From La Gazzetta Dello Sport
There's a story behind that samba dance. A few steps of a happy dance which Adriano, after his goal against Fiorentina, wanted to share with Maicon, a dear friend of his that spends a lot of time laughing with him, but also with Ibrahimovic, his teammate and friend.
It was a spontaneous gesture, which made it ever more authentic. "It wasn't staged, it just came up", explained Ibrahimovic, the "intruder" among the three (as he's Swedish and not Brazilian). But is he really? There's definitely something South American about him, not just in the way he plays.
It's the story of a friendship. Adriano e Zlatan call each other "amico" (friend). Becoming friends was a natural process, helped by Maxwell, who shares a room at Appiano with Zlatan (they were teammates back at Ajax) but also talks a lot to Adriano in Portoguese.
Adri and Ibra felt right straight away on the pitch, and their striking partnership only got better during training. All this was clear to all that night in Palermo, when Adriano chested down a ball and with an intuition that would have escaped most, unleashed Zlatan's will to try and score a goal that most wouldn't have even considered.
And Ibra hasn't forgotten, and since that day he has concentrated, looking for the opportunity to achieve one vital objective: help Adriano score.
He's encouraged him with his words, looked for him with his eyes and his passes, put him in front of the keeper, he would have even pushed him all the way into the goal together with the ball if he could have done.
During those days when goal seemed to avoid Adriano like the plague, Ibra was the best help Adri could get on the pitch. But in the meantime they had discovered that they had a lot in common: both recently became fathers, the passion for music (they love to swap tracks), and a sensible nature.
They became closer off the pitch, sitting next to each other during plane trips and at restaurants.
They're always together at the Pinetina as well, and it was there that Zlatan started his "brainwashing". When Adriano was feeling trapped in a tunnel with no exit, Ibra kept telling him (quoting Zlatan): "You are strong, never forget it".
Back then Adriano was smiling, still a little sad, now he's found the strength to prove it.
15th
Materazzi World Champion
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Originally Posted by Ghahbe of Turkey
