Bayern Munich legend reveals why he failed at Real Madrid: ‘I couldn’t keep up’ | OneFootball

Ze Roberto is widely considered one of the most underrated Brazilian players of the modern era, and for good reason, especially given his legacy in the Bundesliga.

He had an exceptionally long career, spanning 1994 to 2017, with his stint at Bayern Munich leaving him a club legend.

After all, he won four Bundesliga titles, four DFB Pokals and played with some of the best in the business in Bastian Schweinsteiger, Frank Ribery and Michael Ballack.

One lesser-known aspect of his career, however, is that he played one season at Real Madrid before signing for Bayern Munich.

It was during the 1997-98 season, when he was still early in his career, but he left after just one season, leading many to label it the one ‘failure’ of his career.

Failure at Real Madrid

Speaking to the media in a recent interview, the former Bayern Munich superstar and Real Madrid player opened up on why his move to Real Madrid was always destined to fail and blamed himself for the same.

“I failed at Real Madrid because I played PlayStation until the early morning, ate badly and slept very little.”

“I arrived at one of the biggest clubs in the world without being prepared psychologically or tactically,” he added.

Elaborating on how he was always different from the others in the dressing room, not only in terms of his lifestyle but also his day-to-day life, he said,

Ze Roberto couldn’t make a name for himself. (Photo by Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images)

“In the dressing room at Real Madrid, everyone wore suits, while I arrived with simple clothes.”

“Roberto Carlos joked that people would think I had come to paint the dressing room,” he added.

Finally, he spoke about the crushing pressure to perform at Real Madrid and how difficult it is for a player to adapt to it seamlessly.

“The intensity at Real Madrid was different and I couldn’t keep up with the pace.”

“Because of that I lost performance and gained weight. It was the only time in my career when I was not in my best physical shape,” he added.

Ze Roberto then added that he gave his best shot at redemption and worked hard for it, albeit to no avail.

“When I realised football had become more physical, I started investing more in myself.”

“I understood that my body was my working tool and I had to treat it like a machine that needs daily maintenance,” he concluded.

Source: MARCA