Heleno

As a young man, Heleno (Rodrigo Santoro) displayed a remarkable talent for football (known as soccer in North America), and his intense, powerfully physical playing style soon made him a star, despite his arrogant attitude and failings as a team player. In the early 1940s, Heleno seems poised to lead his team to the World Cup championship, and he earns a reputation as a notorious ladies' man, despite the fact he's married and has children. While World War II was little felt in Brazil, the war in Europe kept World Cup tournaments from being held in 1942 and 1946, preventing Heleno from achieving his greatest dream, and his unwillingness to cooperate with coaches and teammates (as well as a growing dependence on drugs) ends with him being traded to a team in Argentina.