Featured Image Credit: OPPO
Topics: Borussia Dortmund, Champions League, Kaka, Real Madrid, Spotlight, AC Milan, Football
Jack Kenmare
Topics: Borussia Dortmund, Champions League, Kaka, Real Madrid, Spotlight, AC Milan, Football
How many people can say, hand on heart, that a winner of the Ballon d'Or has been in awe of your footballing ability? Well, maybe not in awe but I'll never forget what Kaka said to me on that cloudy day in London.
The former AC Milan and Real Madrid midfielder, 42, teamed up with electronics manufacturer OPPO for Saturday evening's Champions League final between Los Blancos and Borussia Dortmund.
As part of the celebrations, Kaka played a starring role in the What A Shot campaign before joining fans at the exclusive Hospitality Lounge at Wembley, where he spent more than an hour with those in attendance.
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OPPO brought its flagship smartphone, the OPPO Find X7 Ultra, to capture "unforgettable" moments from the final and ahead of kick-off, a select group of supporters, including myself, took part in a football-related quiz.
In short, those involved had their Champions League knowledge tested with a 'Missing Player' challenge. The phone's AI Eraser tool removed a player from an iconic UCL scene and fans had to guess who was missing.
After a nervy start to the quiz, where I almost mistook Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for Teddy Sheringham during the '99 final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich, I managed to score 10/10 in just 53 seconds.
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It was a score that topped the leaderboard, meaning the chance to meet Kaka ahead of kick-off was all but secured.
Excited yet slightly terrified by the prospect of messing up in front of one of only eight players to have won the World Cup, Champions League and Ballon d'Or in their career, the time had come to perform the 'Keepy Up Challenge'.
As the welcoming figure of Kaka watched on, I was given 30 seconds to complete as many kick-ups as possible – something that would be seen as a simple task in the comfort of your own home.
But this was slightly different. With hundreds of fans in attendance, the heart was beating at an alarming rate. "He is really good," said Kaka at around the 17-second mark.
Unlike a certain Vinicius Junior later on in the evening, who slotted away with ease in front of more than 86,000, I lost all composure after that comment and made a string of errors.
Still, I managed to record a very respectable score of 57 kick-ups in the allocated time frame, which was enough to secure a Champions League ball signed by Kaka.
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Not bad, right? Well, the best was yet to come. After asked for his thoughts on my shaky performance, the Brazilian said: "He was very good. A very talented player."
I'll definitely take that.
Earlier this month, OPPO encouraged users around the world to share their most memorable moments through captivating photography, and some of those selected photos were shown on the big screen at Wembley during the final.
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Kaka, who scored 70 goals in 193 appearances for AC Milan before joining Champions League winners Real Madrid in 2009, was delighted to take part in the event.
"It's been an honour to partner with OPPO and engage with fans through a whole series of offline and digital activities during the past two Champions League seasons," he said.
Since beginning its partnership with the Champions League last season, OPPO has ignited the passion of football fans by capturing countless exciting moments on and off the pitch.
This experience was certainly a memorable one for myself and so many others.