Champions League: As he shivered outside Manchester's Lowry Hotel, wrapped in a winter coat against the chill of the English summer and with the appeal of a potential move to Bolton rapidly diminishing, a plea from the former world footballer of the year seeking employment went unnoticed. "If I could choose my next team," said Rivaldo in July, "and if they wanted me, it would be Liverpool."
He could not and they did not but, in Piraeus this evening, the veteran will attempt to prove them wrong. The Brazilian World Cup winner lines up for Olympiakos against Rafael Benitez's side amid the frenzied din at the Karaiskaki stadium. Yet, where Rivaldo was heralded as "the greatest player to ever set foot in Greece" when he arrived in pre-season, the reality is more sobering.
Liverpool will still be wary of the man who dismantled England at the World Cup two years ago, but they will not be fearful. Rivaldopoulos, as he has been christened, is not the player he once was.
"He can't do some of the things he'd do a few years back, but that's life," said Benitez. "We won't underestimate him, but as we all get older our powers start to fade a bit. It happens to everyone."
That may prove overly kind. The Brazilian's last cap for his country came 10 months ago, his place usurped by Milan's Kaka, and his state of mind has been undermined by two years of personal turmoil on and off the pitch. At 32, Rivaldo needs a revival.
It is difficult to grasp the forward's plummet from grace since he inspired Brazil, alongside Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, to victory in Japan and Korea. He returned to Barcelona, his home of five years, with an inflated ego and much talk of a move to Serie A only to be handed a free transfer by the coach Louis van Gaal.
Milan were still delighted to sign a player apparently at his peak, but a once-great career promptly stagnated. Form drained away, niggling injuries numbing his impact, his career at San Siro eventually amounting to 22 league appearances in 18 months. He was voted the Italian league's worst player last December, his confidence further shattered by divorce from his wife, Rose, who returned to Brazil with their two children.
By January he had tired of the trauma. "It was the most difficult year of my life, particularly on a professional front, and I felt humiliated by what happened in Italy," he said. "But I did the right thing. Money isn't everything and I wasn't happy in Italy, so leaving was the best thing to do."
A brief spell home with Cruzeiro ended after four months when he resigned over the sacking of coach Wanderley Luxemburgo, leaving his agent to tease interest from Bolton, Celtic and Qatar for his signature.
Necessity eventually drove him to Athens. Some 4,000 fans met him at the airport, urging him to sign the £40,000-a-week, two-year contract.
It remains to be seen if Rivaldo can still recover from his years spent in the footballing wilderness. He actually moved to the Piraeus coast when Olympiakos' own dominance appeared to be on the wane. Denied an eighth consecutive league title by Panathinaikos, they reinstalled Dusan Bayevic as coach in the summer when most were calling for a more high-profile appointment.
The former Yugoslavia striker substituted his playmaker at half-time on Saturday during an unconvincing 1-0 win over Aris Salonika. Improving on last season's European experience, when the Greeks finished bottom of their group having mustered only four points, is a priority.
Olympiakos must hope their talisman is recognisable tonight.
Group A
P W D L F A Pts
Liverpool 1 1 0 0 2 0 3
Dep La Coruna 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Olympiakos 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
Monaco 1 0 0 1 0 2 0
Previous results
Sep 15th: D Coruna 0 Olympiakos 0; Liverpool 2 Monaco 0.
REMAINING FIXTURES
Tonight (7.45): Olympiakos v Liverpool; Monaco v Deportivo la Coruna. Oct 19th: Monaco v Olympiakos; Liverpool v Deportivo la Coruna. Nov 3rd: Olympiakos v Monaco; Deportivo la Coruna v Liverpool. Nov 23rd: Monaco v Liverpool; Olympiakos v Deportivo la Coruna. Dec 8th: Liverpool v Olympiakos; Deportivo v Monaco.
