While most people are not bothered with the Confederations Cup, the tournament offers those who consume football like oxygen a nice midweek game to watch during the summer months, often showcasing some up-and-coming talent or players you may have heard about but not yet seen.
In 2005, Brazil brought an electrifying team consisting of the likes of Ronaldinho, Kaka, and Robinho in attack alongside a man that was carving out a name for himself across Europe, and would go on to become a mythical beast in the world of video games, in Adriano.
After deciding to buy his contract out having seen what he did with his co-owned club Parma, Adriano had the best season of his life for Inter Milan in 2004/05, scoring 28 goals in all competitions and making the coveted Brazil #9 shirt his own in the absence of Ronaldo.
That form continued in the 2005 Confederations Cup, as the big man won both the 'Golden Shoe' for top scorer with five goals, and the 'Golden Ball' for best player of the tournament as Brazil won the Cup, beating Argentina in the final.
Germany captain Michael Ballack admitted while reflecting on his side's semi-final loss to Brazil that Adriano was tough to stop after he scored twice in a 3-2 win.
It was a match of the highest standard, Adriano was at his very best then, he was established in the national team and in peak condition. He scored a lot of goals with his left foot, he was hard to control.
He would go on to bag a brace in the final as well, but it was a goal in the group stages against Greece that will forever stick out in the mind, as it was clear justification for his 99 shot power rating in the popular video game series.
The big man blasted one from 30 yards, and when the ball hit the net it was still rising. Such a sweet connection sent a shockwave around the world. Brazil had a #9 that was going to be a major problem.
It's no coincidence that when Pro Evolution Soccer 5 was released months later, Adriano was the best player in the game. Unfortunately for Konami, they had modeled the player's attributes on what they had seen in Germany that summer, and he became probably the most powerful and deadly player ever seen in a football video game.
In real life? It's didn't quite work out that way.
We've published a lot of Adriano content down the years due to the cult hero status that he earned through Pro Evo, and the crazy trajectory his career took from 2006 onwards, but the most alarming was what we learned last summer he was living in a gang controlled favela.
He's since been doing better, and was recently honoured by Inter Milan and given a hero's reception at the San Siro, but for that month in the summer of 2005, he WAS the Adriano we would get to know in Pro Evoultion Soccer for the next few years.
It's just a shame it didn't last longer.
