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Aparecido Cesar: Hail Cesar
Aparecido Cesar has been one of the revelations of the season with Inter – much to his delight, as Dominique Antognoni discovered during an exclusive chat with the Brazilian winger
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It may seem strange to say that a 34-year-old is the revelation of Inter’s season, but that is the truth. Up until now, Aparecido Cesar had been a huge disappointment, perhaps not even that – rather a mysterious object moved out on loan twice and only on the club’s books because they couldn’t find him another side.
Some say he only remains in Milan because he is Roberto Mancini’s friend, but then came the Empoli game in Week 2 with a splendid performance and an assist for Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Seven days later came his goal against Catania – and so the wide midfielder requested by Mancio at all costs finally came into the spotlight.
He is an incredibly likeable person, so much so that during this interview two members of the Nerazzurri’s staff stop to listen and even interact, until they too start playing at journalism and asking the questions.
Is it disappointing to be considered a surprise package at your age?
Why? I have struggled a great deal to get here, always giving 100 per cent. If I haven’t been able to express myself properly up until now there have been numerous reasons, but at the end of it all I’m going to enjoy it. I am currently a first-team player in the strongest side in Italy and perhaps Europe. I may have made some mistakes in the past, but now I’m happy.
Where did it all go wrong?
Ah, I wish I knew. So often I tried to give my best and shine in every way possible, demanding it of myself in every training session, then on the field even the simplest things weren’t coming off. You put in the effort, but it’s as if you’re stuck. Now it would be easier to look back and search for an explanation, but I still can’t find one. Perhaps it was a psychological block, as if you don’t play then you get tense and the body won’t move easily.
Maybe when you arrived at Inter you felt a bit too relaxed, almost as if you had made it?
In football the exact opposite happens. If you don’t play, you don’t relax. It’s no fun being on the bench or in the stands – it is humiliating and stressful. You want to do the impossible to change the Coach’s mind and become very anxious.
In the first two years at Inter you didn’t manage that.
I know. That is why I asked to go elsewhere, first to Livorno and then back in Brazil with Corinthians, to rediscover my form.
Mancini has always been a big admirer of yours. He wanted you at all costs in time for the most important game of the 2005-06 season against Ajax in the Champions League. You started that match, but your performance was a disaster.
I know. If after two years people still talk about it, that means I really was a disaster, I couldn’t do anything. I can’t even say that I played badly – I just didn’t play. I was there without being able to run like the others and I felt bad as I couldn’t help my teammates. The Champions League is not like Serie A. One bad game and you’re out.
Yet if Mancini put you in from the start, it means you were in good shape.
A training ground exercise is not a game. On the day, if the first ball you touch feels like it burns your foot then you’re done for.
Thankfully that negative period is behind you. How did you emerge from it?
Today I am more focused – perhaps I realised I can no longer afford any mistakes. I’ve got some really stupid red cards before, but now I know I can’t get away with anything, so I have to play at the highest level all the time.
Why is Mancini so fond of you?
The way I interpret my position, how I move without the ball, my runs, consistent work-rate and quality.
Inter have changed with you in the side and can play a classic 4-4-2 with wide midfielders who push up. But you can’t play in the Champions League yet…
When Inter presented the list of 25 players to UEFA I was not even supposed to be at the club. I said right from the start that was the right decision. We’ll see what happens in the spring.
What was your best game in the Nerazzurri shirt?
I could say Catania for the goal I scored, but I won’t. I could look to Empoli, because that’s where I was reborn, but I won’t. So I shall say Inter 4-1 Roma. Perhaps it’s because I spent nearly five years at Lazio and we demolished our closest Scudetto challengers.
Speaking of Lazio, how did you come to Italy in the first place?
I played for Sao Caetano. Raffaele Bellasei, the nephew of Lazio President Sergio Cragnotti, worked in Brazil for Cirio. He saw me and immediately called the club – then Massimo Cragnotti and Nello Governato flew over to get me.
You were a late bloomer in Brazil.
People always ask me about that. Sao Paolo is a city with 25m inhabitants. On every corner there is a football pitch and if you stop to watch you’ll see at least two world-class players. As a youngster I saw all these kids and thought, if they can’t get into a prestigious club then I certainly wouldn’t manage it. The big problem of living in a city that lives for football is getting your chance. It takes a miracle to have a trial for Sao Paolo, Santos or Corinthians. I stood in front of the gates every day until they finally offered me an opportunity.
At the age of 13 I did it with Corinthians. I went through the entire youth system and then hit the same problem as before – so many great players that I couldn’t find a space in the squad. I went into the Second Division twice, with Juventude and then Sao Caetano. I was 24-years-old, but just getting there was a triumph. It may seem strange when put in those terms, but you just need to go to Brazil to see how many great players there are.
How was life in the Second Division?
You’d never believe it, but it is a really high level. It’s no coincidence that it’s where I met the Coach who would mould my career, Jair Picerni. He explained to everyone precisely why they were or weren’t playing and asked them to give a little more than was within their grasp, that victory was in their hands. He treated everyone the same way. This is how a miraculous team sprung up, going from the Second Division to the Final of the Copa Libertadores.
Kaka once said that if there were more money in Brazil it would be the NBA of the football world.
Very true. Just look at those players from Sao Paolo and Santos who are sold before even breaking into the first team. They go from the youth system straight to Europe now. Corinthians, for example, has a youth structure I haven’t seen anywhere else, not even in Italy.
Did you have an idol as a youngster?
Zico.
And for your role, someone you modelled yourself on?
Leonardo.
Did you ever call him for advice?
No, partly because he came from Flamengo. It may seem stupid, but we Sao Paolo lads don’t have a good rapport with those from Rio… Besides he is a champion, I wouldn’t dare to disturb him. Of course, if we bumped into each other at the San Siro then I’d say hello.
Seeing as you haven’t played much in recent years, could you say that you have lengthened your career? Will you be worn out by 40 or still able to run?
I don’t know, but I don’t think so. It may be true that you don’t play in the first team, but you still train hard and the body takes the toll. Of course, it’s one thing to be like Paolo Maldini and play for 20 years at the top level every three days, but quite another for me and Serginho.
What can we say about the current Inter side?
They are fantastic. The quality of players is so high that they can always decide a match. If you have our character – just look at the turnaround against CSKA Moscow – along with the class of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Julio Cruz, Hernan Crespo and the others, you can do anything. That is why we always win.
Do you have a dream?
To be in the Inter starting XI for as long as possible. To lift the Champions League trophy and win the Scudetto. I’m not asking for too much, with this squad it is possible.
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| Interviewed: January 2008 |
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