ORLANDO – Kaka has seen and experienced just about everything there is to see and experience in the wide world of soccer. He has the greatest list of achievements of any current player and, at 32, he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
The Brazilian is arguably the biggest and most successful star to venture into the MLS ranks to date, but don’t try telling him that his debut for MLS expansion side Orlando City SC on Sunday against New York City FC (5 pm ET, ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes) is in any way inferior to any of his previous accomplishments.
“I have had some very special moments in my career,” Kaka – or Ricky to some of the team – admits. “But I think walking out on Sunday in front of 60,000 people for Orlando City will be one of those [moments, too]. Our first game in the league – it will be an amazing day.
“Going out in front of these supporters, it will be a very good experience for most of these guys. We will see how the team will respond. For me, I think it will be very, very good.”
Even allowing for the usual hype around a new team, Kaka's is a singular declaration of intent that transcends typical season-opening optimism. But it is no surprise to those who have witnessed the Kaka Phenomenon up close and personal in the six weeks since he arrived in Orlando full time.
OCSC head coach Adrian Heath played for the great Everton teams of the 1980s that won successive English league titles, went to three FA Cup finals and was possibly the finest footballing outfit in Europe.
He commanded a then-record fee of $1,125,000 when he moved from Stoke to Merseyside in 1982, had a season in Spain with Espanyol and missed out on playing for England only because of an ill-timed cruciate ligament injury.
It therefore takes a lot to impress him, but he admits the past month and a half have been something of an eye-opener. “I’ve been around big clubs and big players before, but this is the biggest,” Heath explains.
“The best thing about Ricky, we all know he has been a great player and we know all his achievements; what people don’t see up close is what a fantastic human being he is. He is a super professional and he’s going to be a great leader for our group.”
The down-to-earth Heath is still slightly in awe at having the former World Player of the Year as the fulcrum of Orlando’s formation, the face of the franchise in a city steadily going soccer crazy.
“I never thought I’d be working with one of the greatest players of his generation.” Heath admits. “I use this word sparingly, but it has been a real privilege to work with him. To see how he handles it all is an education in itself.
“It is not until you see what he does off the field; his time is very rarely his own. If he is not doing something for charity, he is being interviewed or something else is taking his time. He does it all with a smile, and often in three or four languages. He does everything in a professional manner and treats everyone with great respect. I’m not sure I could be quite so understanding!”
Crucially for a team with 16 players 24 or younger, Kaka provides the perfect professional example, and Heath hopes it rubs off without him having to do much prompting.
“We’ve told the younger players to pay attention to Ricky as the way a pro should conduct himself,” he says. “The other day he was in the gym at 8:00 am with his fitness guy. He could take his foot off the pedal but he is still there, still working at it. We’ve said to the younger players—this is the guy you need to emulate.”
Veteran keeper
Donovan Ricketts
, who has chalked up more than 160 appearances with LA Galaxy, Montreal and Portland, is equally struck by his new teammate.
“I have been part of some great teams, including the Galaxy,” Ricketts says. “And
Landon Donovan
,
Robbie Keane
, these players have their own unique qualities. But Kaka is something special. He is the complete player.
“He can unlock defenses with a dribble or a pass, some bit of magic, and teams with that quality will always be ahead of the rest.”
French center-back Aurelien Collin has also been around long enough to know ‘special’ when he sees it. “Kaka has been great for this group,” he says. “Everyone wants to play with him and to help make him shine. But he wants us to shine, too.
“You can see the effect he has on some of the younger players. They want to show they can be as good as him and it raises the efforts of everybody around him to prove that they should be in the same team. It is great for morale.”
So the stage is set for the biggest name in MLS history to take the field at the Citrus Bowl in a part of Central Florida barely four years old in soccer terms. It is a long way from the Maracana, Bernabeu and San Siro stadiums. Just don’t tell Kaka that.
Simon Veness covers Orlando City for MLSsoccer.com.
