Joy Onuorah
Former World Cup winner, Kaka, will make his marathon debut on Sunday, saying he is “just as excited as I used to be before football matches.”
Kaka, who played for Real Madrid and AC Milan before retiring in 2017, said the marathon was inspired by his father’s battle with Covid-19.
“He was 45 days in the hospital,” Kaka said at the Berlin marathon press conference on Friday.
“Fortunately, he’s with us today.”
Kaka’s father and brother will participate in the marathon’s “family experience.”
“He’s not going to run, he’s just walking, but we wanted him in this experience with us – it’s more of a family experience.”
Marathons, according to Kaka, are particularly special as sporting events because amateurs can compete alongside professionals.
“I’m very excited… Of course, it’s completely different than those guys (pointing to the professionals), this is something that is really good in marathons.
“As an amateur athlete, I can run and be in the same field as the professionals.
“This is something really special in marathons – afterwards I can say that the best one in the marathon ran this time, and at the same time I was running with him.”
Kaka stated that he hoped to finish in under four hours.
“I want to run around 3 hours 40 minutes – if I feel good maybe I can do more,” added the 2002 World Cup winner.
