I used to play in front of my house in Saint-Dié [in northeast France]. We’d play in the streets and had to stop the match to let cars pass by. When I turned five, I was lucky enough to go to Senegal with my mum and I saw some children playing. I told my mum: “I don't have any boots to play football. It's going to hurt when I kick the ball.” She told me: “They're playing on sand and aren’t wearing any shoes. Why don't you do the same?” So, I took off my flip-flops and joined them. Usually, you don't remember things from when you were five or six, but I have a lasting memory of this. After that, I’d always play barefoot in the sand with them. The sand under my feet, my feet hurting a little when I'd kick the ball… I can still feel that. I’ll never forget it. It shows who I am today.
I used to play in front of my house in Saint-Dié [in northeast France]. We’d play in the streets and had to stop the match to let cars pass by. When I turned five, I was lucky enough to go to Senegal with my mum and I saw some children playing. I told my mum: “I don't have any boots to play football. It's going to hurt when I kick the ball.” She told me: “They're playing on sand and aren’t wearing any shoes. Why don't you do the same?” So, I took off my flip-flops and joined them. Usually, you don't remember things from when you were five or six, but I have a lasting memory of this. After that, I’d always play barefoot in the sand with them. The sand under my feet, my feet hurting a little when I'd kick the ball… I can still feel that. I’ll never forget it. It shows who I am today.
We’d draw a goal on the wall out of mud in the winter, as the goals were chained up at that time of year. Sometimes we had high snow, which we’d clear for an hour or two before we could play. It was awesome. [My twin brother Sven] and I had friends who’d spend every day with us out on that pitch. We weren’t aware back then that it was like a permanent training drill, but I think it helped us to get here. It’s nice to play in front of 50,000, 60,000 or 70,000 spectators of course, but just going to the next town where there’s only one floodlight, and not 20 shining on you... everything was simpler. I sometimes miss that. That was real football. You didn’t play it to become big, you just wanted to kick the ball. You played for fun and didn’t think about what might happen in the future.
In Brazil, it’s very common for kids to play on the street barefoot. They get whatever ball they can find and use their imagination to create a game. Sometimes it’s two against two, sometimes three against three. One against one as well. We played in the street, or on a little pitch near my house, after school or at the weekend. They were good times. It was one street versus another, every player doing a bit of everything. Sometimes I’d start in goal because I was the youngest. Then I played in the back line. We would rotate so that everyone could play about a bit with all the positions while having fun. That was quite common when I was young in Londrina, Paraná. That helped me a lot when I came to train to be a professional footballer.
I used to play in front of my house in Saint-Dié [in northeast France]. We’d play in the streets and had to stop the match to let cars pass by. When I turned five, I was lucky enough to go to Senegal with my mum and I saw some children playing. I told my mum: “I don't have any boots to play football. It's going to hurt when I kick the ball.” She told me: “They're playing on sand and aren’t wearing any shoes. Why don't you do the same?” So, I took off my flip-flops and joined them. Usually, you don't remember things from when you were five or six, but I have a lasting memory of this. After that, I’d always play barefoot in the sand with them. The sand under my feet, my feet hurting a little when I'd kick the ball… I can still feel that. I’ll never forget it. It shows who I am today.
I used to play in front of my house in Saint-Dié [in northeast France]. We’d play in the streets and had to stop the match to let cars pass by. When I turned five, I was lucky enough to go to Senegal with my mum and I saw some children playing. I told my mum: “I don't have any boots to play football. It's going to hurt when I kick the ball.” She told me: “They're playing on sand and aren’t wearing any shoes. Why don't you do the same?” So, I took off my flip-flops and joined them. Usually, you don't remember things from when you were five or six, but I have a lasting memory of this. After that, I’d always play barefoot in the sand with them. The sand under my feet, my feet hurting a little when I'd kick the ball… I can still feel that. I’ll never forget it. It shows who I am today.
I used to play in front of my house in Saint-Dié [in northeast France]. We’d play in the streets and had to stop the match to let cars pass by. When I turned five, I was lucky enough to go to Senegal with my mum and I saw some children playing. I told my mum: “I don't have any boots to play football. It's going to hurt when I kick the ball.” She told me: “They're playing on sand and aren’t wearing any shoes. Why don't you do the same?” So, I took off my flip-flops and joined them. Usually, you don't remember things from when you were five or six, but I have a lasting memory of this. After that, I’d always play barefoot in the sand with them. The sand under my feet, my feet hurting a little when I'd kick the ball… I can still feel that. I’ll never forget it. It shows who I am today.
We’d draw a goal on the wall out of mud in the winter, as the goals were chained up at that time of year. Sometimes we had high snow, which we’d clear for an hour or two before we could play. It was awesome. [My twin brother Sven] and I had friends who’d spend every day with us out on that pitch. We weren’t aware back then that it was like a permanent training drill, but I think it helped us to get here. It’s nice to play in front of 50,000, 60,000 or 70,000 spectators of course, but just going to the next town where there’s only one floodlight, and not 20 shining on you... everything was simpler. I sometimes miss that. That was real football. You didn’t play it to become big, you just wanted to kick the ball. You played for fun and didn’t think about what might happen in the future.
In Brazil, it’s very common for kids to play on the street barefoot. They get whatever ball they can find and use their imagination to create a game. Sometimes it’s two against two, sometimes three against three. One against one as well. We played in the street, or on a little pitch near my house, after school or at the weekend. They were good times. It was one street versus another, every player doing a bit of everything. Sometimes I’d start in goal because I was the youngest. Then I played in the back line. We would rotate so that everyone could play about a bit with all the positions while having fun. That was quite common when I was young in Londrina, Paraná. That helped me a lot when I came to train to be a professional footballer.
I used to play in front of my house in Saint-Dié [in northeast France]. We’d play in the streets and had to stop the match to let cars pass by. When I turned five, I was lucky enough to go to Senegal with my mum and I saw some children playing. I told my mum: “I don't have any boots to play football. It's going to hurt when I kick the ball.” She told me: “They're playing on sand and aren’t wearing any shoes. Why don't you do the same?” So, I took off my flip-flops and joined them. Usually, you don't remember things from when you were five or six, but I have a lasting memory of this. After that, I’d always play barefoot in the sand with them. The sand under my feet, my feet hurting a little when I'd kick the ball… I can still feel that. I’ll never forget it. It shows who I am today.
