Interview: Brazilian Soccer Player Jesse Finkenauer

Jesse Finkenauer was a Brazilian soccer player, he came from Brazil to America to be me and my brother’s Au Pair, so I just figured, “why not interview him to see how soccer Is different from here and Brazil?” So that’s what I did.

 Me: Who is your favorite Brazilian born player?

 Jesse: I think Ronaldo for me is my favorite one because he’s the most lethal striker I’ve ever seen playing because I saw him playing until he was about 33-34 Also one thing I liked about him is his story, like overcoming bad times in his life  Because he had two really bad injuries in the late 90’s in both knees, right and left.  And even after two surgeries he played the 2002 world cup being the best scorer of the competition and scoring two goals in the final against Germany

 Me: Who is your favorite non-Brazilian born player?

 Jesse: I would say Paolo Maldini because he was always an inspiration for me, he was a really good Italian center back who played for AC Milan during 25 years So the most impressive thing about his skills is that he was so precise, he had really good timing on disarming every player in the world. His leadership skills helped Milan to win five champion leagues out of seven in the history of the club 

 Me: If Maldini and Messi faced off, both in their prime, Do you think he could guard Messi?

 Jesse:  I can use his own words to say that he is lucky to not face Messi I think one on one Messi is unstoppable

 Me: So that’s a no? He can’t guard Messi?

 Jesse: I would pay to see that challenge but, yeah i don’t think he’s capable of that

 Me: Who do you think is the best soccer player of all time

 Jesse: What we are seeing today, like the Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi fight for the top, It’s a sign of two of the best soccer players of all time Of course we have Pele, Maradona, Cryuff, but I can just go by what I see, not just by the stats And what I see today is Messi breaking record after record and showing skills that were never seen, so I would say that for me, Messi is the best soccer player of all time.

 Me: What do you think was your worst injury of your career as a soccer player?

 Jesse: I didn’t actually have a career as a professional only as a youth player But even with my short career in the youth academy I remember the time I got a knee injury on the meniscus. I was tackled by a player in a really violent way, he literally stepped on my knee when my feet were on the ground After that I stayed eight months without playing any kind of sport. When I recovered It was like I never knew how to run, it was like, weird That’s actually one of the reasons I didn’t continue playing in the youth academy.

 Me: How is soccer similar or different comparing the US and Brazil?

 Jesse:  Most people in the world say that Brazil has the best soccer players and you can see that the technique level is a little bit different between countries as you can see in basketball, there is a huge difference I think that difference happens because of the stimulation if you throw a soccer ball in any neighborhood in Brazil you’re going to find enough kids to play a soccer game as you stimulate a kid in something they like the kid is going to grow up doing that and enjoying that.

You can use my example for it, I didn’t like soccer that much until I was about six or seven. When I complete seven years, my dad bought me my first uniform of my favorite team and suddenly, I could see soccer everywhere, In the TV’s, in the magazines and at school. I remembered once me and my friends didn’t have a soccer ball to play, then we found a soda can, smashed it and played with that. It’s something common to see in schools and some poor neighborhoods in Brazil.

 Me: What is your favorite Brazilian team?

 Jesse: When I first started to watch soccer my favorite team was Santos FC that is known for revealing Pele and Neymar. But after two years I said to myself that I needed to choose a team to be passionate about. In my state there are two big clubs, Gremio and Internacional most of my family are fans of Gremio and they made everything they could to bring me to the blue side. But after I followed the Internacional campaign in the 2005 Brazilian league and the history of the club I chose the red side one year later I had one of the most joyful moments of my life when Internacional defeated Ronaldinho and FC Barcelona in the club’s World Cup Final. Since then I started to be affixed to Internacional and every chance I have I go to the stadium to support my team.

 Me: What do you think is the best Brazilian team?

 Jesse: I’m tempted to say Internacional but I need to be fair and in my opinion, Santos FC is the most important team. The reason I think that is because of the quantities of trophies they had one in the international and national level and also they revealed two of the most important Brazilian players in history (Pele and Neymar).

 Me: Who do you think is better, Ronaldo or Johan Cryuff

 Jesse: For sure Ronaldo

 Me: Ronaldinho or Zinedine Zidane

 Jesse: Both are magical but I think Ronaldihno is better

Me: Who do you think is better, Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo

Jesse: Messi

Me: Who do you think is better, Ronaldinho or Diego Maradona

Jesse: ... I was not expecting this one, it’s hard but I have to go with Ronaldihno.

Me: Who do you think is better, Pele or Diego Maradona

Jesse: I need to say Pele.