June 2010 | Frankfurt am Main
Cacau – striker for Germany’s national team – is telc’s newest Ambassador for Multilingualism and Integration
Multilingualism and integration are the great challenges of our time. To those who have mastered Europe’s languages, the portals to her future stand wide open. Equally important is the will to integration – especially for those people whose roots lie outside those countries in which they now live, work and are raising their families.
A prime example of modern European integration is Germany’s national team striker, Claudemir Jeronimo Barreto; fondly know as Cacau. Born in Brazil and immigrated with his family to Germany in 1999, he has passed the telc German Test for Immigrants brilliantly and achieved the Zertifikat Deutsch. A friendly, modest and spiritual family father and fair player, he is both personally and financially active in Germany’s Help Fund for Children with Addictions.
Timely to the 2010 Football World Championship games, telc GmbH proudly presents Germany’s national striker, Cacau, as their newest Ambassador for Multilingualism and Integration for Europe. Posters featuring Cacau are being distributed right now to the Adult Education Centres as well as many other learning institutions, schools, churches and social service offices. Interested organisations can order – or reorder – Cacau posters free-of-charge.
In an interview with Prof. Dr. Ernst-Andreas Ziegler, Cacau talks about his role model function for immigrants and young athletes, his pride concerning Germany and the wisdom life has granted him. Interesting reading even for those less inclined to sports:
Living in Prosperity – an Obligation
An interview with Germany’s national football striker Cacau
telc: You weren’t born a star. Your personal and athletic development weren’t foreseeable. Where did you grow up and what was the situation in your family then?
Cacau: I grew up in Brazil, in a family with three sons. Unfortunately, my father was an alcoholic. He spent lots of time in and out of in clinics. My mother worked as a cleaner and my brothers and I tried with various odd jobs to earn money for the family.
telc: Do you have any advice for young people growing up under poor circumstances with little or poor perspective? Those who want to free themselves for better opportunities, regardless of which land they live in?
Cacau: Young people look for role models. We who have done well have the responsibility to provide them with these ideals – showing them ways out from where they are now. Those born in poor surroundings with little hope have a difficult time finding a positive example. We have to encourage these young people and make clear how important education and going to school are. We have to instil in them the self-confidence to say „No“ to drugs – making the way easier for them to break the cycle of helpless resignation and poverty; getting them to finish school and achieve job qualification.
telc: Where do the greatest dangers lie for those living in need?
Cacau: There’s a great amount of criminal energy in these poor surroundings. Alcohol and heavy drugs are real issues.
telc: Did you have a role model?
Cacau: My own personal ideal was my mother. She has always played a very important part in my life; she was the one who told me again and again how important learning was, and how important it was to finish school.
telc: What are your thoughts on Germany? What do you like and what don’t you?
Cacau: Germany has become my second home. Here, I realise how important planning and organisation are. I like very much that nothing is left to chance in Germany. And the people I have met here have always been friendly to my family and me. I have never had a bad experience. The one thing I don’t always like is the weather – but I mean that more as a joke!
telc: You and your family are considered models of multilingualism and integration. What does integration mean to you personally?
Cacau: To me, integration is the assimilation into a foreign culture. When I came from Brazil to Germany, much – or, better said, everything – was foreign to me: the weather, the food, the language. And then there was also the loneliness; no close friends I could talk things over with. Fortunately, I had my Brazilian friend Osmar, who advised me from the beginning, „Cacau, you have to learn German really fast!“ It was exactly this advice that was responsible for getting me integrated into this then very foreign country.
It was really difficult and I had a hard time at the beginning, but the work paid off. As soon as I was able to make people understand me, I went off to discover the German culture. The more I learnt, the more I understood and the more questions I could ask. Things became really exciting when I was able to read my first German book. I thoroughly enjoyed learning and educating myself ignited my hunger to learn more. I wanted to understand Germany – what it has to offer and what makes it tick.
When is integration successful? I would say it’s when a person from a foreign country can not only speak the language fluently, but also has learnt to think like someone born there and can comprehend things in the same way.
telc: Does this mean that you and your family now feel at home here in Germany?
Cacau: Yes, definitely. We’re even thinking about remaining in Germany after my football career here ends. We have lots of friends and my wife has also learnt German. For the kids it’s easier. Our daughter goes to the pre-school; our son still has to wait for that a bit. We’re looking forward to the time when they will both go to German schools.
telc: You play for the Stuttgart Football Club and live in a small town among Swabiens. Can you speak the local dialect?
Cacau: I can understand and speak a few words. Swabien – I don’t really mean this seriously – is possibly even more difficult than written German!
telc: Where and how did you learn German?
Cacau: At first, I learnt from my friend Osmar, and also at the football club, where they offered language courses for the players. Foreign footballers are required to know German. Additionally, for the past several years, I have been speaking regularly at functions held especially for the motivation of young people. This has given me more and more confidence in the language.
telc: Have the language courses at the Adult Education Centre helped you? Were you proud of your excellent exam results and your telc language certificate?
Cacau: Naturally. Learning German was a lot of fun. I am really grateful to my teachers. And, of course, I was very happy with my test results. My next goal is to learn to speak English well.
telc: One of the major socio-political challenges of our day is the integration of immigrants. Should each and every one of them learn the language of their host countries?
Cacau: That is the single most important factor and absolutely essential. Otherwise, integration cannot take place.
telc: A few more questions regarding football. How do you manage to shoot such terrific goals?
Cacau: God has given me a wonderful talent. It is my responsibility, through daily hard work, to improve this talent and work out my deficits. This has been my routine for years. The years of work have paid off, but there’s no resting on your laurels. If you don’t keep at it, you fall back. I can only tell everyone who enjoys sports and wants to pursue a career in them, “If you work hard on yourself, one day you’ll be successful.”
telc: How do you train the speed of your reflexes? For example, the smooth shot or standing jump?
Cacau: We have very special training programmes at the Stuttgart Football Club, and also for Germany’s national team. There are experts to train us in these special disciplines. But this means, “Training, training, training...”!
telc: What kind of a feeling is it, playing on the German National Team?
Cacau: For me, it’s a dream come true. Even as a kid, I wanted to play on the national team – those, days, of course, for Brazil. Now I’m a German citizen and play for my adopted country. The whole impact of this I probably won’t realise till after the championships are over. At the moment, I’m completely concentrated on the game – giving my best on the field precisely where it’s needed.
telc: You are a deeply religious person. You are committed to helping others; you stand for ethics and fair play in professional sports. What do you feel on the football field, in the heat of the game, when you might not be able to meet your own high standards; when you possibly even – rightly so – get your own yellow or red card?
Cacau: Nobody is perfect. I make mistakes, too. But then you have to be able to apologise and make up for them.
This interview was conducted by the journalist Prof. Dr. h.c. Ernst-Andreas Ziegler.