Ze Roberto (Ipiranga, July 6, 1974) assists AS in the full irruption of Endrick, whom many are beginning to consider Brazil’s greatest promise. The former player of Real Madrid He is an authorized legend in Palmeiras where he retired in 2017. In addition, he knows the footballer’s career and progression well.
Endrick is being talked about a lot. Do you think he will play for Real Madrid?
What is being talked about here in Brazil is that Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich are the teams that are interested in hiring him. He is a different player because of his age, he is the protagonist, he has played since he was 11 years old in Palmeiras, he always played two categories above, he always makes the difference, he scored many goals… Here they say from the press that he is the new Adriano because he is left-handed and She scores many goals.
Vinicius does not look like?
I think they are a different style. Vinicius is more forward on the wing and Endrick in the center. He has a good shot on goal and scores a lot. He doesn’t look like Vinicius. Endrick is more like ‘The Emperor’ Hadrian in having a powerful left leg.
Will you go to Europe soon?
He is a different player who is arousing interest among the best in Europe. I think he will soon play in Europe, he is a rare player, a great promise.
Speaking of young talents… Do you think that Vinicius can be the leader of Brazilian football?
Vinícius is a player who left Brazil very young and played few games for Flamengo. Being young and when he arrived at Madrid he adapted to the second team, now he is more adapted and he is a player who has a good game. He has trained a lot, before it was difficult for him to score goals, now I see that he trusts the coach and is key to the team. He is a player who is going to be the leader for Brazil because they have good strikers, but Vinícius is different because of his youth, because of his personality, he is always looking for a duel, he has focused on scoring goals and he is in a great moment. It is important and it will be even more so.
You were part of Real Madrid together with Roberto Carlos, Raúl, Suker… Which teammate surprised you the most and how do you remember that stage?
My time in Madrid I played for a short time… Two players that I would highlight from my time are Fernando Hierro and Fernando Redondo, both of them were phenomena for me because of the way they played, with class, with dynamics, they were two players who even Today I am still a fan as a footballer and as a person.
He played little, but what did he learn?
Clear! Madrid taught me to play with quality.
How important was Capello in the success of that stage?
He was a coach who demanded and took a lot from the players. We had a team that most of them were players from his country’s national team and he always found the best formation to play in the League, the Champions League… I think he’s a very intelligent coach and he leads the dressing room. It was something positive for Madrid to be Champions and League champions at a time when the Spanish championship had many more strong teams. The dispute was more difficult and if you didn’t have a weighty and experienced coach like Capello it would be difficult to have won the League at that time.
How do you assess Real Madrid’s policy with the Brazilians?
It has a tradition of signing Brazilian players since ancient times. They know they give good performance. Casemiro is the best example. He is a typical player who has already won many titles at Real Madrid and who has a very important role within the team. There is only one, he recovers many balls, he has great physical strength and he is a rare player in football, I think he would continue to be for longer at Madrid.
How do you analyze the progression of both Militao and Rodrygo?
Militao is young and is looking for his position. Now, he has more opportunities and for me he is doing a good job. He is going to grow much more because he is still very young and has many caps also with Brazil. Rodrygo is a player for the future. At the beginning in Madrid he had difficulty, now with Ancelotti he is showing his quality. He is a fast and intelligent player. Many will grow up playing with these footballers.
As a curiosity… Are you still linked in some way to the world of football?
I’m still a bit linked to football with some invitations to comment on German football in which I played 12 years ago. I also do my programming by doing my workouts. It is important to have a healthy life, with good nutrition, and daily training.
