The two sides of Michael Schumacher

SAO PAULO, Oct 20 (Reuters) Michael Schumacher will retire on Sunday as the most successful Formula One racer the world has ever seen.

Yet who he really is, what kind of a man, will generate as much debate in the years to come as the endless arguments about whether he was indeed the greatest champion of them all.

Everyone has an opinion about 'Schumi', only a very few can say they really know him.

When the 37-year-old German finally calls it a day after the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix, possibly with a record 92nd career win and even an eighth title if Renault's Fernando Alonso fails to score, he will leave plenty of memories -- bitter and sweet.

Some will recall his rare skills at the wheel, his brilliance in the wet, the championships won and the raft of records that may never be equalled.

Others will highlight the controversies, the collision with Damon Hill in the 1994 title decider and the notorious attempt in 1997 to run Jacques Villeneuve off the road.

The catcalls of Austria 2002, when the German took an undeserved win after Ferrari ordered team mate Rubens Barrichello to move over, will echo down the ages.

So too will this year's Monaco Grand Prix, where angry rivals branded him a cheat after what appeared to be a blatant attempt to block rivals in qualifying by stopping his car at the penultimate corner in the dying seconds.

RUTHLESS DETERMINATION There is the Michael Schumacher who became a household name, one of the world's highest paid athletes, thanks to his single-minded dedication and ruthless determination.

And there is the intensely private man who shelters his family from the media's prying eyes and reveals little about his innermost thoughts.

The world will see one version of the German at Interlagos this weekend, the future belongs to another.

''I think both sides are part of the real Michael,'' says spokeswoman and close confidante Sabine Kehm.

''Definitely Michael on the racetrack is different from when you are sitting together with him, when he is very normal and very nice.

''At the racetrack he is extremely focused, extremely concentrated and totally geared to his goal. Totally in a fighting mood.

''What I find very sad sometimes is that a lot of people have this old picture of Michael which they have drawn when he was in 1994 and 1995 and since then they have never really changed it,'' she added.

Kehm paints a picture of Schumacher as a driver who has coped with phenomenal pressure, unimaginable to most rivals who have never been in such a position, and who is now completely at ease with himself.

Far from being forced out of Ferrari by the imminent arrival of Kimi Raikkonen from McLaren, he knew what he wanted when he decided to quit.

''He is totally fine with his decision,'' said Kehm. ''When you see him away from the track, you can see that he is very balanced, He knows exactly what he wants and what he has. He appreciates what he values.

''He is aware that he is leading a happy life.'' Schumacher, with earnings of an estimated million a year, has long passed the point where he needs to earn a wage.

If he has continued so long, it is because of a love of winning and also because he has been able to separate so completely his work and private life.

His young children are never seen at the racetrack and requests for glossy magazine lifestyle interviews of the Schumachers at home are routinely rejected.

SELF PROTECTION ''He's a very silent guy in a way,'' says Kehm. ''He doesn't talk loudly, he loves playing backgammon and being together with people and friends.

''He has always shut his family off from the limelight, in a way, as a protection for them and also as a protection for him.

''That way, when he comes back (home) he can really recharge because there you don't have the media or anything.

''If you are constantly fighting with the media, it takes away energy. And that's why he took it (that pressure) away. He wanted to be 100 per cent for the racing.'' That desire for privacy is unlikely to change.

''(Racing) will still be a big part of his personality, he's done it for all his life, so he will not cut this off,'' said Kehm.

''I think he will still try to do stuff like go-karting or racing but in a different environment, without media and just for fun,'' she added.

''I think what he's now looking for is getting away from the pressure and the obligations and the success in a way and trying to enjoy it even more.

''From my knowledge and from my understanding of him, I'd say we won't see much of him next year.'' REUTERS AB RAI0134