Bruno Alves, the heir to the Flamengo club, wants to play for Flamengo.
Thiago Dias Direct from Brasilia
It's not just Pepe and Deco, Brazilians who became naturalized Portuguese citizens, and Cristiano Ronaldo, idolized by the fans, who feel at home in Brasília, where they will play a friendly against Brazil this Wednesday. Defender Bruno Alves, son and nephew of former Flamengo players, is feeling at home. The player has already received visits from relatives and, in a chat with GLOBOESPORTE.COM, revealed that he wants to follow in the footsteps of his father, Washington, and uncle, Geraldo: one day play for Flamengo. Washington played for Flamengo in the 70s as a defender. Geraldo "Assobiador" was more successful, despite passing away at just 22 years old from complications after undergoing tonsil surgery. One of Zico's best friends from the youth teams, Geraldo played in the Copa América for Brazil in 1975 and was part of the generation that would win the World Cup with the Red-Blacks in 1981. "It would be an honor for me to play for Flamengo, because my family has a history here. One day, who knows?" he says. Porto defender Bruno was born in Portugal and is 26 years old. From the ages of 5 to 6, he lived in Brazil. Since then, he has never visited his father's homeland, who still lives in Portugal. At his hotel in Brasília, he received a visit from uncles and cousins who live in Belo Horizonte.
Upon learning that Junior, the former Flamengo full-back and former teammate of his uncle, was staying at the same hotel, he tried to find out his room number to try to arrange a meeting. With the help of GLOBOESPORTE.COM and SporTV, he spoke to "Capacete" by phone and arranged to meet that afternoon at the training camp. "I'd also like to meet Zico. When I played with Porto in Turkey, I tried to find him, but I couldn't get in touch," he recalls. Check out the full interview with Bruno Alves: Are you Flamengo in Brazil?\ Yes, I follow tradition. My father played there, my uncle too. I try to follow the career of Ibson, who played with me at Porto. I try to follow what's happening with Flamengo. Now even more so, because one of my idols is Ronaldo, who is training at Flamengo.\ Do you dream of playing for Flamengo, or is that an exaggeration?\ Right now my career is in Europe. But you never know what might happen. It would be an honor for me to play for Flamengo, because my family has a history here. One day, who knows? \ Do you know your uncle Geraldo's career? He was part of the generation that won the World Cup with Flamengo in 1981.I followed a bit of what my father said about him. The little I know is in a film about Zico's life. There's a few things on the internet that I've seen. And there are comments from people. Ibson's father was a scout for Flamengo and told me a lot about him too. I have information, but it would be better to follow along by watching more of the action. How long has it been since you visited Brazil?I lived here from the age of 5 to 6 and never went back. So, I hadn't seen my family here for 20 years. I feel a bit Brazilian, because my family has some history in football here. But of course, I was born in Portugal, I have relatives there, and I have my roots there too. For tonight's game, everyone's talking about Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká. Which other player can shine, outshining these two stars?\
Bruno Alves speaks to family members at the hotel
In this type of game, everyone points to Kaká and Cristiano. But other players will certainly play a very important role in this match. Deco is doing very well. Brazil has several important players who can make a difference. Who is harder to mark: Kaká, who is very objective, or Robinho, who is more of a dribbler?Kaká is doing very well. He plays more outside the box, he's not so defensive in attack. He always makes a difference when he comes from midfield forward. Robinho is more creative, a better dribbler. They're both very strong. There's also Luis Fabiano, who also played for Porto, but he didn't play with me because I was at AEK in Greece. And who is the best in the world now?\ For now, Cristiano is doing better, he won several titles last season. Kaká, when he was named best player, deserved it, without a doubt. But this year it's only fair that Cristiano Ronaldo wins this award.\