'I'd gone from sleeping in a room with 40 kids to sharing with just one team-mate, with a television and meals whenever I wanted. I knew I couldn't waste the chance' World Cup winner Denilson recalls humble beginnings

""Playing at Sao Paulo made me value my achievements even more, but the values I learned at home stayed with me everywhere," he tells FourFourTwo. "I was lucky that God gave me that gift and that the right people believed in me at the right time. One of those was the first-team boss, Tele Santana. He first watched me filling in during a reserve-team training session and liked what he had seen."

""I remember my legs shaking at the start when I first joined in with the senior players for training. But once the ball rolled, I forgot my nerves and just played with joy. Was I nervous? Of course! But as the session went on, it melted away. I did what I always did: played football with a smile. Luckily, Tele and his assistant Muricy Ramalh"

Denilson played in the 1998 World Cup final and featured in every game of that tournament as Brazil lost 3-0 to France. He completed a 21.5 million transfer to Real Betis shortly after the 1998 final. Denilson was part of Brazil's 2002 World Cup-winning squad, appearing in the closing minutes of the 2-0 victory over Germany. He came from a modest background and credits family values and key mentors, notably Tele Santana and Muricy Ramalh, for his development. He recalled early nerves when training with senior players but said playing with joy and a smile steadied him.

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