Cassio, don't go!

Every club has its champions. Some of them are the highly paid, celebrity footballers. Some are young, up-and-comers who you know you're never going to keep.

Then there are the players the fans love because they wear the colours with pride and never give less than 110% for the team. These are the men who love football and remember what it really means to be pulling on their jersey and walking out to carry the hopes and dreams of the thousands who scream their name.

At Adelaide, no-one lifts the crowd in quite the same way as the little man from Brazil - Cassio. Check the back of the fan's shirts and you'll see his name again and again.

One of the smallest men of the A-League also has the biggest heart. Yeah, he falls over too much for a man with a low centre of gravity and thighs the size of tree-trunks, but he's from South America. C'mon! When he's on his feet he never fails to excite.

Cassio will take on his direct opponent every time - and ninety-five percent of the time he'll beat them. He has a wicked cross, a thunderous shot and a deft enough touch to make those who come up against him worry about where he and the ball are going. Not bad for a left-back.

And he loves to play! You can tell, especially in this new, freer version of the Reds under Rini Coolen, just how much football means to him. In the past he's been played out of position and wondered about his permission to run forward. Now we're seeing the best of him, running at players, setting up attacks and still getting back to jockey, out jump and tackle the right-wing raiders who dare encroach on his territory. He's in the form of his life.

He yells, he points, he directs - but he doesn't sulk. In years to come you can guarantee that when old Reds fans sit around to sink a few and talk about the great players who wore the Adelaide jersey, Cassio's name will be among the first to be mentioned. And when it's mentioned people will be smiling. He's a fan's player.

And now his contract is up and it's "in the hands of his manager". Other clubs are sniffing around. I can't influence them but maybe, Cassio, if you're out there and listening, you might hear this.

DON'T GO!

Cassio, you're an Adelaide icon. To see you in the jersey of another team would be unthinkable. Stay with us. Maintain the legend and enjoy the football that you've started to play alongside the likes of Flores, Leckie, Sergio and Reid. Give us more great memories of the little Reds' legend bamboozling hapless defenders and destroying witless wingers.

Some say there are no loyalties in football anymore and maybe they're right. Some will encourage you to follow the money, but I say stay for the love. As for the money, here's a plea for the club to find enough to make your decision easy.

You're comfortably one of the most under-rated imports Australia has ever seen. If you were just flashy you'd be noticed more. If you were just all graft you'd be appreciated for the motor that never stops running at high revs. You have both skill and stamina - and that un-coachable, un-buyable intangible - the love of the game. The desire to win, to contribute and to do it in style.

On behalf of the fans, Cassio....stay!