The Background of Gabriel Silver.
Born on February 12, 2010, in Curitiba, the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, Gabriel Silver entered the world with bright eyes and a spirit that seemed too restless to be contained.
His birth came on a rainy Sunday, with thunder echoing over the red rooftops of the city—a symbol his grandmother would later call a "blessing from the gods," as if the storm marked the arrival of someone who would one day shake the world in his own way.
Gabriel is the youngest of three siblings. His older brother, Lucas Silver, is now 20, and his sister, Camila, is 17.
Where Lucas is calm, quiet, and philosophical, Camila is fierce, ambitious, and focused on academics.
Gabriel, on the other hand, was always different—spirited, spontaneous, and utterly uninterested in anything that didn't involve a ball at his feet.
His father, Pedro Silver, was a native Brazilian, born and raised in Curitiba himself.
A mechanical engineer with a love for classic samba and long conversations, Pedro believed in education, hard work, and doing things the "right" way.
His mother, Julieta Silver, originally from Argentina, moved to Brazil when she was just three.
Though she carried her Argentine accent faintly in her Portuguese, she was more Brazilian than most.
A school teacher by profession and a mother at heart, Julieta had always envisioned a traditional path for her children: school, university, career.
For the most part, the Silver children fit this mold. Lucas went on to study architecture.
Camila, sharp and disciplined, was eyeing law school.
But then there was Gabriel—the dreamer with untied shoelaces, mud on his clothes, and stars in his eyes.
From his earliest school years, Gabriel showed signs of brilliance.
He had a sharp memory, understood complex ideas quickly, and could solve problems most kids his age struggled with.
His teachers at Red House International School often praised his intelligence.
"He's one of the brightest kids we've ever had," his third-grade teacher once told Julieta during a parent-teacher conference. "But he's never really here."
And that was the truth. Gabriel was physically in school, but mentally, he was on a football pitch in Rio, or at the Parc des Princes in Paris, watching Neymar sprint past defenders.
He carried a tablet to class, not to study, but to watch highlight reels, study dribbles, and replay goals in slow motion.
He mimicked Neymar's flair, from his flicks to his posture, even down to the swagger after scoring.
School didn't excite Gabriel. Football did.
On days when major matches were happening, Gabriel would skip class altogether.
He'd sneak out of the school gates or pretend to be sick. If there wasn't a match to watch, he would head to a nearby field to play instead.
He'd miss entire lessons just to kick around with local kids, often outclassing players three or four years older than him.
Despite his absences and distractions, Gabriel remained top of his class.
His intelligence was effortless—but his discipline was nonexistent. Homework was a foreign concept to him.
When his parents asked about it, his answers were always vague: "We didn't get any today," or "It's due next week."
They wanted to believe him, but they knew better.
Julieta often sat up at night, talking to Pedro in hushed tones.
"I just don't understand how someone so smart can care so little about school," she'd whisper.
Pedro, who had once played amateur football before giving it up to pursue engineering, would stare at the ceiling and sigh.
"Maybe because his heart is on the pitch, not in the classroom."
By the time Gabriel turned 10, the tension in the Silver household had grown.
His academic performance had begun to slip—not because he lacked ability, but because he had stopped trying altogether.
The school called home more frequently. His teachers were frustrated. So were his parents.
They tried everything—extra tutors, study routines, reward systems.
They bought him notebooks, storybooks, and science kits. Nothing worked. Even when they gave him a new tablet for studying, Gabriel loaded it with football games and YouTube highlights.
He saw school as a cage keeping him away from the field.
Eventually, Julieta broke down.
"He's not failing because he's dumb," she said, tears in her eyes. "He's failing because we're forcing him to be someone he's not."
Pedro, ever the rational one, had also reached his limit. After weeks of quiet deliberation, he made a decision that shocked even himself.
They would stop forcing Gabriel down the academic path.
Instead, they would help him chase the only thing that made his eyes light up: football.
That same year, the Silvers pulled Gabriel out of Red House International and enrolled him at the Curitiba Soccer Academy, one of the city's most respected training centers for youth players.
The day he got the news, Gabriel stood silent for a long time, almost unable to believe what he had heard.
"No more Red House?" he asked.
Pedro shook his head.
"And I can play? Every day?"
"Yes," Julieta replied softly. "But this is your chance. If you're going to do this, you have to take it seriously."
Gabriel nodded, tears welling up in his eyes for the first time in a long while. "I will."
Before his first day, he asked his father for a jersey. "Number 46," he said.
Pedro was puzzled. "Why not 10? You love Neymar."
"I do," Gabriel smiled, "but I like both 4 and 6. I can't choose, so I'll take them both."
Pedro chuckled and bought the jersey—deep green, with "G. Silver 46" printed in bold white letters on the back.
He also got Gabriel's shin guards, cleats, a soccer ball, and a kit bag.
That night, Gabriel slept with his jersey folded beside him, his boots tucked under the bed like sacred relics.
As the youngest in his academy team, Gabriel was nervous but determined.
He trained hard, listened to his coaches, and stayed late after sessions to work on his passing and shooting.
Fate, it seemed, was on his side.
During a friendly match, the team's first-choice attacking midfielder suffered a minor injury. The coach needed someone to step in quickly.
"Silver, you're in."
Gabriel was originally a defender—solid, aggressive, and intelligent.
But in that moment, he stepped into the midfield role like it was made for him.
He didn't just play—he dazzled. He scored once, assisted another, and controlled the tempo with confidence and flair.
From that day, the coach shifted him permanently to the attacking midfield position.
He became the team's first choice—not because of favoritism, but because he earned it.
At home, things changed too. For the first time in years, Gabriel opened up.
He spoke at the dinner table, shared stories from training, and laughed with his siblings.
The silence that had once wrapped itself around the Silver home had been replaced with warmth and excitement.
"I think we found our boy again," Julieta said one evening.
Pedro smiled. "No. He found himself."
At 11, Gabriel participated in an inter-school tournament hosted by the academy.
The stands were filled with scouts from regional clubs.
One of them was from Coritiba FC, a historic club based in the same city.
Gabriel played with the same fire he had always shown—but now, it was refined, mature, focused.
He scored two goals, created three assists, and dominated the midfield like a seasoned pro.
After the match, a man in a Coritiba polo shirt approached Pedro.
"Is that your son?" he asked.
Pedro nodded, heart pounding.
"We'd like him to join our academy."
Gabriel joined Coritiba's youth academy that same year.
It was a step up, more competitive and more demanding.
But he embraced it. He worked harder than ever—faster drills, stricter diet, deeper tactical understanding.
And in the 2023/2024 season, when he was just 13, Gabriel Silver was promoted to the senior team bench.
A few months later, he made his debut as a substitute.
His family watched from the stands, teary-eyed as their youngest child stepped onto the field wearing the green and white of Coritiba FC, with "G. Silver 46" on his back.
Now, at 15 years old, Gabriel Silver is no longer the boy who skipped school to watch Neymar.
He's the boy who still watches Neymar—but only to learn. He's grown into a disciplined athlete, without losing his love for the game .
He may not be the top student in math or literature, but he's a student of the game—studying, evolving, and becoming the player he was always meant to be.