Leo Scienza wanted to make things clear from the outset.
'It was not luck,' the Brazilian declared into the microphone to the television reporter's opening question after Southampton beat Arsenal for a place in the FA Cup semi-final.
Southampton had fought for it, he insisted. They deserved it. There was nothing fortunate about it. Anyone who watched Scienza tear down the flank, rattle the crossbar and terrorise Arsenal's defence would find it hard to argue otherwise.
The Championship outfit might need a slice of luck this weekend, mind you, if they are to topple another Premier League title contender in Manchester City in their quest to lift the FA Cup for the first time in 50 years. But under Tonda Eckert, Saints have learned to fear no one - with the club currently 20 games undefeated.
And if there is anyone who knows the difference between having to fight for one's dreams as opposed to watching them fall into your lap, it's Scienza. His journey from Brazil to Wembley is a tale of rejection and resilience: one of unscrupulous agents and empty promises, of family tragedy and suicidal thoughts, and from playing barefoot in the streets of his homeland to the fifth tier of Swedish football, to now having the Premier League in his sights.
'My life is like a movie,' Scienza once said.
Leo Scienza has been a standout for FA Cup semi-finalists Southampton this season - but his journey to the higher reaches of English football has been far from easy
Scienza in action during Saints' 2-1 win over Arsenal in the quarter-finals, when he terrorised the Gunners defence
Born in Venancio Aires, in southern Brazil, Scienza spent much of his formative years playing futsal. He failed trials at Internacional and Gremio ahead of a brief spell with Chapecoense's Under 17s, only a year before 19 of their first team, and 14 coaching staff, died in a plane crash in Colombia on their way to play in the Copa Sudamericana final. 'Many people I knew passed away,' Scienza told The Times.
Scienza continued to struggle for opportunities and spent a couple of years playing for Lajeadense in the second division of their regional championship for the equivalent of £20 a game.
He wasn't sure if he had a future in football. Then, on his 20th birthday, his father died. Scienza locked himself away for two months and wasn't sure he wanted to be alive either.
Scienza had endured heartbreaking loss before, after his godfather died in a plane crash in Sao Paulo, which killed 199 people when the aircraft overran the runway, struck a warehouse next to a petrol station and exploded on impact. Scienza, who began to suffer panic attacks, started to have therapy.
But a few months after his father's death, as Scienza puts it, he felt a 'click'. He had to get up and do something with his life.
Agents offered him the chance to move to Sweden on the promise of trials at clubs in the top division. When he arrived, those trials didn't exist. He was left kicking it about in the fifth tier - 'like Sunday League level' - for a team called Fanna in the town of Enkoping, an hour from Stockholm, where he trained twice a week and played in front of crowds of between 10 and 25.
He was promised a salary of €500 a month. That never materialised either. He and some other Brazilian hopefuls slept on mattresses on the floor of a basement for over a year, playing football in exchange for food from the club. He cried every day.
Scienza knew he had to get out of there, somehow. Despite everything, he still mustered 10 goals that season and caught the eye of an agent who set up a trial with German side Schalke. He picked up his suitcase, got out of the house and embarked with a friend on a 20-hour car journey to Germany.
Even that wasn't straightforward. A two-year deal with Schalke's B team saw him finally earn those €500 a month wages, and meet his partner, Hanni, to whom he got engaged last year, before a move to Madgeburg in the German second division saw him end up playing for their B team in the sixth tier.
It was at Ulm, in the third tier, where the career of a man now linked with Tottenham, Aston Villa, Fulham, Everton and Leeds began to catch fire.
Scienza scored 12 goals, fired Ulm to the title and was named the division's player of the season. He joined Heidenheim, where his 95th-minute goal against Elversberg in a relegation play-off kept them in the Bundesliga. He scored or set up all four goals across the tie.
So, Southampton came knocking. After three goals in as many games to start the season for Heidenheim, Saints snapped him up on deadline day for around £8million. Technical director Johannes Spors believed he would adapt quickly to English football. Good heavens, he was right.
Scienza has proven himself to be one of the most devastating ball-carriers in the Championship. No one comes close to the Brazilian for how many of his ball-carries end in either a goal or an assist. He's racked up seven goals and 10 assists in the league this season, despite missing games in March with a groin injury.
The 27-year-old has played a crucial role in firing Eckert's side to fourth in the Championship, just three points behind Ipswich in the automatic promotion spots, and he'll be key if they are to make it back to the Premier League.
Those who work with him at Southampton talk of a lad with the world at his feet but a head firmly on his shoulders.
You get the sense that Scienza will be playing there next season regardless.
Those who work with him at Southampton talk of a lad with the world at his feet but a head firmly on his shoulders. A young man who has experienced such hardship is not likely to forget the turns the road took to get him here.
When a young fan asked for a photo during Southampton's recent win against Norwich, in which Scienza was sat in the stands due to injury, the lad’s father messaged him on Instagram to say thanks. Scienza arranged a second meeting where he gave the youngster a tour of St Mary’s and challenged him to a round of mini golf.
It was also a sign of his mentality when, during an interview with Brazilian YouTube channel Canal GOAT, he butted in as the presenter asked him about enjoying success in England.
'Just to correct you on one point,' he remarked. 'About saying that I am having success in England. Not yet. We are still fighting on this path. Hopefully, I will reach that level. But, for now, it is still a journey.'
One, as he'd tell you, that owes nothing to luck.