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Zé Roberto Says Late-Night PlayStation Undermined His Real Madrid Stint

The 51-year-old recounts that a 1998 loan to Flamengo helped him reset habits, paving the way for a long European career.

Overview

  • He says that at 21 and newly married in Madrid he spent nights trying to finish Crash Bandicoot, lost sleep and focus, and saw his form dip.
  • He recalls arriving to training with dark circles as stress and late-night snacking led to weight gain in the only stretch he felt out of shape.
  • He returned to Brazil on a six-month loan to Flamengo in 1998 to reorganize routines, then sustained 14 years in Europe with Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, Hamburg and Al-Gharafa.
  • He describes missing Brazil’s 2002 World Cup squad as a trauma, saying he did not watch the tournament and treated it as a period of mourning before starting at the 2006 World Cup.
  • Coverage also notes his decorated career, including four German league titles, plus 1,051 club matches with 103 goals and 49 assists, and 84 Brazil caps with six goals.