Milan's latest Brazilian star is set to shine

Ricardo Izecson Santos Leite joins the European Champions for 9.5 million euro transfer fee

Back on January 31, 2002 Ricardo Izecson Santos Leite made his debut for Brazil. If you think his full name might be difficult to recall, don't worry he's also known as Kaka. And as he has just signed with European champions "AC Milan" you are sure to hear the name again and again.
Former Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was impressed, and took Kaka with him to the World Cup Finals. Brazil midfielder completed his move to AC Milan last week, signing a four-year contract with the European champions.
Kaka joins Milan from Brazilian club Sao Paulo where he established himself as one of the brightest young talents in South America.
The attacking midfielder, who Milan said cost them a 9.5-million euro transfer fee, featured in last Saturday's friendly against Romania's National Bucharest and he was available for selection for the European Super Cup against Porto in Monte Carlo. Kaka joins a large Brazilian contingent at Milan including World Cup captain Cafu, former Barcelona striker Rivaldo, defender Roque Junior, winger Serginho and goalkeeper Dida.
"I map my career by defining goals. That's how I plan things. I planned to get to the World Cup finals, planned to be a professional with Sao Paolo, and I plan to be a World Champion again in the future," said Kaka. "My other goal was to play my club soccer in Europe. That's what I was aiming and fighting for."
The 21-year-old was part of the Brazil squad that won the World Cup last year. He is also captain of the under-23 side that will feature in next year's Olympic Games.
In 146 games with Sao Paulo he scored 58 goals and has four goals from his nine appearances for the full Brazilian national side, including both in the recent 2-0 win over Colombia in the Concacaf Gold Cup.
"Rivaldo is a personal friend and I spoke to him and the other four about the club and they all told me great things about Milan and said it was the best team to come and play in Italy for," Kaka told a news conference at the club's training centre.
"I'm delighted to be in Italy, I remember seeing Milan on television as a kid, playing Sao Paulo in Tokyo and I never thought I would reach the dream of putting on this shirt," he added.
Breaking into Brazil's World Cup squad was quite an achievement for the youngster, born in 1982. And while Kaka was in Korea and Japan his family watched nervously in their apartment back home in Sao Paulo.
Kaka had represented Brazil the year before at the 2001 World Youth Cup, but only managed a brief 17-minute appearance against Costa Rica at the senior event. Despite that disappointment his father is very proud of his son.
"The press talked a lot about him at the time. They kept saying he had a good chance of being called up to the national team. He played really well in the Brazilian championship just before the World Cup. He set that championship on fire. And when he was eventually called up I was really nervous," said Kaka's father, Bosco Izecson Pereira Leite.
Unlike many players in Brazil, Kaka has enjoyed a comfortable middle-class upbringing. And despite his growing profile, Kaka still lived at home with his family prior to his move to Milan.
"I place great importance upon my family, my parents and my brother. In my house it was me, my dad, my mum and my brother. That's the family I have in Sao Paulo, not counting the other relatives I have in Brasilia, uncles, grandparents and cousins. They're special to me because they are my foundation, my support, and a base I couldn't do without," elaborates Kaka.
Sao Paulo soccer club had to feel like a second family. Kaka joined at age eight and signed as a pro at 15. He made his first team debut three years later, and the attacking midfielder was key to the team. His former club coach is convinced he can do the same for his country.
"He is a fantastic player, very gifted, and he gets better every day. He'll definitely be one of Brazil's best players in the future World Cups. I would dare to say that at this point in time Kaka is, along with Ronaldinho, one of the two great players for the future of Brazilian soccer," stated former Sao Paulo coach Oswaldo de Oliveira.
Praise indeed. But he's not letting it go to his head, and his willingness to work hard for the team had impressed his former team-mates.
"I think Kaka is an excellent player, extremely skillful, and that's starting to be acknowledged all over the world. He'll play up front or down the flanks, he tackles well, is technically adept and physically very fit," said Sao Paulo team captain Rogerio Ceni.
Once Kaka had got himself noticed, Sao Paolo officials knew they would struggle to hang on to their goal-scoring midfielder for long.
"I am now 21 and I had been with Sao Paolo for 13 years. I had played for fun, played uninhibited soccer, and played because I enjoy it and I enjoy spending time at the club. So, Sao Paolo was practically my second home," added Kaka.
"I knew what my plans were as I wanted to play for a European club at some point. Having said that, I knew when I left Sao Paulo, it would be hard. It would hurt. But when I said farewell, I did so hoping to come back one day."
A move abroad was inevitable, but the loss of Kaka caused heartbreak among Sao Paulo supporters. Kaka's fancy footwork may have the pundits drooling, but that's not all he has to offer as far as his female fans are concerned. In a city with 21 million inhabitants, Kaka had become Sao Paolo's most eligible bachelor.
Yet Kaka is deeply religious and donates ten per cent of his wages to his church back in Brazil. He would have needed to draw upon his faith in 2000 when an accident in a swimming pool fractured his spine. He has recovered and clearly feels blessed.
"I really am a religious person who goes to church, prays and reads the bible. This thing with the money, people don't understand, but it is actually in the bible, in the old testament," explains Kaka. "God's servants gave the best of their land to him because they believed that it had come from God. Well that's the way I see it. I believe that God has put me where I am, and that it's he who opened the doors for me."
His goals helped Sao Paulo triumph in the 2001 Rio Sao Paulo inter-state championship, and then powered his side to the top of the table at the conclusion of the regular season of last year's Brazilian national championship.
"I have realized part of my dream which was to play in Europe. When I was younger it was just a fantasy. But now I'm a professional, I'm in the national squad. My next dream is to help Brazil win the Olympic gold medal in soccer," said Kaka.
He'll no doubt be going for gold at the Athens Olympics and he's every chance of succeeding. So far the career of Brazilian soccer's latest pin-up has gone very much to plan.

Publication Date: 2003-08-31
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=3106