The Boy from Madeira

In the narrow, cobblestone streets of Funchal, Madeira, a young boy raced a soccer ball past imaginary defenders, his feet a blur. Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was only seven, but even then, the fire in his eyes burned brighter than the Atlantic sun. His father, José, a kit man at a local club, often joked that Cristiano was born with cleats on. But life wasn’t easy. The family’s tiny apartment leaked when it rained, and dinners were often just rice and beans. Yet, when Cristiano played, hunger faded. The ball was his escape. At 14, he was expelled from school for hurling a chair at a teacher who mocked his working-class accent. Humiliated, he ran home in tears. His mother, Dona Dolores, wiped his face and said, *“They’ll remember your name one day, *menino*. But not for this. For your heart.