Vini Jr. is a model for students at the school where he studied in São Gonçalo A few days before the opening of the 2010 World Cup, a teacher from Escola Municipal Paulo Reglus Neves Freire, in São Gonçalo, administered a Portuguese language test to an elementary school class. The material contained a text by Clarice Lispector entitled "How the stars were born". Among the students who answered the questions was Vinícius José Paixão de Oliveira Júnior, now known worldwide as Vini Jr., the Brazilian team's main hope in the search for a sixth title in the World Cup that starts on June 11th. The assessment, carried out on June 1st of that year, remains kept to this day by teacher Glória Melo, who worked at the Paulo Reglus Neves Freire Municipal School, in São Gonçalo, in the Metropolitan Region of Rio. Professor Glória Melo with a test taken by Vini Jr. when he was a student Cristina Boeckel/g1 Years later, with the former student already established in international football, she began to see a special meaning in the title of the text used in the test. "One thing that always caught my attention was, firstly, the beauty of the text. I still have the proof, all signed by him. I even commented to his father: 'It's there — how the stars were born. Today, the star is your son'", said the teacher. Shy and respectful Vini Jr.'s record at Escola Municipal Paulo Reglus Neves Freire, in São Gonçalo, in the Metropolitan Region of Rio Cristina Boeckel/ g1 Vini Jr.'s record at the Paulo Reglus Neves Freire Municipal School, in São Gonçalo Cristina Boeckel/g1 Glória remembers that Vinícius was a shy and respectful child. Although she was not his teacher directly, she occupied a room next door and maintained frequent contact with the class. According to her, the future striker never attracted attention due to disciplinary problems. "Vinícius was never that student who needed attention because of conflicts. Vinícius was never like that", he recalled. g1 had access to an evaluation of Vini Jr. Cristina Boeckel/g1 The document also helps to tell a little about the player's educational trajectory. At that moment, the student's performance was considered 'regular' in the text interpretation activity – an excerpt from a work by Clarice Lispector based on Brazilian legends. Other assessments to which g1 had access show that shyness influenced some criteria observed by the school, such as participation and attention in the classroom. Despite this, Vinícius was well connected with colleagues and teachers and excelled in group work. 📱Download the g1 app to see news from RJ in real time and for free Today, the player's old school experiences a special atmosphere during the World Cup. Vini Jr.'s image is spread throughout the corridors, and a mural created by students places him at the center of a tribute that celebrates his trajectory from his time as a student at the municipal school to becoming a star on the Brazilian national team. “As he left our community and studied at our school, we set up this panel, which was a source of great joy. We're not finished yet, because there are a lot of students. We put Vini Jr. in the center and the students around it. They mirror, in a certain way, his life and story”, said Cristina Brito Botelho, school manager. Today transformed into a kind of “training center” for tutoring classes, Vinícius’s old room is visited by students twice a week. The space continues to overlook the court where the young man, still a student, cultivated his dream of becoming a football player. Room where Vini Jr. studied in São Gonçalo had a view of the sports court Cristina Boeckel/ g1 “We are very excited to see our boy play. It's something that's very emotional. Studying at the same school as him, sitting in the chair he sat in, talking to teachers who taught him, writing where he already wrote... this is very meaningful for us”, said student Bruna Matos, in the 8th year of elementary school. The municipal school is on the same street as the Flamengo school, which was the starting point of Vinícius Jr.'s successful career. Pride in a city in need of improvements Panel with all the phases of Vini Jr. in the center of São Gonçalo, in the Metropolitan Region of Rio Cristina Boeckel/ g1 In the center of São Gonçalo, a mural with the player at different stages occupies an entire wall, including an image of him as a child, growing up in the city. Vini Jr.'s success is a source of pride and hope for the city's population, which needs many improvements. According to a survey by the Imazon Institute, São Gonçalo is the fourth worst municipality in the country in the social progress index among cities with more than 500 thousand inhabitants. According to Instituto Trata Brasil, the municipality is also among the worst in the country in terms of sanitation rates. "The whole of Brazil is rooting for him. We, the people of Gonçalo, are here rooting for Vinícius, as is the whole country. May he bring the hexa to us", concluded teacher Glória. 🟩g1 Rio is on GloboPop, Globo's new vertical short video app, available for free on your cell phone. On the app, you can follow the g1 Rio stage so you don't miss any episode. Download GloboPop. Facade of the Paulo Reglus Neves Freire Municipal School, one of the schools where Vini Jr. studied in São Gonçalo Cristina Boeckel/ g1