60 Caipirinhas before the match?! World Cup star proves it was "only" 28 | OneFootball

Wanting to play for the local amateur league club after a night of heavy drinking is already not a particularly good idea. But pouring a multitude of Caipirinhas into your system the day before a professional game is a whole different story. A Seleção star managed to do just that not too long ago. Afterwards, he was particularly keen to prove that he hadn't completely lost it.

We are in August 2011. Facebook, Instagram, and smartphones have been around for quite some time. However, the general public is still quite clumsy with them. Fred – yes, the same one who was part of the 1:7 defeat against Germany in the 2014 World Cup – and his Fluminense colleague Rafael Moura expect a quiet get-together when they head out for a few drinks in Ipanema.

📸 John Moore - 2014 Getty Images

Word of mouth quickly spreads in the Rio de Janeiro neighborhood that the two professionals are indulging in a drinking spree on the eve of a match day. Fans of the traditional club show up at the Astor bar, force the inebriated players to leave, and chase them – according to later statements by the players – through the streets.

This inevitably catches the attention of the local press, which begins to go wild with headlines. Ultimately, outlets like 'Extra' and 'O Globo' report that the drinking buddies had drained up to 60 Caipirinha glasses.

📸 MAURICIO LIMA - 2009 AFP

This, of course, puts Fred's employer in a difficult position the next morning. The explanation for why the hungover top scorer can't play in the later match against Internacional is, well, creative. "Fred claimed he was not mentally fit to play because he felt threatened – in light of the incident...". Full support sounds different. Speaking of full: Moura, his drinking buddy, still plays that evening and scores a penalty to secure a 2-0 victory.

Initially, it's unclear whether Fred will even stay with Tricolor. But a day later, he reappears at the training ground and gives a legendary press conference. First, he delivers a lecture to the attending journalists about their professional ethics. Then, the ball artist pulls out a piece of paper.

Through his lawyers, Fred obtained the alleged bar bill from the fateful night and proudly announces: "They reported 60 drinks. It was 27 [the bill shows 28, editor's note]." The press had tried to portray him "as a partygoer, as a drunkard, and that's not true. I am very professional," the then 27-year-old clarifies.

Substance abuse counselors would vehemently disagree with him, but Fred's subsequent performances on the field prove him right. When he plays again against Gremio a week later, he promptly scores and nets an outstanding 20 times in his final 18 appearances of the ongoing season. Less than three years later, he is Brazil's striking hope at the home World Cup. An athlete is someone who smokes and drinks but still delivers or how does it go?

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

📸 Matthew Lewis - 2014 Getty Images