The Story Of The Player Who Was Sabotaged By His Own Manager (so he wouldn't break his record)

So… listen to this… Remember in 2003, when  everyone in Europe was arguing that Henry should’ve won the Ballon D’Or over Nedved thanks  to his 60 goal contributions that led only to an FA Cup trophy? Well, that same year in Brazil,  Alex took a team who hadn't won the league in 37 years and made them the first ever team to  win the Brazilian treble, carrying them on his back with 39 goals and 40 assists… Yes, 79 goal  contributions in a single season… For comparison, the most Mbappé ever managed was 65… And let me  remind you that Alex was a midfielder…. As Zico himself claimed “They did him wrong in 2003. 

He should’ve been fighting for the title of best in the world. They focus on Europe too much,  what he did in Brazil was out of this world”. .

. But yeah… despite having everyone who watched  him convinced that he was the best player in the world… He didn’t even get a nomination and  I’m not talking about that year specifically, he never got one… Even after moving to Europe  and arguably playing even better than he had in Brazil, he never got nominated… He really couldn’t  catch a break, man… His story is just painful to read… Even after he led Brazil to the Copa America  title as their captain, he was still left out of the next world cup regardless… And even when  he decided to just focus on club football, giving everything to Fenerbahce, rejecting  Dortmund and Barcelona, becoming their captain and contributing to 317 goals in just 344  matches… He ended up getting kicked out of the club like a dog… All because the manager was  jealous of him… I really mean it when I say that he was sabotaged over and over again, that they  want us to forget him… So here’s the story of Alex’s prime… The story of when the entire world  decided to completely ignore a player who was quite simply one of the greatest of all time. So… At Cruzeiro, things were rough… They had placed 21st in the league the year before and  when Alex got there, he had a 3 month contract, that was all, nobody really believed in him  and Cruzeiro was doing awful yet again… like “3 wins in 12 matches” kind of awful… But then Alex  debuted and before you knew it they were beating Vasco Da Gama 4 nil and only missing out on the  Brazilian Championship’s knockout stage on goal difference… Once the three months were done,  there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that they had to renew his contract… Alex had made the club  dream again, but what would happen the next year was beyond what anyone could even dream of….

The first order of business was the Mineiro Championship… Cruzeiro hadn't won it in 5 years  so once their captain left, Alex was handed the armband and ordered to change that… So he scored  9 goals and provided 9 assists in 11 matches, not only being the team’s top scorer, but the  competition’s top assist provider… Every time they needed him he was there… Even when they  faced their biggest rivals, Atlético Mineiro, he not only scored two, but also assisted  another two, making sure one of them was a stunner of a backheel… By the end, not  only had Cruzeiro won the competition… They had done so without losing a single match… And so everyone began believing that if they could do that, maybe they could go even further and with  the team already qualified to the second stage of the Copa Brasil, I guess they figured they might  as well bring that trophy home as well… and again, the one tasked with making that a reality was  Alex… When Vasco Da Gama came in between them and the trophy, he not only scored home and away,  but even made sure to assist the third goal…. and in the final, well… What can even be said about  that match… He literally scored a back heel goal so impressive that it literally silenced  the whole stadium… First you could hear the horns and whistles… and then…… nothing… But wanna hear something else, then listen to this: That wasn’t even his best performance in the  final, then he went into the second leg with the match tied and provided not one, not two, but  all three assists… Not only had Cruzeiro taken their second trophy of the season, but Alex had  accumulated 6 more goals and 9 more assists in just 11 matches… Again he was the competition's  top assist provider… what a shocker uh? But hey… this is all very cool and all, but  you know what was even more impressive?

By now, Cruzeiro were already 15 matches into the league  season… And had only lost 2… precisely the two matches where Alex was left out of the team… There  was a clear dependence on him… It got so bad that when he lost to São Caetano… he literally said:  “I’m thankful I was on the team for this defeat. I’m serious… this whole Cruzeiro with and without  Alex thing gets annoying”. .

