Brazilian champion with Flamengo shares moving story with Adriano Imperador | OneFootball

Adriano Imperador won the 2009 Brasileirão with the Sacred Mantle, alongside Zé Roberto

The phrase “Letting Mengão reach the final is game over” describes the 2009 Brasileirão. That’s because Flamengo started the championship poorly, but finished as champions in the final round. Thus, former player Zé Roberto recalls how important Adriano Imperador was.

— Everything changed against Atlético-MG, because those guys said they were going to run us over and the media agreed. So, we were downcast, silent, and unmotivated in the tunnel before entering the field, but Adriano shouted: ‘Guys, come back, come back, let’s go back to the locker room’ — highlighted Zé Roberto.

What did Adriano Imperador say?

Back in the locker room, Zé Roberto says the Imperador started a motivational speech. The red-black idol is said to have downplayed Atlético’s confidence and emphasized that, in Rio de Janeiro, the fans believed in the squad. Then, Didico spoke to each player and said:

— Hey, Zé Roberto, you’re my little engine. I only work with you, you complete me in attack, let’s go! And man, in the end he said: ‘Hey, if everything goes wrong, guys, just look at me because you have the Emperor by your side‘ — the former midfielder told Flamengo TV.

How did Flamengo win the 2009 Brasileirão?

From the story told by Zé Roberto, Flamengo kept climbing up the competition table. In the final round, however, the Rubro-Negro needed to beat Grêmio and for Internacional to lose at the same time.

Thus, the Most Beloved did their part by winning 2-1, with goals from David Braz and Ronaldo Angelim. So, the club from Gávea ended their 17-year drought without winning the Brasileirão.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.