In December 2004, several Asian countries were hit by gigantic tsunami waves, bringing about severe levels of destruction, let alone the countless amount of lives that were lost through it.
But Sky News journalist Ian Dovaston, who was sent to the region to document the entire catastrophy, came across a seven year-old Indonesian kid walking around the beaches of Banda Aceh, approximately 19 days after the incident.
Later on, they discovered that most of his family members did not survive the tsunami, with the exception of his father, with whom he was eventually reunited at the hospital. Martunis, as he was fondly known, became popular across the globe, as he was discovered wearing a Portugal national team jersey, with Rui Costa’s name at the back of his shirt.
While the tsunami was an icon of destruction, Martunis’ survival brought smiles across the globe and he was eventually brought over to meet the Portugal national team players and even snapped a historic photo with them. The Portuguese Football Association also provided funds for his house to be rebuilt in Aceh, though his story doesn’t end there.
Cristiano Ronaldo himself has visited Martunis on several occassions with the first one happening in 2008. Martunis was in primary school at that point, though he harboured aspirations of playing football professionally at some point.
“My favourite hobby is playing football,” Martunis told Sky Sports back in 2008. “I don’t like other sports. It’s fun. My grandfather was a footballer. I want to be a footballer when I grow up.”
His father, who was a fisherman in Aceh, insisted that education was the major priority, though later on in the interview, he eventually moved away from that strict notion and pointed out that it would be fantastic to see Martunis become a footballer in future.
Believe it or not, the dream is now a reality. Yesterday, Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon announced the signing of Martunis, who is now 17 years-old. The Indonesian will be linking up with their U-19 squad as he continues his aspiration of emulating Cristiano Ronaldo!
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