“Better than Ronaldo, Neymar or Messi!” dener

Nobody knows what the football world lost when mega talent Dener died in 1994. Some say everything.

When you think of beautiful football, of tricks, technique, show, rhythm, you think of the most successful football nation in the world: Brazil. It seems from the start of the game that almost every Brazilian boy was born with the ability to create magic with a ball at his feet. Art for art’s sake, football because it’s fun. Jogo Bonito.

When it comes to the land of high-end technicians and samba kickers, every fan thinks of the greats of the sport: Pele, Ronaldo, Romario, Rivaldo and many more. When it comes to the highest technical brilliance, lightness and pure joy of playing, people all over the world associate it with Ronaldinho in particular. Perhaps the greatest ball magician in football history is a role model for countless people.

How does such a player answer the question of who he even looked up to with his own abilities? Pele is clear anyway. Ronaldo, okay, teammate at Brazil and then the measure of all things. Maradona may be Argentinian, but of course a player like Ronaldinho just has to love this icon of dribbling.

It’s the cream of the crop that the Brazilian legend names when it comes to whose style of play she found particularly beautiful. And then another name comes up: Dener.

Dener: Ronaldinho’s role model and one of the greatest talents of all time

uh, who please? Is that a Brazilian insider tip? A failed jewel that no one knows anymore? Not failed, no. Dener is dead. 28 years already. On April 18, 1994, one of the greatest talents of all time dies in a car accident – leaving behind a potentially huge void that we may not be able to fathom because it was never filled. In any case, Robinho, another highly technical Brazilian, said later: “It’s a shame that he died so early. He was amazing!”

Even as a kid, Dener is one of those Brazilian boys who make the game a feast for the eyes. He’s small, agile, extremely fast – and he first started playing futsal before he really became a footballer. Technology in the smallest of spaces, in this area nobody can fool little Dener early on. Whole hosts of defenders can only look in amazement when the whirlwind dances out a complete team again.

Portuguesa takes notice of him and takes him to the youth academy. Dener is a difficult character, it shows early on. A rebel, a boy from the bottom. Antonio Lopes, then manager of the club, recalls: “It was one of my first days at the club. An agent told me: ‘There is a boy who could leave soon. He married a girl, he is in a difficult situation. But the boy is really good.’ I told him to send the kid over to train with us pros and when he first got the ball he tunnelled Vladimir, a tough tackler who was hard to get past, then did a sombrero flick over another player . I went to the President and told him it was imperative to keep the boy.”