Athlético Paranaense came into 2038 armed with an exciting arsenal of young talents like strikers Pipoca and Esdras, winger Paulo Roberto Aal and Brazil international Lucas Pena Barcelos. And manager Robaato Rasamu was excited about the club's future.
The phrase "golden generation" is all-too-often overused in football circles, but Robaato Rasamu believed he'd absolutely inherited one at Athlético Paranaense. His squad contained 11 players considered to have 5-star potential which, according to his staff, constituted "world class," and an additional 17 with at least 4-star potential.
Robaato Rasamu had always loved Brazilian football, having grown up idolising the likes of Kaká, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho. So being given the opportunity to manage in the country was akin to letting a kid loose in the world's biggest sweet shop.
A massive summer rebuild had seen Robaato Rasamu totally reshape his Athlético Paranaense squad. He'd sold off the bad eggs at the club and was now operating with a much younger squad that was packed to the rafters with potential.
A tricky few months in Curitiba had left Robaato Rasamu facing arguably the biggest challenge of his short managerial career. He'd taken charge of an Athlético Paranaense side that was underperforming and, the way he saw it, was filled with prima donnas earning far too much money and in some cases were far too old.
Having fully relaxed for a month or so, it was time for Robaato Rasamu to consider the two outstanding tasks on his Pentagon Pursuit. The next challenge on his globetrotting adventure was to find himself a job in South America. But importantly, it couldn't be any old South American club.
The magic touch of Japanese manager Robaato Rasamu was rubbing off on his Kaizer Chiefs side as they looked set to qualify from their African Champions League group and led the way in South Africa's DStv Premiership. A welcome two-month mid-season break moving into 2035 gave Rasamu and his players a little time to recover, reset and refocus ahead of a huge few months.
Robaato Rasamu's 4-star reputation meant he could probably work for most clubs around the world. But rather than head to Europe, he was keen to test his abilities on a different continent.
At his quaint abode, away from the utter carnage on the streets of LA, sipping a particularly delicious Japanese whisky, Rasamu thought to himself "Two down and three to go."
A private jet landing on the runway at Los Angeles International Airport was far from unusual. But this latest arrival seemed a little different, based on the huddle of reporters and photographers baying for a first look at Los Angeles' latest celebrity. While many of the assembled media had never heard of Japanese manager Robaato Rasamu, he was clearly a man with a growing reputation.
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