ความคิดเห็นที่ 45
 
As a child I heard gunshots
DENILSON PEREIRA NEVES is living the dream denied to his father and which his mother never saw him fulfil.
The boy from the infamous favellas of Sao Paulo vividly recalls the days of hiding from the raging gun battles which claimed the lives of many of his childhood friends.
No wonder then that Arsenals young Brazilian is so motivated by the opportunity to save his family from the grim realities of poverty, crime and death.
The softly-spoken midfielder might be known in England simply as Denilson.
But he is fiercely proud of his family name and of his success against all the odds.
Revealing his extraordinary story for the first time, Denilson, 20, said: I will never forget where I have come from and I have a dream to help all the people back home.
My father, Jose, was a professional footballer for Botafogo. Like me, he was a midfielder. But he had to give it up at 25 to look after my mother, my brothers and me.
He played in the Paraiba district in the north east of Brazil and was known as Pereira.
But at that time all the big clubs and all the money were based in the south of the country and without TV or the internet it was difficult for a player up there to make his name.
He moved to Sao Paulo and was invited to train with Santos and with Portuguesa.
But he had just got married and my mother, Luciene, was pregnant with my oldest brother. So he needed to stop playing and get a job. He had to give up football to be with my mother, not to leave her by herself.
And for the next 15 years he worked as a security guard.
It was my father who taught me the game and so many other things.
Now I am living his dream for him. And my mums dream.
Before she passed away she kept telling me, Youre going to be a professional, youre going to play for Sao Paulo and bring a lot of happiness to me and your dad.
But, in 1999, she died of a heart condition I was 10 years old at the time.
My father was left alone to bring up four boys. My youngest brother was just three.
It was a very difficult time for him. Everyone thought a father was not able to bring up children by himself.
But my father was different. He brought us up really well, worked so hard and did a really good job to look after us.
Now I am playing for Arsenal and my younger brothers are signed to Sao Paulo and to Portuguesa.
Denilson added: My father is very, very happy and very, very proud. And what he is most proud of is the education he has given to us in such difficult circumstances.
We are a very humble family. We used to live in the favellas in Sao Paulo and there were many times when it was too dangerous for me and my brothers to leave our house.
We were surrounded by crime and violence. We could hear the gun battles in the streets and the sound of people dying.
Most of my childhood friends were killed at 17 or 18.
They were involved in drug trafficking. My family kept us away from that but it was the way life was in the favellas. These are the people I want to help.
For most of the street kids in Brazil, the only hope of escape lies in football.
Denilson was fortunate and talented enough to seize that opportunity.
Signed by Sao Paulo at the age of 14, he captained Brazil from Under-15 to Under-19 level but really came to prominence at the 2005 World Under-17 Championships in Peru.
He joked: When you are captain of Brazil you are not exactly a secret!
There were a number of interested teams but Arsenal were one of the first to approach me and I decided to sign for them.
The main reason was because of the manager, Mr Wenger, because of his policy to work with young players, develop them and turn them into really good professionals.
"It was not easy for me at first. I came to England at 18 and really struggled to settle in. I was living alone, knew no one, could not speak the language and the weather was so cold.
Everything was so different to back home in Brazil. I owed so much to Gilberto Silva. He was amazing.
Even though he is older than me, he was always there for me with good advice and friendship.
Search the internet and it is not difficult to find footage of a sheepish Denilson singing and dancing as Gilberto and fellow Brazilian Julio Baptista play the banjo.
Denilson, who has started 13 games in Europe and the Premier League this season, added: All the other players think its very funny.
They all say to me, Ive seen you dancing.
I was sad to see Gilberto leave Arsenal at the start of the season because he is such a good friend.
But, at the same time, I was also excited because I knew that with Gilberto, Mathieu Flamini and Alex Hleb all going it was a great opportunity for me.
I wasnt anxious about stepping into the team. It was everything I had come to Arsenal for.
It was the consequence of all the hard work Ive done.
The manager has always believed in the potential, the professionalism and the ability of his young players.
Grateful
Now he is showing his faith in us and I am very grateful to him for that.
Some people might think we are too young and too inexperienced but we are a very strong team with many great qualities.
Arsenal have many similarities with the football in Brazil.
We work a lot with the ball, our technique and control have to be very precise.
Some teams in England put more emphasis on strength and power but it would be difficult for me to play for a team who are only interested in kicking the ball a long way.
Last season, we started really well, won all our games and everyone on the TV and in the newspapers thought Arsenal would be champions.
But then things changed and our game fell away.
I dont know why that happened but I think we have improved a lot this time.
I am happy with my form but part of my personality is to always want to get better. I know I still have to learn and things to work on.
Everyone at Arsenal is the same. We are a very professional team with everyone working hard to improve.
And this time I believe we are good enough to win the league. I think our team will be champions.
No one would enjoy that triumph against all the odds more than Denilson. Apart, maybe, from his father.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/article1853539.ece
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YesterdayOnceMore   
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25 ต.ค. 51 18:23:04
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