John Cancel was the mirror of the multiple states of mind experienced by a team, a club and a legion of fans on the afternoon of May 22, the moment of all decisions in the Premier League with all eyes on the Etihad Stadium where he received Manchester City Aston Villa one more victory away from the title.
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The Portuguese started motivated by the moment, he saw anxiety reign after the first goal of the Birmingham team, he was on the verge of despair when Coutinho made it 2-0, he was euphoric with the comeback signed with three goals in less than six minutes , walked radiant after the final whistle and the confirmation of the fourth Championship in five years for the the citizens. There were then several different moments in the party, from the consolation of Zinchenko to the photographs with his compatriots Rúben Dias and Bernardo Silva, passing through the usual images with the trophy in hand or the jokes on the consecration stage with Grealish.
Nevertheless, this story did not end there. And the other story of the party is now known by the voice of Lauren Hoyle, mother of a ten-year-old autistic fan, Ollie Gordon, saved by the Portuguese at the party.
A Bideford family thanked João Cancelo for protecting their son, Ollie Gordon (10) – who has autism, dyspraxia and other motor coordination conditions – after home fans stormed the pitch. #man of the city in the title victory #PL… pic.twitter.com/H7SONB998N
— Portuguese City Xtra (@City_XtraPT) June 6, 2022
Ollie ran off [no final do jogo]. She has autism and has no idea of the dangers, so she got excited and started running. She often goes to the stadium with his father. She was watching the game on TV and I saw Lee [o pai] running across the field but I didn’t see Ollie. I panicked. The Aston Villa goalkeeper is hit inches from the side, as can be seen in the videos. She got a little scared and, seeing Cancelo, she ran towards him.”
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“Afterward, Cancelo picked him up and wrapped him in a hug. He kissed her forehead and pushed the people away. It was pretty quick, but people were pushing each other. My son was terrified. You cannot be alone, you must be supervised. If it wasn’t for Cancelo, who not only hugged him, but stayed with him until his father arrived, It could have been a completely different story. That man should have been cheering for the title, but instead he decided to stop and take care of a little boy. He was being pushed himself and at that moment it was to be expected that he would try to leave the field. But no, he stopped completely to help a kid he has no connection to. He probably doesn’t see it as a big deal, but otherwise he would have been crushed.”
“He stopped completely to take care of this little boy that he has no connection to. He probably doesn’t see it as a big deal, he would have been stepped on otherwise.”
Happy to help Ollie and his family share this story of Joao Cancelo being brilliant ???? #mcfchttps://t.co/ptsg0RjlnQ
—Joe Bray (@_joebray) June 5, 2022
“He was your second favorite player, now he is definitely your first. There are no words to thank you. He probably doesn’t even know how important he was. Even Ollie says ‘I could have died that day’. It’s true, he could have died. Looking at the people around her, she didn’t stand a chance. From the bottom of our hearts, there are no words to thank you for what you did. I can’t imagine what could have happened. She kissed her forehead and reassured him. As a mother, about 1,000 kilometers away without being able to do anything… My heart stopped when I saw her father running across the field. Her father said the same thing ‘How are you going to find a little three foot tall kid in the middle of big guys running around screaming?’ For a minute everything stopped. She barely stretched her arms to go to her father, Cancelo pushed a guy out of the way. After that, he came into his life, we didn’t have a chance to thank him, to express our gratitude for what he did. We are a country so quick to go to the newspapers to complain about everything but we never highlight the good things. We have to acknowledge these kinds of acts,” added Lauren Hoyle.
Source: Observadora
