Firmino's childhood home (on the right, painted white) is now a hotdog store. The Estadio Rei Pele can be seen in the distance With giant palm trees stooping towards turquoise water, high-rise hotels glimmering in the sun, and opulent beachside restaurants selling lobster and expensive liqueurs, it's easy to see why Maceio, the capital of Alagoas state, is known as Brazil's Caribbean. Yet like most cities in the country's underdeveloped north east, this picture postcard scene tells only part of the story, the superficial face of a metropolis reliant on tourism. Venture a few blocks inland and a different Maceio gradually comes into view; the place regularly listed among Brazil's most violent. It is here, among the carpets of litter, filthy waterways and shanty housing, that a timid young boy with an ever-present smile started his journey from the streets to the Selecao, from Alagoas to Anfield. Roberto Firmino Barbosa de Oliveira was born on 2 Octob...
