Barefoot and hungry, he honed his skills on the squalid streets of a red light district in India. Now 16-year-old ‘slumdog’ soccer protégé Rajib Roy is dreaming of becoming a millionaire – after being chosen to train with Manchester United.

赤脚饥肠，16岁的拉吉比·罗伊就这样在印度一个杂乱的红灯区练就了一身足球本领。如今，他梦想成为百万富翁，因为他被曼联相中，将接受训练。

He impressed the Red Devils’ scouts¹ during a school football tournament in Goa last month and, with 11 other talented young players spotted² in India, arrives at the Premier³ League club’s Old Trafford ground tomorrow for 15 days of training with its coaches.

曼联球探是在上月的一次印度全国性校园足球比赛中发现罗伊的，与他一起赴训的还有其他11名天赋不凡的少年。他们将前往老特拉福德球场试训15天。

Rajib’s mother used to be a sex worker and now toils⁴ in a handbag factory for just £30 a month. He has no idea who his father is.

拉吉比的母亲曾是名性工作者，如今在一家皮包工厂上班，每月仅挣30英镑。而拉吉比连自己的父亲是谁都不知道。

Yesterday, he said: ‘when my coach told me I had been selected by Manchester United it was like a father’s recognition.’

拉吉比说：“当教练告诉我被曼联选中时，那种感觉就像受到了父亲的承认。”

Rajib – a striker said to have dazzling dribbling⁵ skills – shares a single room with his mother Rekha and younger brother in the notorious Sonagachi suburb of Calcutta, where thousands of women are forced to sell their bodies in order to survive.

这名拥有超高带球技巧的未来前锋跟母亲和弟弟一直住在臭名昭著的索纳加奇郊区，一家人挤在一间小屋子里。他们生活的地方有数以千计的妇女不得不靠出卖自己的身体来维持生计。

On the wall is a poster of Chelsea’s Brazilian star Oscar – whom the youngster idolises because he also comes from a background of poverty. Rajib often had to survive on a half-empty stomach to keep his soccer hopes alive as he practised for hours on the streets as a child.

拉吉比家里贴着一张切尔西球星奥斯卡的海报，因为奥斯卡同样出身贫寒。拉吉比从小就常常饿着肚子在街上努力练习，为的就是能和他的偶像一样，而这一天似乎就快来了。

His life changed two years ago when his mother sent him to the local Rahul Vidya Niketan school for children of sex workers and he took part in a soccer project that aimed to integrate them into mainstream⁶ society.

两年前，拉吉比母亲把他送进了一所专为性工作者子女开办的学校，为了能融入主流社会，拉吉比加入了这个学校的足球队。他的命运也因此改变了。

He added: ‘My mother is a very shy person. She would lock me in my room after lunch so that I could take a nap, but I would quietly sneak⁷ out to play with my friends.

拉吉比说：“我的母亲是一个很害羞的人，午饭后她总是把我锁在房间里让我睡午觉，但是我总是偷偷溜出去和朋友一起踢球。”