It is his first trip to European football’s most prominent fixture, and the Brazilian centre-back has reflected on the journey to this point.
Militao revealed a life-changing question that his mother once asked him
Eder Militao has published a letter to his younger self ahead of the Champions League final against Liverpool. This is his first trip to European football’s most prominent fixture, and the Brazilian centre-back has reflected on the journey to this point. In his letter, published in The Players’ Tribune, he revealed a life-changing question that his mother once asked him. “It won’t be easy, my friend; I’m not going to lie to you,” he said to his younger self. “There will be a day when you’ll think about giving up everything. You’ll no longer want to play football as a professional. You’ll no longer be willing to be away from your friends and family. But then your mother will ask you a question that only someone who knows you very well could ask, as she’ll say, ‘Don’t you want this?'”
Eder is preparing for the final
“Eder, let me tell you. When you hear that, it will open your eyes. Suddenly you will see what is happening to you in a different light. You will come to value more and more the comments from the coaches who are praising your game.” One of his early coaches was his father, Valdo Militao, a former professional footballer. The Real Madrid centre-back recalled how his father wasn’t convinced at first in the letter. “One day, you will show up at the football school where your dad coaches,” Militao continued. “He won’t know. In fact, he’ll be shocked to see you there. Not even he knows what you can do with a ball at your feet. Actually, you’ll hear him say something that will stay in your mind forever. This will become a joke between you and your friends.”
“Your dad is a coach. He knows talent when he sees one, right? His verdict of the young Eder will be ‘I don’t know if he can play’. When the teams are picked that day, you will be the last one to get selected. But Eder, this will be no reason to feel humiliated. It is just the first of many surprises that football has in store for you.” All these years later, Militao is preparing to start a Champions League final, with the whole world watching.