Kaka is one of those players who you could never dislike despite which team you support . The Brazilian has won almost everything there is to win in football. His style, power and grace is unique and he produced several moments of class on the pitch
No one can forget that defence-splitting pass he provided Hernan Crespo in the UEFA Champions League final in 2005. Kaka was the last player to win the Ballon d ‘Or before Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi’s domination began.
Here are 8 relatively unknown facts about the special No. 8
8) He might have played against Roger Federer!
Kaka was initially interested in Tennis.He started his career in Tennis as a young boy and then took up football as well. Eventually, he decided to switch to football. IT was probably the best decision he ever made considering what he has gone on to achieve.
The playmaker has won the Serie A, La Liga, UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Super cup, The FIFA Club world and the list goes on. We’re pretty sure he would been an equally successful player in Tennis as well.
7) He suffered a career–threatening injury
When Kaka was only 18 years old he suffered a serious spinal cord injury that could have ended his career. Miraculously he recovered in no time and was able to continue playing football without any problems.
The incident happened because of an accident while swimming and Kaka believes God saved him from misfortune. This is the reason he donates a lot of money to the Church that he visits in Brazil.
6) Kaka is from a rich family
Brazil is a poverty stricken country but unlike most Brazilian players Kaka’s family is wealthy. He was brought up in a good family and was given good coaching in football. His upbringing meant he was able to practice sport and also have a good education.
Kaka himself has earned a lot of money in his career and is one of the richest footballers in the world.
5) The reason behind his nickname ‘Kaka’
Kaka’s actual name is Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite. But he is often known as Ricardo Kaka. This is because his brother could not pronounce the name Ricardo when he was young and hence started to call him Caca. The name has stuck ever since.
4) He outran Lionel Messi
Kaka scored arguably the best goal in his career against Argentina in a friendly at the Emirates stadium. Brazil were already 2-0 up as Argentina attempted to pull a goal back. They lost the ball in the 88th minute and Kaka picked up the ball outran Messi from one end of the pitch to the other, beat Gabriel and scored.
Messi is fast but Kaka was just too good on that day.
3) Huge twitter following
Kaka became the first Athlete to reach 10 million followers on Twitter beating Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. He currently has the 5th highest number of followers on Facebook as well. Kaka tweets in English, Spanish and Portuguese!
2) An ambassador for United Nations
Kaka is involved with several charitable causes. The Brazilian is an ambassador for the World Food Programme organized by the UN. He also served as the ambassador for the special Olympics.
“I also believe it is important to be active in social terms.’ he said on his official website.
1) He was in TIME magazine’s most influential list
Kaka was named as one of the 100 most influential people on the planet, not once but twice in 2008 and in 2009. Winning the FIFA World player of the year as well as well as the Ballon d’ Or was one of the primary reasons for his inclusion.