. Imagine being so good that you’re almost happy to be defeated because it  serves as proof that you’re not some godly entity who can turn any average side into the best in  the country… I guess he wouldn’t be too happy to know that this defeat would be nowhere near  enough to stop Cruzeiro from taking the trophy… Making them the first team in history to complete  Brazil’s domestic treble and instantly turning Alex into one of the club’s biggest legends… I mean how could they not love him, in the league alone, he pulled off 23 goals, the most out of  anyone in the team, and still managed to provide 15 assists, enough to make him the competition’s  top assist provider… And I beg you not to think that he was some poacher, this guy was a  midfielder, he dropped deep… As a newspaper once wrote “He was head and shoulders above the rest,  like a chess master who could see what was going to happen five moves ahead. ”.

. . He was so good  that Cruzeiro demolished every record in sight, most points in a year, most goals scored in a  year… And the same obviously goes for Alex, not only did he take seemingly every award imaginable,  but in fact, I gotta tell you one thing… In the final match of the year, he needed 5  goals to match Ronaldo Fenómeno for the most league goals scored in a year for Cruzeiro, but  the funny thing is that Ronaldo was also the only player in history to have scored 5 in match for  Cruzeiro… So the only way to do it was to break that record as well… But then Alex noticed that  his final opponent would be Bahia, coincidentally, the team Ronaldo scored his 5 goals against…  So I’m guessing he thought to himself: “Hey, if he can do it, so can I” because he went in  and actually did score 5… as he said in a press conference: “When the team went into the pitch, I  already knew we were gonna win”.

. . .

You see what I mean? This guy was not normal, this isn’t just  your average, the streets won’t forget that kind of player…. He was one of the greatest of all  time, at his peak, being confined to the Brazilian Championship, when he should’ve been shining at  a world cup… as a commentator said that year: “I’m not exaggerating when I say Alex is the best  player in the world… Not only should he be playing for the national team, it should be Alex plus ten  men… He should be the first name on the list”.

. . But well, though the new manager Carlos Parreira  did call up Alex to the Confederations Cup, he was quick to say “I have the best left flank  in the world: Kleberson, Ricardinho and Gilberto, and if I’m gonna play them, it makes no sense to  play Alex as well”.

. . I don’t even know what to say, but I’ll quote Alex’s autobiography: “If I’m  not gonna play after everything I did this season, then there’s no chance I’ll ever play”.

. . And in  reality, well… In reality, they did end up subbing him in in the last minutes of their final match,  trying to save that disaster of a performance, but though Alex did immediately score, they  were still knocked out while that infamous left flank trio scored and assisted  a total of 0 goals between them… Regardless, when Alex got back to Cruzeiro,  at least he got a new contract as reward for the previous season… In fact, he was literally  making 10 times more money than the year before since after all, to begin with they didn’t  even really want him there… In his own words: “They’re paying me back now for  what I did last season for free”.

. . And of course, over the next 6 months, he  won the Mineiro championship once again, being the competition’s top scorer with 14 goals  in 16 matches and though the team would then get knocked out in the last 16 of the Libertadores…  Well, Alex’s head was clearly not in the game as by then, after 121 games for Cruzeiro and  125 goal contributions… Alex’s transfer to Fenerbahce had already been secured and once  in Turkey, things would only get crazier… So first of all, it must be said… Alex was  supposed to have signed with Barcelona, but just like everything in his life, the  negotiations got complicated and he ended up getting fed up and joining Fenerbahce instead,  despite the fact he had rejected them a few times by then… because well… he knew no brazilian  manager was keeping tabs on the turkish league, he knew that going there was accepting that his  international career was over… but, at least, he had one thing going for him, he had a Copa  América to play before the season started and with the manager looking for some redemption after the  disaster at the Confederations cup, not only would he make Alex a guaranteed starter, but he would  hand him the number 10 and the captain’s armband… which meant he would absolutely pop off… First game vs Chile, he assisted the last minute winner.

