Adriano pays a visit to the BPER Training Centre

A special day at the BPER Training Centre: on Friday morning, Adriano Leite Ribeiro visited the facility in Appiano Gentile, where he watched an Inter training session.

L'Imperatore greeted the entire Nerazzurri squad and met with coach Cristian Chivu, with whom he shared the Inter dressing room between 2007 and 2009. At the end of the session, Adriano enjoyed a memorable moment with Marcus Thuram, a long-time admirer of the former Brazilian striker.

It’s August 2001, and Inter are preparing for a new season. The long wait over the summer is almost over, and the air is charged with excitement: eagerness to return to the pitch, hopes for the future, and curiosity about the new faces entering the Nerazzurri dressing room. Among them is a 19-year-old Brazilian arriving from Flamengo, without a word of Italian. His name is Adriano Leite Ribeiro. For the first time, he is far from home (the Vila Cruzeiro favela in Rio de Janeiro) and finds himself at Inter’s Appiano Gentile training centre, welcomed by Ronaldo, who hosts him at his home. On and off the pitch, Ronaldo becomes a guiding figure for the young Adriano. Nearly 25 years have passed since that summer. Much has changed, yet Adriano’s special bond with Inter remains strong. That boy impressed everyone from the start but had to wait until 2004 to truly become L'Imperatore: 177 appearances, 74 goals, and unforgettable moments for Inter fans, from his extraordinary double against Udinese to the three goals scored against Porto, wearing a shirt referencing Philippians 4:13: “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.” For the fans, and for all who adored him, it was true: anything seemed possible for the No. 10, blessed with a supernatural left foot. It was true for the fans and also for Marcus Thuram, who as a child in Italy admired L'Imperatore, inspired by his dynamism, his celebrations, even the shirt he raised in the air at the Maradona Stadium two years ago.

Today, Adriano has returned home. The Brazilian visited the BPER Training Centre, watching a training session on the very pitches where he once starred. He met and greeted Marcus Thuram, receiving a reflection of the love Nerazzurri fans continue to shower upon him. Adriano is no longer the boy who arrived in 2001, yet his childlike expression remains, as do the sparkling eyes when he speaks of Inter and the emotions he has given us over the years.