Roberto Hongo, a Brazilian former attacking midfielder of Japanese heritage, rose from a poverty-stricken childhood shadowed by his mother’s tragic factory death to wear the iconic number 10 for Brazil’s national team. A head injury during a match resulted in a detached retina, abruptly ending his playing career and plunging him into despair. Rescued from a suicide attempt by Kodai Ozora—father of future protégé Tsubasa Ozora—Roberto relocated to Japan, where he redirected his passion into mentoring the young prodigy. Recognizing Tsubasa’s raw talent, he reshaped the boy’s trajectory, shifting him from forward to midfielder while instilling his coaching mantra: “the ball is my friend,” blending technical precision with emotional devotion to the game. Returning to Brazil, Roberto later summoned Tsubasa for advanced training, introducing techniques like the Skywing Shot, mastered by both Tsubasa and Brazilian student Carlos Santana. As Brazil Youth’s coach, he orchestrated a tactical gambit during the World Youth Championship, concealing star player Natureza until the final against Japan. Though Japan’s collective spirit overcame his strategy, Roberto embraced the defeat as proof of Tsubasa’s evolution beyond his tutelage. His influence extended to guiding Tsubasa’s transfer to FC Barcelona, anticipating growth alongside midfielder Rivaul, and attending his pupil’s El Clásico debut—a bittersweet mirror of his own unrealized dreams. Roberto later contributed as Brazil’s Olympic assistant coach in Madrid, underscoring his lasting imprint on global football. Inspired by real-life figures like Socrates and Edu, whose careers also succumbed to eye injuries, Roberto’s narrative weaves symbolic threads: a depression-grown beard later trimmed to permanent stubble, and a birthday aligning with Brazil’s Independence Day. Spin-offs expand his legacy through roles coaching São Paulo and Japan’s national team, while his annotated training manual and innovations, such as the “secret number 10” tactic with Natureza, cement his dual impact as both grassroots mentor and international strategist.