Athletico 100 years: Kléber, the Arsonist

Not understanding Kleber It was one of my youthful mistakes. I wanted from him the sober efficiency that should be expected of mediocres, not of great artists. It was just him who did “screw-in” things.

He already realized that he was unpredictable like the character created by Mário de Andrade and lived between acute insight and dangerous irresponsibility, like when he gave up his goal at Atletiba to get the gold chain that had slipped from his neck.

Macunaíma da Baixada went from meekness to brutality like when he invaded one of the CT’s lawns in a car and did zeros in the central circle. Then he asked for forgiveness and everything was fine.

Kléber embodied the concept of “poison-medicine”, a dilemma of national modernity: if we organize ourselves, we are no longer Brazil, but if we continue as we are, we will never organize ourselves.

The striker born in Peri-Mirim, Maranhão, arrived at the club in 1999 with many dental problems. It was necessary to change all the “furniture” before it could debut. He had more grandparents than we did, as he used their burials to justify the delay in reenactments.

He set the stadium on fire. When the ball found him, a window to infinity opened. No one was indifferent to the third biggest scorer in the club’s history, with 124 goals in 185 games, and the biggest in Baixada, with 67 goals. In 2001, he scored 50 times and his Golden Boot won us the title.

Alex Mineiro’s partner was just 34 goals behind Sicupiraa difference that Kléber would easily make up in another season or if he had taken half of the penalties he missed and scored the goals he didn’t score after leaving the goalkeeper on the ground.

But Kléber didn’t complain like a bad actor when the ball didn’t go in. With a certain villainous disdain, he knew that she would soon obediently return to her feet. For him, the difficult was easy.

If one day I didn’t understand you, Kléber, it was because I was young and foolish. You were the most original player and dangerous striker that my generation could applaud.