Second game vs Costa Rica, he  assisted all 3 of Adriano’s goals… Quarter final vs Mexico, he scores the opener and assists  the second… Semi final vs Uruguay, he creates the chance for their only goal and scores in the  shootout… By the time they get to the final, he assists Brazil’s first before being strangely  subbed out, but they still go on to win it all… And despite missing a match and half of the final…  with 6 assists, Alex still broke the all time record for most assists in a single Copa America… Regardless, knowing that chapter of his career was most likely done and with Anelka by his side, it  was time to take over Turkey… And the goal was simple… It had been 30 years since Fenerbahce  won two league titles in a row and with one in the bag already, it was Alex’s job to make  sure the second came right away… And so, he made it very simple. He played around 27  hundred minutes of football and scored 24 goals, the second most in the league, while also pulling  off 16 assists, the most in the league, averaging a goal contribution every 67 minutes… Not only did Fenerbahce win the league, but Alex was more than rightfully named the  player of the year… In fact, against all odds, he was even supposed to join the national team  for the confederations cup, but he ended up getting injured and missing the whole thing, once  again watching from home as they won it all…. Regardless, his second season was like the  opposite of the first… Instead of 24 goals, he had 24 assists, instead of 16 assists, he  got 16 goals… Instead of winning the league and delighting the fans, he was instead mobbed  by them in the middle of the riots that ensued after Fenerbahce handed the title to Galatasaray  in the final match of the season… But at least, in the Champions league he performed much  better, scoring 3 and assisting 2 in just 357 minutes of football against the likes of  AC Milan, PSV and Schalke, leading his teammate Van Hooijdonk to say “For every 10 matches we  play, Alex decides 9”.

. . But no matter what, after a trophyless season, after missing out  on the previous tournament through injury, well… It was very easy for Parreira to leave his  name out of the world cup squad yet again and just like that, Alex was now the most capped player  in the history of Brazil to never get called up for a single world cup… Tragic to say the least.

But hey, at least there was something nice waiting for him at club level, not only had Zico, his  childhood idol, taken over as the new manager, but Roberto Carlos had joined him at the club  and above all, he had already been handed the captain’s armband… So, under what were the  perfect conditions for his game to flourish, Alex finally managed the unthinkable, winning  the league while being not just the top assist provider, but also the top scorer and earning his  3rd consecutive Turkish Player Of The Year Award… The only negative thing about that season was  that Fenebahce somehow failed to make it past the play off rounds of the Champions League,  even though Alex managed to put up 2 assists against each team they faced… But worry not,  the next season things would be different… They went into play off rounds and it was easy  peasy, Alex scored one in each leg and Anderlecht were out of the way and then well… then he scored  or assisted against every team he faced… Even beating an Inter Milan Super team in the group  stage to finish it all with 11 points, the all time record for a Turkish team… Then Sevilla came  in their way, but even with them putting 5 past Fenerbahce’s defense, Alex came in clutch with 3  assists, managing to get the aggregate score down to a draw and miraculously winning the shootout…  For the first time ever a Turkish team was in the quarter finals of the Champions League, the  fans were already losing their minds and then Fenerbahce beat Chelsea 2 to 1 in the first leg…  As you might imagine, things got a little out of hand… But unfortunately, the second leg was just  torture, Chelsea tied the match only 3 minutes in, and then dealt the final blow with only 3 minutes  left on the clock… It was just merciless… With the dream coming to an end and after another  season where Fener somehow went trophyless again despite Alex averaging a goal contribution every  100 minutes, it was time to get back on top before it was too late and so a revolution took place,  with Aycut Kocaman, the club’s all time goalscorer in the Turkish league, becoming the club’s new  director of football… Only one problem… he was jealous of Alex… some even theorized that it  was because he was afraid that Alex would break his record for most league goals in the history  of the club, after all he was close… But yeah, the moment he arrived at the club, one of his  first suggestions was to strip Alex of the captain armband… Why? Well, all he told the board was that  “he wanted to get rid of all the brazilians”. .

