From 2017 to 2019 he played in the Middle Kingdom. “I saw football there as a normal job, learned a lot about the food and the culture during my time there. I understood that there is more than football and what happens on the pitch.”
In China, Alexandre Pato learned that football isn’t everything in life
Foto: picture alliance/dpa/HPIC
Complete happiness, however, needed a rock bottom, which Alexandre Pato experienced at a party in Los Angeles. “After my time in China I took another wrong turn. I wanted to live in the best hotel, drive the fastest car and have the wildest parties.”
“I ended up at a party where a girl was using coke next to me. I was just like, ‘What are you even doing here?’”
After an interim return to Brazil, Pato is playing in Orlando today. He is married, says he has drawn great strength from his faith in God and is just happy. “If life is a game,” affirms Pato, “I’ve won.”
