Kaka: The return of the magic man

What is it about romanticism that makes us go back to it, time after time, event after event? Every time you see a fairytale-esque reunion, or the good guy walking contently into the sunset, you still feel a smile on your face, a wisp of happiness in your mind. But certainly, now that feeling is deserved, for the beloved foster-son of Milan, Kaká, has returned back to the club which helped him, as did his unquestionable prodigious talent, to become one of the best modern-day footballers.

But it is not just the accolades or the performances, it’s the way the club and the fans cherished Kaká that made him special; for, in these times of football mercenaries and glory-hunters, Kaká was a man who loved his people just as much as they loved him.

If this was intended as news, which it isn’t, it would be arriving far too late. But, all I intend this to be is one football fan’s ode to the man who, among others, made this sport such a delight to watch.

Kaká, Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite at birth, started his extraordinary journey at São Paulo, joining at the age of 8 and rising through their youth ranks to the senior squad, all the while garnering praise for his performances. But, unknown to many, his sublime skills would never have graced the grounds of football due to a career, and possibly life-threatening injury he sustained in a swimming pool accident, where he fractured his spinal column. When he made a full-recovery, something  that has been since called “miraculous”, he attributed it to his faith in God, and has made piety a facet of his personality.

In the summer of 2003, the boy from Gama made the move to one of the most celebrated clubs in Europe, AC Milan, in the Italian Serie A, for a reported fee of €8.5 million. And for the next 6 years, he proceeded to make his mark on the world of football. I will not go into every minute detail of his club, for this isn’t about Kaká’s time at Milan. No, this is about his return back home.

Kaká was born to play for Milan, a team steeped in history and a dream club for every football-mad child in the world. The fans adored him and treated him as one of their own. He was winning titles, personal glory and he was winning hearts. But, in retrospect, one feels that the dream had to end, and end it did in acrimonious circumstances when Real Madrid and Florentino Pérez came calling, and Milan VP Adriano Galliani let the golden boy of Milan walk out of the San Siro, and into the Santiago Bernabéu.

Galliani later said that the sheer amount of money offered by Madrid turned their heads, and that they “cannot allow Milan to lose €70 million”. But nothing that he said could absolve him and the rest of the Milan hierarchy in the eyes of the inconsolable Milanese fans.

Their idol, their star, their Kaká…. was gone.

Flashbulbs went off, fans shouted out chants, Florentino Pérez bleated out praise, and Kaká was a Galáctico. But, contrary to what millions of football fans around the world thought, Kaká’s time at Madrid was anything but rosy. From being the one-time “most expensive footballer” to regular bench feature, Kaká’s fall was as swift as his rise. Frozen out of the team because of Mesut Özil’s consistently brilliant performances, Kaká cut a frustrated figure at Madrid.

The same player who once single-handedly demolished Manchester United in the Champions League, now found himself on the periphery of the Madrid team. His best years, the ages between 27 and 30 which are considered to be a footballer’s prime, were spent in Madrid getting low game-time and played out of position. It seemed that a career which started out in such promise and success, would find its end in ignominy.

But look! The romance of football strikes once more! Escalating from idle rumour to a done-deal, Kaká moved back to the ranks of the Rossoneri on a Bosman transfer, after his contract at Madrid was terminated by mutual consent. So it is, we see the return of the beloved son. If Jose Mourinho would refer to himself as the “Happy One” on his return to Stamford Bridge, then Kaká must be the “Ecstatic One” on making the switch back to his beloved stadium. As if to signal the story had the perfect ending Milan also said that Kaká would wear his no. 22 jersey.

Well, fairytales do happen, I guess.