Brazil playmaker Kaka has got back his trademark smile and Real Madrid fans are hoping to see him perform as the world-class player he once was at AC Milan.
The Brazilian played fantastic football on Sunday, in the 5-0 win against Espanyol.
He scored a goal and set up two for Gonzalo Higuain, and perhaps more importantly he showed throughout the match a level of energy and action that reminded observers of his best days on the pitch.
After that match, Kaka again got to feel like a star off the pitch, as he struggled to leave the Santiago Bernabeu stadium amid fans pleading for his autograph.
Only three months ago, he was regularly leaving the stadium under a cloud, and the media were full of speculation about a potential transfer to another team.
Those were the days when coach Jose Mourinho had to say at virtually every press conference that Kaka was to stay on in Madrid, with only a few actually believing him.
Kaka’s life in Spain has so far not been easy, mainly for three reasons: the expectations generated by his long-awaited signing, the price that Real Madrid paid for him, and a string of injuries.
By the time Kaka arrived in the team, Real Madrid fans had been wanting him for years.
Florentino Perez won the 2009 presidential election and signed Kaka for 62 million euros ($A77.35 million) as the first of his trademark market stunners in his second stint as club president.
However, injury never really allowed Kaka to display his top form.
Moreover, he played the 2010 World Cup for Brazil despite his poor fitness, upsetting Real Madrid fans and making it very difficult for him to perform well last season.
This season, however, there was something new: Kaka got to complete a regular pre-season training program with Real Madrid, which he had never managed to do, and Mourinho continued to trust him.
Now, back from yet another injury break, he is again showing off the elegant stride that once captivated fans at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The issue is whether Kaka is back for good: whether, about to turn 30 next month and after so many injuries, he remains in a position to perform regularly, in terms of both the number of matches and his performance in them.
“There is no way to see his decline after such a display. The problem is that it will be hard to bend the prejudice that has emerged around the Brazilian,” the Madrid sports daily Marca said on Tuesday.
“It’s a pity, because in his version of Sunday there are very few players in the world of his stature.”
In the short term, it seems impossible for anyone to push him off the starting line-up – not even up-and-coming Argentine Angel Di Maria, a favourite with fans at the Santiago Bernabeu, who is currently recovering from his own injury troubles.
For as long as Kaka plays like he is currently playing, nobody will dare question him. The question remains, however, whether that world-class performer is here to stay.
