Player Profile: Kaka - Part 2
When Kaka was only 18, he “almost” suffered an end to his football playing career. This was not because of an injury that took place on the field, but something that happened off the pitch. The former world player of the year was
involved in a swimming pool accident and he was paralyzed because of a spinal fracture. However, the dynamic midfielder made a full recovery and from that day forward Kaka decided to give a part of his income to the local church.
After joining the local city club Sao Paulo at the age of eight, he decided to sign a contract with them when he was only fifteen. Alongside the youth squad of the Brazilian team, he helped them win Copa de Juvenil.
The club saw the talent in the midfielder and he soon started to feature for the senior side during the year 2001. In that season, Kaka scored 12 goals in only 27 appearances, which is a good record for a young player. His twelve
goal haul resulted in Sao Paulo’s only Tomei Rio Sao Paulo Championship. During the final match, Kaka came on as a substitute while his team was losing the game 0-1 to Botafogo. Kaka came on and managed to score two goals in only two minutes and helped his
team win the game.
The very next season, Kaka scored 10 goals in only 22 appearances. During this time, the “fabulous” midfielder was under the radar of European clubs. Kaka managed to make 58 appearances for the Brazilian club and scored 23 times
for them.
The interest in Kaka by the European teams, soon started to feature in the news and in 2003, the Brazilian decided to make a move to one of the best European sides, AC Milan. The deal was finalized and Kaka went to Milan for a
medical while the Italian side were ready to pay 8.5 million Euros for the playmaker.
This amount was later described as “peanuts” by AC Milan, as the boy’s talent was better than the amount the Italian side paid. After staying on the bench for only a month, Kaka started to feature in the first team of Milan and
made his debut when his team won 2-0 over Ancona. That season, Milan managed to win Scudetto, UEFA Super Cup and it was Kaka who managed to score 10 goals in only 30 appearances that season.
During his time in Milan, Andriy Shevchenko was the striker of the team while Kaka was one of the 5 midfielders. The Brazilian used to play right behind the striker and featured as an “attacking midfielder.”
During the 2004-2005 season, Milan were simply outstanding as they had an outstanding line-up. However, the Italian side suffered a loss against the English team Liverpool when the Reds won the match on penalties. Despite the fact
that Milan did not really win the match, Kaka was still voted as the best midfielder of the tournament.
The next season, Kaka managed to score his first hat-trick during the Italian Serie A. It was against a team called Chievo as the fabulous attacking midfielder managed to score all the three goals in the second half. The very next
season, he scored the first UEFA Champions League hat trick against the Belgian team Anderlecht. The match was simply a thriller as Milan destroyed their opponents 4-1 at the San Siro, the home ground of the Italian club.
During 2006-2007, the AC Milan sensation Shevchenko decided to move to the English side Chelsea. With Shevchenko out, Kaka became the focal point of Milan and it allowed him to score more goals for the club as he featured between
the strikers and the attacking midfielders. During the 2006-2007 UEFA Champions League, Kaka was the one who scored the highest number of goals during the tournament as the Brazilian found the net 10 times.
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