Martunis

Martunis Sarbini (born 2 May 1997) is an Indonesian footballer who played as a forward. He rose to fame in 2005, after surviving the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami and being found wandering along a beach by a group of journalists. He was born in the village of Tibang, in the District of Syiah Kuala, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. He then received aid in the form of €40,000 from the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF)[1] to help rebuild his house. In 2005, Cristiano Ronaldo travelled to Aceh to visit him, and promised to pay for his education and a tour of the Sporting CP stadium. Since then, the two have met multiple times as well. He currently plays in Portugal after being recruited by Portuguese club, Sporting CP.[2]

Martunis
Personal information
Full name Martunis Sarbini
Date of birth (1997-05-02) 2 May 1997
Place of birth Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
Years Team
2012–2015 PSAP Sigli
2015–2016 Sporting CP

Personal life

On the morning of 26 December 2004, seven year-old Martunis was playing football with his friends on the football field of his village when the tsunami generated by the undersea earthquake struck. His mother and sister were amongst over 230,000 killed.

Martunis was stranded on a beach for 21 days, and only survived by holding onto a sofa.[1] He was discovered by a group of journalists, and found wearing a Portuguese football team shirt with Rui Costa's name on the back. Due to the dehydration he had suffered, he needed a saline drip and was said to be frail and badly bitten. His condition was so poor that a member of the Save the Children team that found him noted that if he had been found a day late, he could have perished. Later on, Martunis was reunited with his father.

When images of him wearing the Portuguese shirt surfaced, they generated massive sympathy for him, being splashed all across international publications. This attracted the attention of the FPF, and Cristiano Ronaldo. With the donation of €40,000 from the FPF, his home was rebuilt thanks to Ronaldo's fundraising efforts, who he got to meet again three years later.

Besides being invited to Portugal, in 2006 and the singer Madonna also invited Martunis and his father to London, where Madonna stayed with his family. They were both invited to tour the famous tourist spots, as well as other cities in the UK.

References
  1. "Sporting Lisbon sign 2004 tsunami survivor Martunis, inspired by Ronaldo". ESPNFC.com. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
  2. "Cristiano Ronaldo's 'Adopted Son' Martunis Back in Aceh for Ramadhan". 19 June 2016.
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