Carlo Ancelotti: “Kaka landed at Malpensa Airport and I put my head in my hands: Eyeglasses, hair perfectly combed, the face of a good boy.”
“All he was missing was schoolbooks and a snack. My god, we signed a college student. Kaka didn’t look anything like a Brazilian footballer, he reminded me of a Jehovah’s Witness.
“Moggi started to send shade: ‘With that name in Italy he’s done for. At Juventus we’re all constipated. We don’t pay for Kaka’.”
“Then, he stepped on the pitch still jet lagged and all: the heavens opened. With the ball at his feet he was monstrous. I stopped talking simply because I was at a loss for words. Words didn’t even exist for what I was seeing.”
“The Jehovah’s Witness was actually someone who spoke directly with God. And, I’m sure in one of those conversations, they talked about football.”
“In his first challenge in training as a Milanista Kaka found himself in front of Gattuso, who gave him a terrifying shoulder barge, but Kaka didn’t even lose the ball. Rino in his own way of encouraging his new teammate said: ‘F**k off’.”
“Then, after keeping the ball, Kaka played a 30-yard pass, taking even Nesta by surprise who wasn’t able to intercept it.”
“At the end of every training [ex-Milan CEO Adriano] Galliani and I always spoke on the phone so that I could tell him what was going on, and then hear his thoughts.”
“That day I called him: ‘Mr Galliani, I have some news for you’. ‘Good or bad?’ ‘Good. Very good’. ‘Carletto, are you giving your resignation?’ ‘No, I’m staying, because we just signed a phenomenon’.”