Can a really shy person be team captain? A very nice story, based on an article on Brazilian newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo (translated by MS/Google and then again by the coach).
Dida: a very shy person, except as a goal keeper, when he commands the team.
Motivated by the need for an experienced goalkeeper and following the successful example of other clubs filled with veteran players, Portuguesa decided to risk it: hiring Dida as goal keeper. The famous Dida, from the Brazilian squad and Milan.
After ten years in Milan, the contract of goalkeeper Dida had not been renewed in July 2010. He did not receive any good proposals after that. Since then, the only concrete thing was the beach soccer World Championship that he played, again for Milan. "It was not a retirement. Only a break, " says dona Eugênia, an aunt who accompanies since the beginning of his career.
It was then that the invitation of the Portuguesa was received.
"I think he wanted to prove that it was possible to play at a high level. It is proper of the human being, " says coach Geninho. "I imagine that he misses the stadiums, the routine. Must be very bad to stay still," says Caio, also a former player and a Portuguesa football manager today. (coachescan attest to that too - after season is awful for coaches, who suddenly have 3 or 4 free days a week)
The record after three months: 19 games and 17 goals conceded. The club's assessment is that already Dida was worth bringing back. He surprised everyone by shortening the periods of physical recovery and is already playing at a high level. "The only difference in his training to others is the intensity's Experience and his sense of positioning are unmatched," says gk preparer Alex Gregory. "I'm not a substitute for a player that works only with his name. He still plays a high level," confirms Gledson, the main gk until the arrival of Dida.
The opinions of the coach, the aunt, the reserve goalkeeper try to fill Dida's own silence. Wanted for interviews, the goalkeeper declined to comment. This is one of the key differentiators of his career - the other is to be a great catcher in pk shootouts. "We need to squeeze him to say "Good Morning", jokes coach Geninho. "It's his way. He is a lone wolf."
Shyness. Dida does not stutter, does not have a lisp, nor is his voice thin. The only difference is the accent that still carries from Irará, the town where he was born in the interior of Bahia (northeastern Brazil). Barriers for interviews are therefore invisible.
Dida, however, has a curriculum that can speak for itself endlessly. He was the first black goalkeeper to defend the Brazilian team after Barbosa, who played in 1950, became WC champion in 2002; he won the Champions League with Milan in two seasons, and was world club champion with Corinthians in 2000 (yes, Corinthians, ever heard of it? club world champion).
Transformation. Dida only loosens his voice in two situations: under the goal posts and on the festival of St. John. He leads the team unceremoniously and justifies the captain stripe. To coach Geninho, he does not need to come loose. "If a player like him, rich and WC champion, practices like it's the beginning of his career, how can a new player who is still seeking his own space not train hard?"
Dida also attends the Brazilian June festival (a very popular event in Brazil) at Irará. It's a street party where the main attraction are two parades: the Jeguerê and Mule Foot. As the city's most illustrious son, Dida is in the two parades, singing and dancing behind the 'trio electrico'. He is the player who leads the revelry from the street to the family place, the same place where he was born. There, they organize competitions, like the old sack race and pot breaking, and guys become kids again. "It's Dida who makes the mess," says Dona Eugenia. The dour goalkeeper is the most playful of five brothers who meet annually in St. John
This year, Dida failed to attend St John Irará. The feast day - June 23, was on the day of its debut in Portuguesa, a 1-0 over Sao Paulo in Canindé. Even with the distance Bash's homeland, Dida showed late in the game a grin as if behind an electric trio
