Chapter 0: "This Is Where It All Began"
Football wasn't much more than a game at first, just something a little boy kicked around in the dirt behind his house, sending it left and right under the watchful eyes of his father, sitting in an old wooden chair, sipping his coffee in the quiet of the morning.
The father's voice broke the silence:
– Use your right foot, Tiago... always the right.
The little boy looked up at his father, smiled, and kicked the ball again as instructed. He didn't know that this simple moment would become the last memory shared between them.
The next day, the silence fell over the yard. The chair remained in its place, but the man was gone.
The days passed, and Tiago learned that silence, when it settles in the heart of a child, is not easily shaken.
The ball was no longer just a game. It became a refuge, a breath, and a message he sent with every touch and kick to the one who had left. And with every sprint after it, he felt as though he were chasing a shadow, one that only he could see.
Now, at nineteen years old, Tiago stands at the top of the English Premier League's goal-scoring chart for the second consecutive year, wearing the Aston Villa jersey. His name is on the lips of analysts, and the interest of top clubs grows with every match.
A call-up arrives from the Spanish national team. A natural option for someone with roots there, isn't it?
But he doesn't hesitate to delay his response. He's waiting for another invitation, one from the nation he's called home, the one that raised him despite everything.
When it finally arrives, he reads it silently, then folds the letter with care and places it next to an old picture of his father.
The dream that began in a small yard is now ready to be realized.