Portuguese professional football (soccer) player, Cristiano Ronaldo, is rather known for his aggressiveness. I suppose you have to be tough to play for Real Madrid and to be captain of the Portugal national team.
However, this aggressiveness seems to fade away when it comes to children. A father himself, it is said Ronaldo has a soft spot for children. So when a crowd began laughing at a young Japanese boy, Ronaldo was quick to shut it down.
Last year, Ronaldo was in Japan endorsing a Japanese fitness device. During a press event, a young Japanese boy came onto the stage with a sheet of paper and began asking Ronaldo questions in the soccer player’s native tongue, Portuguese.
It’s easy to see that Portuguese is not the boy’s first language and as he slowly gets the words out, the crowd erupts into laughter. Unable to ignore the audience any longer, Ronaldo turns away from the boy to speak to his translator.
“Why they smile? Why?” Ronaldo asked while pointing to the crowd. “He speaks good Portuguese. Very good. They should be happy because he tried very hard.”
Of course, the laughter immediately stops and is replaced with an applause for Rondaldo’s words. After all, who wouldn’t feel embarrassed to speak an unfamiliar language in front of a crowd of people only to get laughed at? If only I had a Cristiano Ronaldo by my side to defend me during French class.
Feature image courtesy of nehandaradio.com