. But, of course, it was much harder to get rid of  Alex… to many he was the greatest player in the club’s history and even when Fenerbahce finished  their season by losing out on the title on the final matchday yet again, no matter how upset  Kocaman was, no matter how aggressive the riots in the street became… Alex was still untouchable,  so instead Kocaman did what any sane man would do… he fired the coach and took over the team  himself despite having no experience… In the words of Alex: “Anyone could see he was a terrible  manager, the worst I ever had… they just needed to take one look at the results. He got us knocked  out of two competitions after only one month in command”.

. . But, as you might imagine, Kocaman  was also quick to notice that Alex didn’t really respect him, so their relationship only  worsened… Honestly, Kocaman hated Alex… At one point, Fenerbahce were on the verge  of scoring their three thousandth goal, so Kocaman started acting weird, telling Alex:  “If the ball comes over to you, do not shoot, just pass it to someone else”.

. . Obviously, this only  angered Alex who was already catching up to what was going on so he went in and scored after 34  seconds… While the stadium erupted in celebration, Kocaman didn’t move an inch… no celebration… Regardless, as much as it seemed like an impossible task to carry such a dreadful manager  to a title, the next season, 33 year old Alex somehow managed to do it… and by “somehow”,  I mean by scoring 28 goals and providing 16 assists in 33 league matches… a goal contribution  every 61 minutes… And yes, not only was he the league’s top scorer with 9 more goals than Burak  Yilmaz, but also the top assist provider… How could Kocaman possibly be upset at Alex?

It made  no sense… but it only got worse… Out of nowhere, UEFA came after Fenerbahce, accusing them of  corruption and very soon not only had they been banned from international competitions, but their  president had been jailed, leading most of the team’s top players to leave the club… while Alex  stayed and remained loyal no matter what… Even leading the club to their first Turkish Cup in 30  years, somehow once again providing 3 assists in the final and scoring the 4th goal… And still,  no matter what, once the next season started, now only 4 goals off from beating Kocaman’s  goal scoring record, Alex started getting benched regardless of how well he performed…  and only a few weeks into the season, already out of his mind, Alex went up to Kocamn and told  him: “I feel like you’ve been trying to f*** me over from the moment you got here”. . .

and Kocaman  literally answered: “Your feeling is correct”. . .

He could not have been more cold blooded… Once the drama hit the newspapers the fans were all on Alex’s side… The very  next game, with Alex on the bench, they were literally chanting for the manager to  get sacked… Only days later, they were unveiling a statue of Alex right outside Fenerbahce’s  stadium… As you might imagine, Kocaman had never been afforded such love and admiration… It  became too much for his bitter heart to handle… And so, a week later, with his team losing,  Kocaman subbed off Alex at half time… I can’t stress this enough, this never happened  in the 8 years he was at the club… Once Alex left the pitch, rather than sitting next  to a manager who was preying on his downfall, Alex decided to sit in the stands among the fans  who called out for his name… This was complete humiliation for Kocaman and so two days later,  the club announced that Alex had been demoted to the reserves squad… In response to that  statement, Alex drove down to the training grounds and terminated his own contract, went  back home and began moving out of his house… Within hours, thousands of fans showed up,  they stood there all night chanting his name and burning flags with Kocaman’s face on  them… Not just Fenerbahce fans, but as odd as that may sound Galatasaray and Besiktas fans  as well, because they knew Alex was not just the greatest Fenerbahce player of all time,  with 185 goals and 162 assists in 378 matches, he was the league’s highest assist provider and  the third highest goalscorer in the 21st century… All of Turkey mourned their fallen hero, a hero  who perished still only 4 goals away from breaking Kocaman’s record… This was a public assassination…  And no one was left indifferent… Not even infamous Turkish president Erdogan… Only a couple hours  before Alex was supposed to depart, a black car showed up at his house, ordered him to get in and  took him to Erdogan who told Alex: “I’ve called you here to apologize to you, in the name of the  people of Turkey… To thank you and your family for all that you’ve done for us and to tell you that  we hope not to lose sight of you, that one day Turkish football will pay you back in full”. . .