Paolo Rossi: A Champion Is a Dreamer Who Never Gives Up

Bucharest, once a jewel on the Danube known as "Little Paris," is a city of contradictions. For decades, below the beautiful neoclassical buildings thousands of homeless children have roamed the streets. In 2019, the plague continues. The frail, forgotten orphans still die in enormous numbers every year. To so many they are invisible, but not to the non-profit Parada and their extremely committed volunteers. Made up of soccer players and artists, these men and women devote their time to the street children and give the orphans a chance to hope and dream so that as they grow, they may learn to resist, live, and even love. "A champion is a dreamer who never gives up," World Champion Italian soccer player Paolo Rossi said to little Sami, an 11-year-old orphan who longs to be a soccer champion like him. Rossi, as well as many other champions-Pele, Maradona, Cabrini, Tardelli, Zoff, Rummenigge, Antognoni, Boniek, R. Baggio, Platini, Zico and Falcao-came from troubled pasts, fighting through tragedy and terrible childhoods to achieve their goals, and become legendary. A Champion is a Dreamer who Never Gives Up is a 90-min feature documentary about Paolo Rossi, who as a child grew up in straightened circumstances not unlike the ones that young Sami currently struggles with. We hear his story though a remarkable retelling, as he speaks to the orphans about being impoverished and sickly in a small village in Tuscany. He speaks passionately about how he managed to achieve his greatest dream-to become the 1982 World Champion, kicking his way into history. Join Paolo on his emotional odyssey, as he details his life, his winding journey, along with that of his friends Falcao, Platini, Maradona, Pele, Zico, Rummenigge, Tardelli, Cabrini, Zoff and Boniek. When viewed through the lens of the street children, the forgotten Romanian orphans, it is a powerful reminder to all of us that a dream means nothing if not pursued with love and respect. The children, like the viewer, see that a real champion is first of all a champion in his heart.