“WHY DID BRAZIL FAIL AT THE 2006 WORLD CUP? SOME OF OUR PLAYERS WERE OVERWEIGHT”
You retired at 43. What was your secret to such a long career?
Focus, discipline and professionalism to keep playing well. When I became a professional footballer, I was 18 and everything happened really quickly. I joined Real Madrid when I was only 22. At the time, a direct transfer like that from Brazil was not as common as it is today. In Europe I realised how my body was vital to my job, so I started to look after it carefully. I didn’t suffer a muscle injury until I was 38, when I came back to Brazil to play in a mad schedule that didn’t give us a rest. If I wanted, I could easily have played for two more years.
Why was your mother vital to your career?
I grew up
