If Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho secures the signing of Fluminense’s Brazilian right attacking midfielder/centre-forward Kenedy, 19, surely memories of Carlos Alberto will stream into the Special One’s mind. 

Mourinho’s first big-name teenage Brazilian breakout star was Alberto, who, instead of rivalling Cristiano Ronaldo’s greatness, is now struggling to stay in the game.

Kenedy has scored two goals from 507 minutes over 20 games (two starts) in the Brasileirao this season, so it is out of left field that he “looks certain” to sign with Chelsea, per Simon Johnson at the London Evening Standard.

Kenedy’s shooting accuracy is 30.4 per cent, and when he played at the 2013 U17 World Cup, he was a role player, not a star.

The FIFA technical study group selected Auro Alvaro, Gabriel Boschilia, Gustavo Hebling and Nathan Allan as Brazil’s key players during the tournament, per FIFA.com.

Perhaps Mourinho is willing to gamble Alberto-style on Kenedy’s upside.

 

Rise

“Luis Goncalves from the scouting department suggested Carlos Alberto from Fluminense,” Mourinho said in 2004, per Luis Lourenco’s book Jose Mourinho: Made in Portugal (h/t Alex Dunn at Sky Sports). “It only took one game for me to make up my mind about signing [Alberto].”

That is one game more than it took then-Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson to sign Bebe.

According to South American correspondent Tim Vickery at BBC Sport, Alberto was gifted but underwhelming at Fluminense, until he transferred to Porto:

[Alberto] felt the strain of his poor performances [at Fluminense] and even went through a spell of insomnia.

But Porto took a chance on him and this is another case of how a move to Europe has done nothing but good for a young Brazilian player.

At [Fluminense, Alberto] was spoiled.

He was the potential star, and as such was allowed to do as he pleased.

Porto coach Jose Mourinho quickly saw that Alberto had no idea of how to play collectively or of how to put his ability at the disposition of the team.

Mourinho worked his magic and, less than six months after making the move, the player has acknowledged the improvements.

…

It is a classic example of co-operation between Europe and South America. Carlos Alberto is a more collective player, a better player and Porto are Champions of Europe.

May 26, 2004. Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Stripping away the Porto shirt and unveiling a white singlet emblazoned with the Nike swoosh, Alberto quirkishly trudged away from Monaco’s goal in celebration.

To referee Kim Milton Nielsen, Alberto deserved a yellow card for “unsporting behaviour.”

To the rest of the footballing world, Alberto was a bona fide star.

He achieved what Ronaldo never accomplished as a 19-year-old: scoring in and winning the UEFA Champions League.

 

Fall

Seven months after playing a pivotal part in Porto’s UEFA Champions League triumph, Alberto was at first glance prematurely offloaded to Corinthians for €6/£4.2 million.

Porto is to football transfers what Warren Buffett is to investing—you won’t realise the rationale now, but later it all makes sense.

What Porto did was cut bait with Alberto, at the time one of the brightest prospects in world football, before their projection came to fruition: his transfer stock would drastically depreciate.

There was a forewarning, per Richard Stevens at The Guardian: “Brazilian teenager Carlos Alberto was left out as punishment for arriving late for a [Porto] training session and arguing with Mourinho.”

Alberto returning home contradicted his issues with Brazilian football when he arrived at Porto.

“The rhythm [in Portugal] is different, football is faster and more competitive [than in Brazil],” Alberto said in 2004, per Luis Coelho at UEFA.com. “Unfortunately Brazilian football is in a financial crisis.”

After Mourinho left for Chelsea, the instant Alberto signed on the dotted line to officially become a Corinthians Media Sports Investments player was when he unwittingly self-sabotaged his own career.

“[Corinthians] started out offering me the same deal I had with Porto and I wasn’t interested. They came back with another offer better than the one I had in Europe and here I am,” Alberto said in 2005, per Andrew Downie at ESPN FC. “I never thought about returning to Brazil ever.”

Alberto was MSI’s cash cow, but he was persona non grata at Corinthians due to his disruptive presence.

This created a conflict of interest.

“[MSI] is the exclusive holder of the rights to administer the club’s football department,” MSI said in 2006 through Corinthians’ official website (h/t Brian Homewood at Reuters via ESPN). “[MSI] does not agree with the unilateral decisions taken by the directors of Corinthians in relation to Carlos Alberto.”

Exiled on loan to Fluminense, Alberto was fine.

Still, MSI negotiated a €7.8/£5.3 million deal for Corinthians to sell Alberto to Werder Bremen.

He was told to smile, wave and take the line of least resistance.

“I’m here to win titles with Werder Bremen,” Alberto said in 2007, per CNN. “I like Werder Bremen and would only have wanted to come here.”

It was a pretence which folded under closer inspection.

“[MSI], my owners, want something that I don’t want,” Alberto said in 2007, per Jack Lang at In Bed With Maradona. “I’d like to stay at Fluminense.”

Costing Werder Bremen €3.9/£2.65 million-a-Bundesliga game, Alberto held out because he claimed to be suffering from insomnia, per Jefferson Chase at Deutsche Welle.

Prior to Werder Bremen parting “ways for good” with Alberto in 2010, he was banished out on loan to Sao Paulo, Botafogo and Vasco da Gama, where he was asked by Philippe Coutinho about Mourinho.

Coutinho never played under Mourinho at Inter Milan, but he was sold the sales pitch to leave Vasco da Gama for the Nerazzurri. 

A Mourinho character reference from Alberto helped sure up Coutinho’s commitment to Inter Milan.

“[Alberto] told me that Mourinho is one of the best trainers and that I will find myself in good hands,” Coutinho said in 2009, per Corriere dello Sport (h/t Football Italia). “[Alberto said] the important thing is to work hard and listen.”

Sage words, but you immediately think of: “Listen to my advice, just don’t follow my actions.”

 

Regret

By 2009, you assume Alberto entered into the Tony Flygare/Pete Best zone, where it is natural to dwell on the past, thinking of what could have been, instead of rectifying the present.

Here is a profound statistic: 

• Alberto scored his first and last UEFA Champions League goal on May 26, 2004 against Monaco.
• Meanwhile, Ronaldo opened his account (group stages to final) on April 10, 2007.

Author Stephen King discussed how overrated talent is, per The New York Times: “It’s the cheapest commodity on earth, with the possible exceptions of mongrel dogs and table salt.”

The expression: “Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard,” partly explains why Alberto fell from grace.

Life without Mourinho was the other contributing factor in Alberto’s demise.

• Per ChelseaFC.com; December 9, 2014; “I think at almost every club I gave chances to young people [like] Carlos Alberto at Porto.”
• Per Gary Neville at The Telegraph; October 17, 2014: “One of the things that stays forever in a manager’s career is the kids that become great. And you were the guy that put him in … [an example]: Carlos Alberto scored in a UEFA Champions League final, aged 19.”
• Per Dominic Fifield at The Guardian; July 24, 2013: “In Porto, Carlos Alberto is still the youngest player to score a goal in a UEFA Champions League final.”

Alberto’s career went nowhere pre- and post-Mourinho. 

This is why Mourinho speaks of Alberto as if there is only the Porto Alberto.

 

+allanjiang.

When not specified, statistics via WhoScored.com. 

from Bleacher Report – Front Page http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2428788-before-kenedy-chelsea-manager-jose-mourinho-loved-carlos-alberto
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