(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-12 16:23

RIO DE JANEIRO - Sao Paulo coach Muricy Ramalho heaped praise on troubled striker Adriano on Friday, saying he was fit and ready for the start of the new Brazilian season next week.

Adriano joined the Brazilian champions on loan last month from Inter Milan where he has barely played in the last two years because of fitness and alcohol problems.

"As long as he's fit, he's going to play in our first game," Ramalho told reporters after training on Friday.

"I have a lot of experience in helping players improve and that will certainly happen with Adriano here. He's here for six months and my job is to make the most of him."

Ramalho added: "Adriano is not just strength alone. He's a player who knows what he's doing."

Sao Paulo are at Guaratingueta on January 17 in the Paulista championship, one of the regional tournaments which kick off the Brazilian season.

Adriano, once one of the world's most feared strikers, has suffered a dramatic loss of form in the last two years and has played only once for Brazil since the World Cup.

After signing for Sao Paulo last month, he promised to turn over a new leaf but two days later was photographed at a pop concert in Rio de Janeiro holding a beer can.

One week after that, he escaped unscathed after being involved in a car accident in Rio during the early hours of the morning.