Adriano 'drank everything' he could get hands on and 'turned up drunk for training'

dailystar.co.uk:

Inter Milan legend Adriano 'turned up drunk for training every day' at the height of his struggles.The Brazilian - who turned 40 on Thursday - was once considered one of the most feared forwards in world football and was renowned for his hammer of a left foot.The striker established himself as a household name following his success in Italy with Inter in particular, where he hit 74 goals in 177 matches across seven memorable seasons for the Serie A giants.Despite boasting the potential to become "the best player ever" according to former Inter team-mate Javier Zanetti, the striker failed to fulfil that potential as the tragic death of his beloved father back in 2004 saw his life spiral into chaos.The pair shared a close bond having grown up in one of Rio's most dangerous favelas and the premature passing of his father at the start of his second San Siro stint sent Adriano off the rails.Inter icon Zanetti has previously spoken of the player's depression, while the Brazilian himself admitted he turned to booze in an attempt to deal with the pain."Only I know how much I suffered," Adriano revealed in an interview with R7 magazine via Football Italia. "The death of my father left me with this huge void, I felt very lonely.Is Adriano football's greatest case of what could have been?

Give us your thoughts in the comments section."After his death everything got worse, because I isolated myself."I was alone in Italy, sad and depressed, and then I started drinking.

I only felt happy when I was drinking, I'd do it every night."I drank everything I could get my hands on: wine, whiskey, vodka, beer.