Dark Memories of Ronaldo’s Childhood That Still Haunts Him
A father’s praise or sternness can shake even the most remarkable people in the world.
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He shifted a bit in his seat as he saw the interviewer proceed to the next question. Interviews for celebrities are usually considered very risky to their reputations. If you’re an actor, a model, or a pop star, chances are that you have already dealt with an adequate amount of social anxiety to feel any of it when you are giving an interview.
But if you’re a famous footballer with a huge fan following, you’re not accustomed to that type of social anxiety. Despite all the success that you gain on the football field, your social skills are still at risk as you are presented at the mercy of the interviewer in an interview broadcasted on live television.
Such was the case for the football virtuoso, Cristiano Ronaldo, as he sat in a room with Piers Morgan, an English TV broadcaster. This interview was probably Ronaldo’s first appearance on live television in the year 2019 and Piers seemed excited to have a rather one-on-one talk with Ronaldo instead of an interrogative interview.
Ronaldo however didn’t seem aware of this. Since as a popular person, well known for his adroit football playing skills, Ronaldo did not even consider that he would be going home from this interview with a lot of emotion filled up in his heart…
The Clip That Was Bound To Weigh Down A Heart
So, Piers Morgan proceeded to his next question. “We found something, which I don’t think you would have seen. It was an interview on Norwegian television, where they just turned up at his house, a house I think that you’d bought in 2004, the year before he died, and just before the big Euro final and they just talked to him on the doorstep and said: “if you don’t mind, I’d like to just play you the clip because I think you’ll find it very interesting.”
The ‘he’ that Piers refers to here, is Ronaldo’s father, José Dinis Aveiro. In the clip, José is asked about his son and how he feels about the upcoming match that Ronaldo would be playing in.
The father replied with a sense of pride in his voice, stating that he is very proud to see his son in this situation. It becomes quite sensational to see Cristiano Ronaldo on screen with tears in his eyes as he watches his father in a video clip talk about him. However, the thing that may have brought Ronaldo to a stage of pure sadness was when José said:
“I could go to Lisbon to see the final, but my nerves are too much. I get too anxious; I can’t do it. It’s better to see the game on TV.”
The person with the power to make Ronaldo’s entire success seem worthless
Other than what is usually displayed on digital media, Ronaldo had quite a wholesome relationship with his father at heart. A gardener by profession, Jose Dinis Aveiro was a hardworking man.
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Despite being underprivileged, it can be observed that Ronaldo looked up to his father. Dinis Aveiro who also served in the Portuguese war became an alcoholic after returning from the battlefield.
It was truly a turning point for their entire family as Ronaldo states that he never really had a ‘normal’ conversation with his father let alone being appreciated for his success and efforts.
Unraveling Fathers-Children Relation
While fathers are considered superheroes and geniuses by their children, they’re often just normal people trying to provide the best for their kids.
Most of them are children themselves who have looked up to their fathers as fighters. When people are young, they do tend to rely on older people. Consequently, the father becomes the strongest person on Earth for them.
1- A superhero
This exaggeration is nevertheless understandable. Who would reach for the cookie jar on the top shelf for them? Their father. Who would fight the bullies at school for them? Their father. Who would teach them how to be strong and brave? Their father. While all these aspects are not always taught by fathers, a father’s persona is considered as a strengthened man who has everything maintained in place.
2- A human
When the child grows up and starts to come of age, he begins to see the flaws in his father. Things that he may not have seen before, such as anger issues, lacking competition and tolerance, and irrelevant criticism.
All these things make the child question his father’s integrity and he slowly starts to get away. The person that he once considered to be the most powerful being in the world, who would scoop him up from a problem and who would solve all his miseries, is now a weak being and seems very…. human.
In Ronaldo’s own words he actually never knew what his father was like since he was mostly under the influence. Due to this Cristiano hardly had any normal conversations with him!
This stage is undeniably the worst stage for a father and his child. There are moments of happiness followed by events that exhibit criticism by the father towards the child in his experiments with the aspects of life.
The child starts feeling demotivated and unloved only because the person that he thought would appreciate him the most is not doing so. In actuality, the father is more concerned about his child’s well-being rather than his happiness. So, he tries his best to critique the child at almost every point in life where matters are concerned with money, relationships, career, love, etc., no matter how harsh he gets.
The typical fatherly figure
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Everybody knows about the typical relationship where the father turns from a kind superhero to a disparager who can’t seem to find anything worthy of appreciation in his child’s life.
However, have we ever gotten to the end of the story where it is discovered that once the father notices a slight bit of potential in his child, he takes it upon himself to crack open the child and get out the most of his potential so that the rest of the world is simply amazed?
Once the child starts succeeding enormously in his life, the father feels at peace in his heart, but unfortunately, not many fathers get the chance to tell their children that they are very proud of them.
In Ronaldo’s case, his father passed away in 2005 because of liver failure when he was just 20. This means his dad did not get the chance to see his son as the WORLD STAR FOOTBALLER. Cristiano had a very rough patch of childhood memories, where situations got tougher when they had nothing to eat as well.
Albeit, with his persistent efforts and dedication Ronaldo managed to overcome the haunting situations of his childhood.
How Cristiano wished he had known this before!
Getting to know that the superhero teacher that taught you about gardening, patience, skill, and a huge amount of world knowledge, is proud of you and feels intimidated to watch you on the field is an extraordinary feeling.
All the success that you might have gained through all these years, and all the money that you might have earned would seem worthless in front of this relatively small praise.
Ronaldo sat back in his seat after watching the entire clip with tears in his eyes. As Piers tried to mutter a few words to know how Ronaldo was feeling, he was stopped by the celebrated footballer sniffling and wiping off his tears as he said in a shaky voice:
“I never saw the video.”
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