Carlos Kaiser

Carlos Kaiser , real name Carlos Henrique Raposo (born July 2, 1963 in Porto Alegre ), is a former Brazilian soccer player . He became known as a "fake footballer" who, despite very limited footballing skills, was under contract with various professional clubs.

Life

According to him, Carlos Kaiser was adopted as a toddler. He moved to Rio de Janeiro with his adoptive parents . They are said to have made sure that he was accepted into the youth camp of the local association Botafogo FR when he was ten . They are said to have signed a gag contract with an agent, from which one could only get out if a heavy fine was paid. His adoptive parents died when he was 13. At 16, he is said to have signed a contract with the Mexican club Puebla FC . Since he didn't like it there and he didn't enjoy playing football either, he faked a muscle injury. He later used this deception with other clubs. He is also said to have pretended several times that his grandmother had died. At Bangu AC from Rio, he is said to have prevented a substitution after a night through a fight with fans. Since his engagements often only lasted a few months, with these and other tricks he was usually able to avoid an assignment.

The support of his teammates towards club employees was helpful for Kaiser, although it was mostly clear to his colleagues that he was not a real football player. He secured this support through friendship services. So he took care of solutions if a player got drunk in his car in an alcohol check, and gave other players access to women. Emperor's friends also included Brazilian football greats such as Renato Gaúcho and Ricardo Rocha , world champions from 1994.

According to Kaiser's former teammate Carlos Alexandre Torres , it was quite common in Brazilian football in the 1980s to have men like Kaiser on the team who didn't play, but created a good atmosphere.

Substantial parts of Carlos Kaiser’s biography are based on his own statements. What is really true of this is not entirely clear. The clubs Bangu AC and America FC from Rio de Janeiro confirmed that Kaiser was under contract with them. Former teammates also confirm engagements with the clubs Botafogo, Fluminense and CR Vasco da Gama from Rio. Kaiser also claims that he was part of the squad of the Argentine club CA Independiente , which won the 1984 World Cup . However, this turned out to be a lie. There are also strong doubts about his commitment to the French second division club Gazélec FC Ajaccio .

After his footballing career, which he said he ended at the age of 41 after an ankle injury , Kaiser became a bodybuilding trainer for women. His partner Mônica became the Brazilian runner-up in this sport and took part in the 2016 World Cup. In the meantime, Kaiser says he is almost blind.

reception

In 2018 the documentary film Kaiser! The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football by British director Louis Myles about Kaiser's life, in which the well-known Brazilian soccer players Bebeto and Zico have their say. A book of the same name by Rob Smyth was published to accompany the film.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Dom Phillips: Confessions of Carlos Kaiser: Football's biggest conman. In: FourFourTwo . December 16, 2016, accessed June 30, 2018 . 
2. ^ ^{A b} Jens Glüsing : Fake soccer player Carlos Kaiser: The kicker who never kicked. In: Spiegel online . January 18, 2018, accessed June 30, 2018 . 
3. ^ Rob Smyth: The forgotten story of ... Carlos Kaiser, football's greatest conman. In: The Guardian . April 26, 2017, accessed July 2, 2018 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b c} David Klaubert: Interview with an impostor: “Everyone loved me”. In: FAZ.net . June 16, 2018, accessed June 30, 2018 . 
5. ↑ David Klaubert: "Everyone loved me" - Interview with the impostor Carlos Kaiser. In: FAZ Magazin. Retrieved August 10, 2020 . 
6. ↑ Kaiser: The Greatest Footballer Never to Play Football in the Internet Movie Database (English).
7. ^ Rob Smyth: The weird world of football's greatest conman Carlos Kaiser. In: The Guardian. July 27, 2018, accessed January 6, 2019 .