Oscar didn’t just burst onto the scene; he made the entire world take notice.
Happy retirement to a player who reminds us that even stories that don’t end as you’d hoped are still worth telling.
From that touch around Pirlo and the wrapped finish around Buffon, it was clear the boy from Americana had something. He took Didier Drogba’s number and created his own signature Chelsea moment. Special.
For Brazil, he always showed up. A hat-trick in the U20 World Cup final, a silver medal at the Olympics, and the 1 in that infamous 7-1 loss in 2014. A Seleção don’t just give out the number 10 to anybody.
Mazacar. Seven letters, three Chelsea icons. Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, and Oscar. Three different magicians who wove their magic on the Stamford Bridge touchlines. They created a brand of football that created Chelsea fans the world over.
The world over was where his travels took him next. And look, we can’t say we tuned in to every Shanghai Port game over his seven years there. But we saw how much that fanbase loved him and how much it meant for Chinese football that he stayed for as long as he did.
Other players’ China stints were so brief they’re commemorated in a line or two on Wikipedia, but Oscar stayed. And grew the game. Before returning home to play for the club that started it all. A full-circle moment for one of football’s most curious careers.
Happy retirement, Oscar.
Oscar didn’t just burst onto the scene; he made the entire world take notice.
Happy retirement to a player who reminds us that even stories that don’t end as you’d hoped are still worth telling.
From that touch around Pirlo and the wrapped finish around Buffon, it was clear the boy from Americana had something. He took Didier Drogba’s number and created his own signature Chelsea moment. Special.
For Brazil, he always showed up. A hat-trick in the U20 World Cup final, a silver medal at the Olympics, and the 1 in that infamous 7-1 loss in 2014. A Seleção don’t just give out the number 10 to anybody.
Mazacar. Seven letters, three Chelsea icons. Juan Mata, Eden Hazard, and Oscar. Three different magicians who wove their magic on the Stamford Bridge touchlines. They created a brand of football that created Chelsea fans the world over.
The world over was where his travels took him next. And look, we can’t say we tuned in to every Shanghai Port game over his seven years there. But we saw how much that fanbase loved him and how much it meant for Chinese football that he stayed for as long as he did.
Other players’ China stints were so brief they’re commemorated in a line or two on Wikipedia, but Oscar stayed. And grew the game. Before returning home to play for the club that started it all. A full-circle moment for one of football’s most curious careers.
Happy retirement, Oscar.
