Washington the Braveheart | Profile

The first time washington he hit his chest to celebrate a goal almost 20 years ago. It was February 2004, in Baixada. After 14 months away from football, the center forward put a ball in Paraná’s net. Both fans applauded him, and Brazil stopped to see his formidable story of redemption.

That year, Washington would become the “Braveheart”, the top scorer in the Brasileirão, with an incredible 34 goals. The hard-to-beat record helped take that fantastic team to national runner-up and a place in the Libertadores in 2005.

The history of Brasiliense Washington Stecanela Cerqueira It’s a script that some afternoon session writers might find overwrought. At 1.90 m tall, he always knew how to score goals, but he was also always a talented player. At the beginning of his career, he had a fracture in his foot and another in his ankle, which also had torn ligaments.

Afterwards, he lost 10 kilos until discovering that he had type 1 diabetes. But he recovered from all these adversities and reached the Brazilian national team and Fenerbahce, scoring many goals. It was there that he had a heart attack and discovered that he had severe blockage in his arteries. The Turks threw him overboard and he hit the Caju CT, a space famous for recovering disillusioned players.

In Curitiba, CAP invested in him for almost a year and a half and Washington found the chance to return to work in the work of cardiologist Constantino Constantini. The number 9 paid with goals. Lots of goals. In any case, in the 2004 campaign. Penalties, free kicks, headers, impossible ones, the victory in Atletiba…

However, goals were missing in two decisive games: the mercy shot in Erechim hit the post. In São Januário, on three occasions, the title holder preferred not to enter. But if football is indeed the most important among the least important things, what is a title in the face of someone’s life?

As the character of Scottish independentist William Wallace, played by Mel Gibson in the film from which he borrowed his nickname, said: “All men die, but not everyone really lives”. Washington’s rebirth at CT do Caju was one of the extraordinary moments in the centenary of a unique club.