Douglas Luiz still recalls the day he was late for training because his father's car was needed for something more important than football.
Luiz told Daily Mail: "I was about to go training with my Brazilian club Vasco de Gama but someone in the favela had been shot in the head."
"They brought him to my father’s car. It was 8am. I had to get out of the car as my dad had to take him to the hospital. At least he survived. Some things are more important than football eh?"
Aston Villa player understands that statement deeply as he grew up in a small house in Rio de Janeiro's Nova Holanda favela, part of a community with 130,000 residents. Though his life in the Premier League now offers comfort and security, he hasn't forgotten his roots.
"I have many friends from the favela and many of them are going the bad way. I am not happy about that but it’s so difficult. People just don’t have opportunities. You need to eat. Feed your family. You may have a baby. You have to do something."
"But everything is harder for us. If we go for a job in, say, a supermarket but we come from a favela, we don’t get the job. It’s so wrong but it’s true."
"I have seen everything in my life. I have seen people stabbed in front of me. I have seen people shot. Many bad things. But the good thing is that those communities are strong. If you don’t have food, the community will help. That’s a good part of it."
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