According to RB Sports, Marcos Cipriano, the Brazilian striker known as Marcao who once wore Spartak Moscow’s red and white jersey, admitted that beer followed him off the pitch after matches because he missed home. His confession shines a light on the emotional side of life as a footballer far from family and familiar comforts, where small rituals can become a comforting habit after a hard game. The idea of unwinding with a cold beer is not unusual in professional football, yet it sometimes raises questions about how athletes manage distance, pressure, and the urge to celebrate a win or withstand a defeat.
During off days, Cipriano and his Brazilian teammates would gather for barbecues after training or on free evenings, sharing stories and laughter with friends who were also far from Brazil in Moscow. Barbecue smoke, city lights, and a shared sense of homesickness created a social ritual where beer acted as a social glue, helping to bridge language gaps, cultural differences, and the miles between home and the pitch. The narrative from RB Sports shows how players lean on simple comforts to ease emotional strain that comes with chasing top performance in a foreign country, and how those moments of laughter can become memories that outlast a season.
His time with Spartak Moscow was marked more by presence in the squad than by a long run of games. The Brazilian forward logged a limited number of appearances and found the back of the net only once in official competition. After his tenure at Spartak, his career took him to Germany’s FC St. Pauli, where he continued to ply his trade in European football. These career moves illustrate how players navigate transfers, adapt to new leagues, and still retain the ties that shaped their early years in Moscow, including the friendships formed there.
Earlier, Maxim Glushenkov, a Zenit Saint Petersburg player, spoke openly about his own indulgences after matches. He admitted that he drinks alcohol and expressed a fondness for beer. He framed the postgame beer as a moment of relief after a demanding match, noting that two beers after the game is a regular pace while some reach for cola, but beer has a place in the routine. He said, “Yes, of course, beer. And after the game, it’s a classic. Two beers after the game is the norm. They drink some Coke, so what’s the point of drinking Coke if you can drink beer?”
RB Sports also notes that another former Russian national team player joked that beer is better than pizza after games, highlighting the playful side of footballers and the common habit of celebrating in pubs or bars after tough matches.