Protected and advised by Cristiano Ronaldo personally, the 12-year-old boy who was once mocked by the crowd is now a national football champion at the high school level.
Before becoming the world’s top football superstar as today, Cristiano Ronaldo had to go through intense childhood years. He knows that he can change his fate if he works tirelessly, and also wants to spread this positive belief to everyone.
In 2014, Cristiano Ronaldo participated in a promotional event in Tokyo (Japan). At the exchange part, a 12-year-old boy named Ryota Iwaoka was invited up to interact with the idol. Ryota is one of three lucky winners of this prize.
Seeing the person he admired for the first time for the first time, Ryota was extremely nervous. The boy surprised the audience by babbling in Portuguese – Ronaldo’s native language: “Good afternoon, my name is Ryota”.
Because he could not hear clearly, Cristiano Ronaldo asked again, causing Ryota to become confused. The presenter had to translate, and the audience below began to laugh.
Before this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Ryota asked the Brazilian-Japanese coach to translate some of the questions on paper into Portuguese.
“You are my favorite player. My dream is to play with you one day. So how can I become a professional player?”, the boy asked.
Despite his best efforts, Ryota couldn’t help but stutter. At this point, laughter began to resound in the crowd.
This reaction angered Cristiano Ronaldo. He quickly looked down at the auditorium, seriously asked: “Why are you smiling? The boy speaks Portuguese very well. You should be happy that he did his best?”.
After defending Ryota, Cristiano Ronaldo returned to answer the boy’s question about his dream of becoming a football player. Those are valuable tips that this 12-year-old boy will never forget in his life.
“Believe in yourself. Just work hard and don’t miss the opportunity when it comes,” the 36-year-old superstar advised.
Thanks to the encouragement of his idol, Ryota became a talented midfielder in middle school. However, he also encountered obstacles when some schools refused to accept him to play for their team.
Eventually, Ryota was accepted into Yamanashi Academy – a university located in Kofu City, Yamanashi Prefecture . He played for Team B before being promoted to Team A in his sophomore year of college.
In 2020, Yamanashi Academy Club qualified for the national championship at the school level, bringing Ryota closer to his dream of playing professionally. However, after an unfortunate collision with the opponent, the young man was injured and had to sit off the bench, watching his teammates play the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.
After defeating the highly regarded Aomori Yamada team in the final, Yamanashi Academy Club won the championship to the joy of the players. Nearly 7 years after Ronaldo, the skinny boy who was disparaged by everyone is now a football champion.
In Japan, school-level tournaments are just as important as junior tournaments in many other countries. This is the incubator for football talents in the land of the rising sun. According to the media, if he continues to practice hard, Ryota can completely play professionally, even playing football in Europe with his idol as he always wanted.
After the final, Ryota said he has never forgotten the moment of his life 7 years ago. “Ronaldo’s advice is always on my mind,” the young man affirmed in the video sent to the idol.
In addition, Ryota also thanked those who have stood by him over the years. Despite facing a lot of trauma and pain, he was able to overcome it all thanks to everyone’s support.
