Image courtesy of WOEI ROTTERDAM
An ode to the Imperador.
"The press was like: "Adriano could be earning millions...". I couldn't care less. Your happiness matters more than money." - Adriano for The Players' Tribune
Every true football fan knows about the story of Adriano's career, the ups- and downs.
A quick read for those who may not be familiar:
Adriano Leite Ribeiro, born on February 17, 1982, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a retired football player who is remembered as a cult hero amongst true football fans. He rose to fame as a prolific striker, being known for his powerful left foot, and immense strength and technical skills.
Starting out at CR Flamengo at a young age and his immense talents earning a move to Europe to play for Inter Milan in 2001, being loaned out to clubs like Fiorentina and Parma, where he showcased his potential to become one of the greatest. He returned to Inter in 2004 and immediately entered a period where he became one of the most feared strikers in the world, this is also the era when he got his renowned nickname, 'O Imperador, alias The Emperor.
"I went from a guy that lived in the favela to being called the emperor." - Adriano for The Players' Tribune
Adriano became a key player for the Brazilian national team in the early 2000's, playing a vital role in Brazil's triumph at the 2004 Copa América, where he was the tournament's top scorer, and the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.
Since retiring in 2016, Adriano has kept a relatively low profile, spending his days in the place he loves most: Rio de Janeiro. And while his personal and post-football life has made occasional headlines, his fans continue to celebrate the joy and excitement he brought to the games during his prime.
Antonio Scorza/AFP via Getty Images
"He could shoot from every angle, nobody could tackle him, nobody could take the ball, he was a pure animal," - Zlatan Ibrahimovic, for Sport Bible in 2020.
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We want to honor the legacy of one of football's most talented yet enigmatic players, hence we leave you, the reader, to read or watch about Adriano's full story by yourself. We tell you not to judge purely based on news outlets.
Furthermore, we have a couple articles and videos that we think tell the story the best:
Blog- The Players Tribune - Adriano Has a Story to Tell
Video - The Players Tribune - Adriano Has a Story to Tell
Blog- Goal - The Rise and Fall of Adriano
Blog- The Players Tribune - A Letter to my Favela
To continue the WOEI Photo tee series, we travelled all the way to Rio de Janeiro to meet, hang out, and take pictures with Adriano himself.
We want to thank Adriano for welcoming us, and his manager Renata for helping us make this special project happen.
The image on the t-shirt is shot by Mark Bolk.
The WOEI x Adriano Imperador T-shirts will be available online and in-store at WOEI on Friday, December 13th.
The shirts will be available in a white and a black version.
*shipping to Brazil will be made available.
Sizerange: S - XXL
Price: €50,-
