MUMBAI: The splash of colours is difficult to look away from. Andre Moritz’s left forearm is tattooed with bold shades, a depiction of the Hercilio Luz bridge in his native town Florianopolis and the words ‘home is where the heart is’. It is an ode to the nomadic lifestyle of modern athletes.
“It is an easy life, in that everything is taken care of for us. We stay in the best of hotels, have good food, and get to play football,” says the 29-year-old Brazilian, who is preparing for a second stint with Mumbai City FC, on Monday. “But at the same time, it is difficult. You could say we are like prisoners. We have to live away from our family for so many months of the year. But I don’t look at it as a sacrifice, my job comes first for me and I enjoy it. I have been lucky to play in so many countries.”
Moritz, an attacking midfielder who was the only player to score a hat-trick in the last edition, has played in Brazil, Turkey, England and South Korea. And he says that for Brazilian youngsters, the prospect of playing abroad is not just an ambition but almost a necessity.
“For Brazilian clubs, the most important way to make money is selling their youth players,” says Moritz. “If they can sell one player to a good club, that takes care of the club’s finances for an entire year.”
“I started playing football when I was five and in a couple of years I had a semi-professional contract. The youth clubs in Brazil have a very great set-up, they have managers and coaches and physios, very similar to professional clubs,” he adds.
Moritz says the training they get at such a young age is invaluable, and it’s an important link missing in Indian football. “What I see is that Indian players have good talent. But by the time they are emerging they are already 24-25 years of age, and it is too late to learn those little technical things. They always seem to be missing something.”