What Ever Happened to Mario Jardel?

Mario Jardel. What comes to mind? One word, really: goals. 

It’s a funny old world football, the 2001-2002 season was Jardel’s annus mirabilis. He had just completed his move from Galatasaray to Sporting Lisbon after a productive year in which he scored 34 goals in 43 matches, including two against Real Madrid to win the Super Cup and a further six in the Champions League.

Of course, Jardel became known across Europe for his performances with Porto, as 166 goals in 169 appearances made for impressive reading. He was destined for bigger things, and when a move to one of Europe’s so-called big clubs never materialised, Jardel packed his bags for the reigning UEFA Cup winners. Although he had success and acquired the nickname "Super Mario" from fans after his displays in Turkey, Jardel failed to settle.

Once again a move to Spain, Italy or England look likely, and yet never happened. With Sporting, Mario scored a jaw-dropping 55 goals in 42 appearances. He single-handedly won the league and cup for Sporting while picking up the Player of the Year award for himself.

That summer, Mario seemed destined to join his national teammates in their quest for a fifth World Cup. However, the call never came, and Brazil went on to win the World Cup with another prolific Brazilian striker writing his name next to the greatest of all-time.

Jardel was devastated. How could winning the European golden boot twice and playing in a league regularly watched back in Brazil fail to get him picked? Mario had been selected in the disastrous 2001 Copa America in which a meek Brazilian team was embarrassingly put to the sword by Honduras in a game that Jardel himself had the misfortune of playing in. It seemed in some ways that he was the scapegoat for a terrible tournament at a time when the Brazilian team was at its lowest ebb.

Mario Jardel was never the same player. Another season with Sporting brought 12 goals in 20 games, yet Sporting had enough following a year of frustrating injuries. Like so many Brazilians players before him, partying, women, drugs and food were seriously detrimental to a player disconsolate and fearing that his big move would never be realised.

His career at Sporting came to an end after he injured himself jumping into a pool in Brazil during the winter break. In the summer of 2003, the Portuguese club let the Brazilian go to Bolton. Jardel must have hoped that Sam Allyrdace, who had done so well to get the best out of aging stars such as Jay Jay Okocha, Ivan Campo and Yuri Djorkaeff could do the same for him.

Unfortunately, all that followed were two goals against Walsall and a goal at Anfield against Liverpool, all of which were in the League Cup. That year, Bolton were beaten finalists in the League Cup, but by that stage Jardel had already left the club to go to Serie A strugglers Ancona where he was given the name “lardel,” a pun on the his ever-increasing waist size.

Jardel is now 37, playing for Al-Taawon in Saudi Arabia. Prior to Al-Taawon, Jardel had played for 12 clubs across three continents over the last seven years, including places like Australia and Bulgaria. Quite sad for a man who between 1995 and 2002 scored 272 goals in 271 appearances across three different leagues.

In the end, seven caps and one goal seem scant reward for a player that lit up Europe and should have gotten the move he always dreamed of. Jardel could have become one of Brazil’s greatest strikers, yet he never really had a decent chance of impressing with A Seleção.

It’s hard to know without talking to the man which proved to be a bigger blow—Brazil, or a big club. Without a doubt, Jardel wanted both, and it seemed that fatal double blow in the summer of 2002 proved a career killer. He played his best football that year and yet it wasn’t good enough for the likes of Scolari, Real Madrid and AC Milan. 

Mario Jardel seems destined, despite his many, many goals, to be a player that history so cruelly overlooks.