Could she ever have anticipated that he would accomplish such extraordinary success? “I expected him to do something with football on a professional basis, but I never expected it to be on this level. As a little boy he was always busy with the ball, and you could see he was fascinated by it. By five he could already control the ball miraculously. You could see he had a passion and the older he was, the more passionate he became. I always supported him and his two sisters in what they wanted to do.