Talking about Paris with Raí is as much talking about a club as a city, against a backdrop of French culture and values. The former attacking midfielder, one of the greatest players in the club's history (215 appearances, 72 goals, between 1993 and 1998), now 55 years old, symbolizes PSG's special bond with Brazil . With the former captain, 1994 world champion with the Seleção, nostalgia, passion and romanticism mingle with memories ...
What role did Valdo and Ricardo play in your arrival at PSG?
RAÍ . I played with them in the Brazilian team and I remember the first time they told me about PSG. In the locker room, I told myself that they were lucky to play football in this setting. France and Paris were already a country and a city that made me dream. I had only been there for a day or two, going to play a match with Brazil at Parc des Princes in 1992.
We had walked for a day. I studied history and since university I got to know Paris. Six months later, I received this proposal and I would have gone even without Ricardo and Valdo. But when Michel Denisot (president) and Jean-Michel Moutier (sporting director) thought of my name, they asked them for their opinion. They played a role in making good recommendations. At the time, the rumor of a Marseille proposal for me was circulating. Ricardo and Valdo told him not to let this happen! They reinforced the idea well.
You could have played for OM?
They are the ones who told me that, it was a rumor, but I had no contact with OM. I knew Ricardo was in Paris, for me if I had to go to France, it was to PSG.
How has the notoriety of PSG evolved in Brazil?
Before Valdo and Ricardo, PSG were not very well known. With them, people started talking about it. When I arrived, I had been captain of the national team for two years, everyone wanted to know more. During my stay in France they followed me a lot. This link has remained and has only increased afterwards, especially with Ronaldinho and Neymar. At one point, there were more followers on PSG's Brazilian Twitter account than on the one in France!
In the 1990s, was it not surprising that the Brazil captain chose PSG over Italy or Spain?
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It's a question that often comes up, why Paris, at the time when most Brazilians went to Spain or Italy? People were very surprised, but they knew that the subjects that interested me went well beyond football. It was a different challenge than the others. PSG was not a common destiny for a national team captain but there was an ambitious project. With my passion for France, for Paris, a club that had a new project, new ambitions, I chose a set.
Why did you only play PSG in Europe?
I identified with the city, with life in Paris. Even with the difficulties of adaptation that I experienced, in my head, I was good, I knew that I could succeed in France. I am someone who likes to follow through on my projects, to deepen a relationship with a club. Apart from a six month loan, I have only known three clubs in my career. Time has confirmed to me that it was worth building a story. My efforts to live in France helped me to adapt: to learn the language, to have French friends, to have a circle of friends, to dive into French culture… I was happy in my personal life and I always thought that I would spend five years at PSG, even when I signed my three-year contract.
You became French and have a doctorate from the University of Nanterre ...
I received a lot of recognition. I identified with French culture and the French recognize in me the values they put forward, which are part of French history.
Is Paris welcoming to Brazilians?
The French have always loved Brazil and dreamed of Brazilian football. Little by little, a space has been created at PSG for the Brazilians. There is a Brazilian touch in the identity of the club, places reserved for Brazilians!
Are Ronaldinho and Neymar your most natural successors among the Brazilian lineage?
These are players who have made the fans dream. Ronaldinho is remembered and Neymar is also a dream.
How would you describe your connection to the PSG audience?
When I arrived there were a lot of expectations and I was coming out of two and a half years without a vacation. The first six months were very difficult. I was not physically fresh. I needed adaptation. It was hard, people were suspicious, but they valued the way I faced the difficulties. I didn't talk much, I didn't look for excuses. It wasn't working in terms of inspiration or freshness, but the motivation was still there. It showed another side of me. Once it got better, the transition from that time to when I became team captain was pretty quick. We got closer with the public, reciprocally: me towards the public, and the public towards me.
How did you receive the song “Captain Raí”, to the tune of “Captain Flam”?
I didn't understand straight away, because the cartoon was less well known in Brazil than in France. Then I realized what it was, I was happy and very touched, because it was something that was part of people's lives. Sometimes, even today, when I go into restaurants or bars in Paris, four or five supporters start to sing…
What memories do you keep of your farewell to the Park, against Monaco?
When I got on the pitch there was almost the whole stadium in yellow and green. During the whole match, the audience sang the Brazilian song (he hums it) … For me, it was symbolic of my stay. Initially, I took my time to try to understand the behavior of the French, the history of the country, the French music and literature, to take a tour of everything I could do where I arrived. When I understood correctly, I saw where I could be useful on and off the pitch. With my Brazilian side, this joie de vivre that I could bring at the right time. That evening, I could feel that it was something that would last forever, that I had been able to contribute to this relationship in football but also between Brazil and France.
After your tears in front of the turn at the end of the match, you returned to the Park in 2001 for another moving moment ...
Yes, on my jubilee. It was a very strong moment, because it was one of the first and the few sold-out friendlies. All my friends came: Sócrates (Editor's note: his brother) , Junior, Valdo, Leonardo, Ronaldo, Ginola, Weah, Guérin, Roche, Lama… Big stars of PSG and Brazil. It was a great party. This is where I was able to express my feelings and thank people, while against Monaco, it was a surprise, because we still had to play the final of the Coupe de la Ligue and the Coupe de France in Stade de France.
What do Brazil bring to PSG?
Brazil has an optimism that is not necessarily always good for the country, but which is contagious. It strikes a balance with the Parisians. There is a different temperament on both sides. It depends on the moment, sometimes it can be useful to be wary, to be pessimistic. Brazilians still have this notion of joy, of rhythm. Valdo arrived singing the samba in the locker room, Ricardo was greatly admired, brought a special thing, a soul. The Brazilian soul, difficult to explain, is contagious and has been transmitted to PSG.
Did you take part in Leonardo's arrival at PSG?
Yes, Ricardo was the coach and knew him well too. We met in 1990 in Sao Paulo. He quickly became a close friend, a friend. Afterwards, he left for Spain and Japan, but we always kept the friendship and contact. Six months before the end of his contract in Japan, I often spoke to him on the phone and saw that he wanted to come back to Europe. I presented Leonardo as a great opportunity to Ricardo and Denisot. A lot of teams wanted it, but we had a head start.
Was it in Paris that you created your Gol de Letra association?
Yes, it was a season where we talked a lot about Brazil. Leonardo was already doing occasional actions in Brazil, he had told me about it in Sao Paulo. I knew I was going to be back soon and it was in Paris that the first lines of this project were drawn, in his house, around a good French wine.
Is Leonardo the one who best embodies the link between the two great generations of PSG?
This is important today and it was at the very start of the Qatar project to set up a new team, a super ambitious challenge with new owners. It represents this link between two different moments, between the two generations. Being Brazilian has also helped him bring other Brazilians to PSG.
What is the best period for PSG, yours or the one the club has been going through since the arrival of Qatar?
I will make a comparison with my career. I'm very proud of it for two things: the quality, the technique and the victories, but also because I was able to go to the end or beyond my limits. In life, there are the things you are good at doing and the efforts that take you further. In my career, I combined the two things and it was the same for my generation at PSG. We had the resources, a great team, but compared to Milan or Juventus, it was a project under construction. We did more than we were prepared to do.
PSG today would be less inclined to exceed its limits?
Of course, today there is a great team that makes you dream, that has experienced matches that will go down in history. Titles will come. There have already been many at the national level. We haven't won so many trophies, but we have played three European semi-finals in a row and won a Cup. This is why the wait is enormous today. When we set the Champions League as a goal, it's not easy. I'm sure PSG will get there. This generation is extraordinary. We hope she will win this Champions League. For the club's 50th anniversary, that would be ideal.