Athletico 100 years: Kleberson, the syrup

Zequinha, legendary youth coach, saw him play some football and asked him to stay at Athletico for the 1998 Belo Horizonte Cup. Born in Uraí, raised in Ibiporã, in the north of Paraná, Kleberson He was never the main player at PSTC, the club where he started. But good coaches always realized that the deal was much lower there.

Fast as a full-back, intelligent as a midfielder. Ambidextrous from “kicking walls” at home, he had the strength and resources to play from area to area. A goal in the 1999 Copa São Paulo (one that only Pelé didn’t score) raised the alarm. As he entered the first team’s games, expectations were exceeded. He was part of the team’s champion group and the 2000 and 2001 state titles.

In the debut of the Brazilian title campaign, he scored a luxurious free kick. Since then, he has had the most extraordinary trajectory of a player trained at Atletica’s youth academy. He led the champions’ 3-5-2 formation, won the Silver Ball and impressed Felipão, who called him up for the final stretch of preparation for the 2002 World Cup.

He arrived, scored goals and was on the final list. At the World Cup in Korea and Japan, the team only got going when he joined the team. In the very final, he created the goal of the fifth championship.

As envy drives the world, there were people who didn’t even celebrate in Curitiba. Athletico had a tradition of having world champions in the squad – Bellini, Djalma SantosZequinha and Brito – but it was the first time that someone playing for a local team was a starter and champion.

He continued in Hurricane protected by astronomical insurance, waiting for the right proposal. It arrived in 2003, in a Manchester United pound truck. Kleberson was presented on the same day as Cristiano Ronaldo. He was the big name, while the guy was the bet.

For what he played and won with the red-black and canarinho shirt, Kleberson is an intangible heritage of Brazilian football. He even returned to CT do Caju in 2011, lackluster, in a season to be forgotten. Regardless, our penta “syrup” is a source of pride for the Atletico nation and an eternal insult to its rivals.