Alexandre Pato a Serie A Sensation This Season

Alexandre Pato has become one of Serie A’s most prominent players during the last calendar year. The young Brazilian has just completed his first year at AC Milan and with his lightning speed, unique technical skills, great finishing, and outstanding reading of the game; the forward has done nothing to diminish his €22 million price tag.

Alexandre Pato, whose real name is Alexandre Rodrigues da Silva, received his shirt name due to his hometown being Pato Branco—which in both Spanish and Portuguese means “duck.”

Pato started playing futsal at the early age of four and become known in the Parana region due to his unique skills. At the age of seven the young talent switched to football and went off to play for Gremiô Industrial Pato Branquese—a sister club to Gremiô.

However, things haven’t always been easy for "The Duck." In 2000, young Pato at a mere 10 years of age was brought to the doctors with a broken arm. The doctor found something else too—a tumor that would have been cancerous had it not been removed within two months.

It was lucky for both Pato and his family that the doctor was a family friend, as they could not afford the costly operation. The operation was performed for free and it took several years for the prospering talent to fully recover and rehabilitate the arm.

When Pato turned 11 he along with his family decided to put all eggs in one basket by trying out for Internacional—with 83 other boys all fighting for the same spot. He beat all of his competitors—leaving the club with the knowledge that they had stumbled across something amazing.

In 2005, Pato helped Internacional to win the Brazilian U-20 Championship after bagging a brace against Gremiô in the return fixture of the final. That year Internacional also won the Copa Libertadores, which generated a place in the FIFA Club World Cup where the Brazilians surprisingly came to beat Barcelona in the final.

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The Brazilian didn’t manage to shine in the final due to the fact that the forward was playing with injury, but that didn’t stop him from running circles around defense stalwart Carles Puyol before he was substituted for team mate Adriano Gabiru who eventually scored the winner.

Pato was deliberately kept in the youth team to keep prying eyes from discovering that blossoming talent and the management was forbidden to talk about their prized asset to the media. It wasn’t until the forward Rafael Sobis left Internacional that Pato at age 17 signed a contract and took the step up to the senior team.

It was from then that the youngster started the fine habit of scoring in his debuts. He presented himself to the club’s supporters by scoring a header in his debut against Palmeiras in the 4-1 win in November 2006. The buzz surrounding the player was unbelievable as he was tipped to becoming one of the world’s most complete players in the coming years.

During the following year Pato helped the Brazil youth team to a South American Youth Championship title in Paraguy—which also meant automatic qualification to both FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada and 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.

On Aug. 2 2007, AC Milan paid €22 million for Pato as the club confirmed their latest signing—but with regards to the Italian Football Regulations regarding underage non-European players—he was unable to play official games for his new club until Jan. 3, 2008 when the transfer window would reopened.

On Sept. 4, 2007—the day after his birthday, Pato made his unofficial debut for Milan in a friendly against Dynamo Kiev where he scored a header in the 2-2 draw and gave the Diavolo supporters something to look forward to.

The official debut in the Milan shirt took place on Jan. 13, 2008 and the hype surrounding the player did nothing to stress the forward who loyal to his habit scored in his first official game in the 5-2 win over Napoli.

Approximately two months after his Milan debut the young Brazilian once again scored in a debut. Pato came off the bench and scored the winner with a sublime strike in 72th minute in his first appearance for the Selecão where Brazil hosted Sweden at the Emirates Stadium in celebration of the 1958 World Cup Final between the two nations.

Most people probably remember a certain Pelé attracting global recognition with his inspiring performance during that specific final about 50 years ago.

Pato rounded up his first six months at Milan with 18 appearances and nine goals and quickly became a fan favorite at the San Siro.

During the following summer Pato made three appearances and scored one goal as a part of the Brazil team that won bronze medals in the Beijing Olympics.

The Brazilian has started the 2008-09 in great fashion and already has eight goals to his name. The youngster has scored doubles against both Udinese and Roma this season and is quickly becoming an integral part of the team’s offense.

He has earned the praise of teammates and coaches alike, and keeping his head cool and staying humble with the amount of attention he is receiving simply showcases maturity despite his young age.

The forward has already blossomed into a world-class player and if he continues on the same path, there is not a doubt in my mind that he will one day soon become the best footballer in the world.

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