Jardel Recalls Ancona Misery and Near-Fatal Overdose

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Former Brazil striker Mario Jardel has spoken about the alcohol and drug abuse that followed his omission from the 2002 World Cup squad, saying he nearly died of an overdose, in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport reported by Football Italia.

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Jardel, who played for Ancona in Serie A in the second half of the 2003-04 season after joining from Bolton in the January transfer window, said he has only bad memories of the spell. He told the newspaper he went six months without pay and played just three matches, describing a squad packed with players and poorly run that went bankrupt at the end of the year. He said he bonded with Sonetti and Galeone but much less so with the fans. He was 31 and overweight at the time, and said someone called him "Lardel", probably, he suggested, because when he was unveiled against Perugia he saluted the wrong end of the ground, as the two clubs had the same colours, and some fans took offence.

Jardel said Jorge Mendes, whom he described as a close friend rather than his agent, advised the move to Ancona. Mendes had contacts in Italy, mentioned his name to some agents and they brought him to the club. Jardel said he was looking for regular playing time to recover from the nightmare of missing the 2002 World Cup, but that mentally he never recovered. Between 2001 and 2003 he scored 67 goals in 62 appearances for Sporting CP, which he said was still not enough to earn a Brazil call-up for the tournament the South Americans won. He admitted falling into depression and drinking excessively, saying playing in a World Cup was the dream of his life, his first wife left him and there were issues over custody of their children.

He said he first tried cocaine in the summer of 2003 while on holiday, knowing there would be no doping control during that period. He liked it because it made him feel alive and not depressed, and once stayed awake for an entire week. He then had an overdose and nearly died, and a friend who was with him saved his life; that, he said, was where he hit rock bottom. He spent months speaking with psychiatrists and said he came out of it for good when he met his second wife, Sandra, who made him understand the meaning of life. Jardel has returned to Brazil and works as an investor, saying the property market in Fortaleza is popular and a good way to earn money, and that he enjoys the sun on the beach in his spare time although he misses Italy.