Douglas Luiz still remembers the day he didn't get to training on time, the day when his father's car was needed for something more urgent.

‘I was about to go training with my Brazilian club Vasco de Gama but someone in the favela had been shot in the head,' Luiz tells Mail Sport in a very matter of fact way.

‘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?'



Luiz, the Aston Villa midfielder, knows the meaning of that last statement well. The 25-year-old was born and raised in a two-room house in Rio de Janeiro's Nova Holanda favela in the north of the city.

It is part of a favela complex that is home to 130,000 people. The life he lives now, a life of comfort and security in the Premier League, is very different but that does not mean he has forgotten.




Douglas Luiz is starring for Aston Villa in their pursuit of Champions League qualification





Luiz spoke to Mail Sport about his journey from the favelas to the top of the Premier League





The life Luiz lives now is very different, but that does not mean he has forgotten his roots





Luiz is in a relationship with superstar partner Alisha Lehmann, but they have a normal life

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‘I have many friends from the favela and many of them are going the bad way,' Luiz explains. ‘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.'

Luiz is one of many Brazilian footballers supporting the work of Sao Paulo entrepreneur Edu Lyra as he looks to improve the conditions of the millions of Brazilian still living in slum conditions in the favelas.

The number of favelas in Brazil doubled between 2010 and 2019 and they are currently thought to be home to more than 14million people. Edu Lyra's Gerando Falcoes (Raising Falcons) initiative doesn't aim to rid Brazil of the favelas but instead help to lift their inhabitants out of poverty by teaching them life skills and working with local activists and support groups.

On Monday, Luiz and other Brazilian footballers such as Willian and his Fulham team-mate Andreas Pereira will attend a fund-raising dinner at London's Savoy Hotel.

‘It's so special to help with this,' adds Luiz. ‘What the Falcons do is amazing. They give people in the favela an opportunity.

‘I didn't hate my life there. It's where I learned football. When I was a professional at Vasco I still loved that pitch so much that I played for my brother's team. I made him champion! I would finish my training and run to the favela to play for his team. My family still own that house there. We rent it out now.

‘My first pay cheque in Europe, I gave it to my mum and told her to buy herself an apartment and enjoy her life. Because she gave everything to me. But that doesn't mean we forget where we came from. No, we never forget.'




Alongside fellow Brazilian footballers such as Willian and his Fulham team-mate Andreas Pereira, Luiz is supporting the work of Sao Paulo entrepreneur Edu Lyra as he looks to improve the conditions of the millions of Brazilian still living in slum conditions in the favelas





Luiz heaped praise on Villa boss Unai Emery for completely transforming the club's fortunes



 







This week at Aston Villa's training ground, manager Unai Emery gathered his players together and reminded them of something he had told them at the start of the season.

‘At the start the coach said he wanted to be in Europe but he told us the truth about the big teams at the top and how powerful they are,' Luiz said.

‘He said he wanted to fight with one team in particular and that team was Tottenham. He actually reminded us of it this morning. He said: "I told you it would be Tottenham didn't I?" He's smart. He knows our level.'

Villa's levels are perhaps higher than anybody would have expected when Emery replaced Steven Gerrard in October 2022.

They have been on an upward trajectory ever since and ahead of today's game at Arsenal, Villa are in fourth place. Tottenham fell behind them on goal difference after yesterday's 4-0 defeat at Newcastle, though after today the London club will have a game in hand in the fight for the final Champions League position.

Luiz, an elegant and busy central midfield player, has been at the heart of Villa's resurgence. He was the club's Player of the Year last season and similarly influential this time round.

‘He has changed everything,' Luiz says of Emery. ‘Before him we played long ball, more straight. Now he has come and he tells us to stay on the ball and take time. If the opposition don't press, don't pass. If they press then, reformas zaragoza OK, pass to one side or the other.

‘But he tells us to enjoy having the ball. Before it was hard. I am not about physicality very much. I like to stay on the ball and now I can do that. When he came here he wanted to work out our best positions straight away. I have always played at six — a more defensive player — but he came and straight away said: "Douglas, you are not a six. With me you are an eight. You are a good player. You can do box to box. Go and attack".

‘I walked out of that meeting with a big smile.'

Luiz has worked with good coaches before. Pep Guardiola was one. Luiz's first experience of English football was actually as an 18-year-old, signed from Vasco by Manchester City but ultimately unable to play because of work permit problems.




Luiz spoke to Mail Sport in his living room alongside his two brothers, Daniel and Devison





Luiz insisted a pre-season spent with Pep Guardiola's Man City was the best time of his career





He signed for City as an 18-year-old from Vasco de Gama, but was beset by work permit issues

He spent two seasons in Spain with Girona — one of City's feeder clubs — before Villa signed him in 2019.

‘I did a pre-season with City and that was amazing as I learned so much,' Luiz smiles. ‘It's crazy but it was the best three months I had in my football life. Pep pushed me so much. He said: "Douglas, on the pitch you are only seeing the first five metres. I want you to see 30 metres."

‘He was talking about my vision. I felt like a different player. The second year after Girona, City wanted me with them but the paperwork was a problem.

‘It was a bad moment as I wanted to play but couldn't. But it made me more strong. I had two years at Girona and it helped me mentally. I never cried about the situation. It was okay. And in the end it brought me here to Villa and I am very happy.'

Suspended for today's game in north London, Luiz will pray for a result similar to the one Villa managed at the start of December. Back then, Emery's entertaining, progressive side announced their intentions to the Premier League by beating City and then Arsenal at home in the same week. City, in their game, managed just two shots.