Visiting ex-Bayern defender Dante: ‘Challenges are fuel for me’

Eleven years on from winning the treble with Bayern, Dante is still playing at the highest level at the age of 41. How is the Brazilian doing it? Our members’ magazine ‘51’ went to visit him in the south of France.

Meet on Plages les Pirates, was what Dante had written. But there was no sign of his fuzzy head. We were standing on a wide square above a beach in Antibes, exactly where he had set a pin by GPS. A group of elderly gentlemen were playing pétanque, strollers strolled past. A few swimmers and a water skier were doing their laps in the water. It was mid-October and it was pleasant on France’s Côte d'Azur. But where was Dante? A football flew into view. It could only be seen for a few seconds. The ball would rise steeply upwards then fall back down and disappear again. He had to be there somewhere. We went to a parapet and looked down onto the beach. Sure enough, there he was, unmistakably, barefoot in the sand and in full action: Dante.

He was throwing himself into the sand and saving balls that were actually almost impossible to reach. He would leap powerfully to smash the ball with his head towards his opponents. And he was never short of some good sporting jibes. “Are you tired yet?” he said with a broad grin as his teammates took a few sips during a break. He didn’t need to say much more. Dante was going to turn 41 in a few days, everyone else was in their thirties. But age doesn't seem to matter to the Brazilian. He looks exactly the same as he did 10 years ago when he played for Bayern. Not a grey hair has strayed into his black mane. “The clock is somehow turning backwards for me,” he said, “I'm the oldest here, but the fittest, of course.”

Defensive leader and captain – Dante in his prime at 41

After two hours, it was finally over. Dante took a quick dip in the sea to cool off. “To regenerate,” he stated, explaining that he discovered footvolley a few years ago while on holiday in Brazil. “It's great fun, and it helps me stay fit.” Unfortunately, he usually only has time during an international break to come to Antibes and play with the boys who meet here regularly. After all, Dante still plays football professionally. At Ligue 1 side Nice, he is a regular player, the defensive leader and captain. In each of the last two seasons, no outfield player played more minutes for the French club. This season, he is the oldest outfield player of all Europe’s top five leagues. Only former FCB goalkeeper Pepe Reina (Como in Serie A) is a few weeks older. “I'm proud of that,” he said, “because it means I've given everything, I've always been disciplined, and I've achieved something that not many can.”

Dante was 31 when he left Bayern in 2015, an age at which the end of a career is usually slowly approaching. But not for Dante Bonfim Costa Santos. After a year in Wolfsburg, he moved to Nice in 2016 and blossomed once again. “The sea, the sun, everything here is good for me,” he stated, looking around. Even a cruciate ligament rupture four years ago, by which time he was 37, only slowed him down briefly. “Everyone said it’s over now, but I told them to wait and see,” he explained. “After 10 months, I was playing again, and I've hardly missed a training session since,” he boasted. “Challenges are fuel for me.” In the end, it’s his head that plays a decisive role. “I've been a professional for 22 years now and I'm still motivated. That will is still there, simply because I love football.”

From the beach in Antibes, Dante makes the 35-minute drive home. He lives in the countryside behind Nice, along a winding road that always seems to be uphill. You only get there when you finally reach the top. “I like the peace and quiet here,” he said. Only a few birds can be heard chirping in his garden, somewhere amongst the pool, palm trees and olive trees. Dante only moved in a few months ago. He completely renovated the house and now lives here with his three children, his mum and his aunt. He often has visitors from Brazil, family and friends. “The house is always full. I like that.” His mum and aunt were already waiting with lunch. Dante's plate was mainly filled with grilled turkey, vegetables, salad and pasta. He always eats the pasta without sauce, he emphasised, at most with a little oil and parmesan. “Only the pasta is important, not the sauce.”

Dante knows that diet is one of the keys to his eternal youth. He eats lots of vegetables, poultry and fish, only has red meat once a fortnight and avoids sweets altogether. His only ‘sin’ is the occasional glass of red wine. “I control myself a lot. My body is my machine. I need it for work,” he said. He doesn't take it easy in training, even when the coach offers him the chance to reduce his workload. “I love working hard. I do my own exercises before and after every team training session,” he explained, “but I also pay a lot of attention to my recovery.” He’s in bed by 11pm at the latest, sometimes even takes a short afternoon nap.

Disciplined, hungry for success and always with a smile

When you think back to Dante in Munich, you think of a player who was always in a good mood. Dante would dance, sing, play the ukulele and celebrate every title in high spirits. What’s easily overlooked is that even back then, Dante was totally disciplined, focused and hungry for success. When he arrived from Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2012, Bayern had just watched Borussia Dortmund win back-to-back titles and suffered the Finale dahoam. “I still remember Karl-Heinz Rummenigge saying to the team on my first day: ’We are Bayern! Two years without a title is the limit!’,” the Brazilian recalls. “I just thought: Wow, what pressure! But it was actually precisely this pressure that I liked. I immediately realised that I was at the right club, a club with the highest goals. Exactly where I always wanted to be. And now I had to deliver.”

Wembley 2013 – “The happiest day of my life”

Dante has a red-framed photo of him holding the Champions League trophy in his hands. The final victory against Dortmund at Wembley in 2013 was “the happiest day of my life, because it was an outstanding story. Bayern had lost in 2010, Bayern had lost in 2012 - and in 2013 we finally won the Champions League,” he said with a grin. “We don't talk about the penalty,” he jokily added of his foul to allow Dortmund to equalise from the spot. But, well, luckily there was Arjen Robben. Overall, he looks back fondly on “three outstanding years” in Munich. “I miss wearing this jersey. Bayern will always be in my heart.”

Closing in on record at Nice

It takes Dante less than 30 minutes to drive to the Nice training ground. You immediately realise how highly regarded the Brazilian is here when the doorman opens the gate for him. “Our Capi,” said the man happily as he greeted Dante with a well-rehearsed handshake. “The club has become my second home,” said Dante, who came to Nice in 2016 mainly because of coach Lucien Favre, whom he knew from Gladbach. “I was 32, had a three-year contract and thought I'd go back to Brazil afterwards. But then I kept signing a new contract - and now I'm in my ninth year here.” He has now played 291 games for the French side and will soon be the club's record foreigner. “That makes me proud. There aren't many people who have played more games for Nice.”

Over the years, Dante has always enjoyed taking on responsibility. He is now also in the process of obtaining his coaching licence. Next year, he wants to be finished with his UEFA Pro Licence. “My goal is to become a coach. I'm really keen on that,” he said. “I want to pass on my experience and make every single player better, as a footballer and as a person.” His big dream is to return to Bayern as a coach at some point, he insists. For now, though, Dante is still a player. He wants to play at least this season. If his head, body and club want him to, he will even add on another year. “But 2026 is the end,” he affirmed. “My feeling is I can do that too.” The sun, beach and sea will play their part.

This story appears in the latest edition of members’ magazine ‘51’