To impact his son with unbearable misery, Mr.Ozora sent Roberto to Japan, because he thought that it would be an excellent opportunity for Tsubasa to learn something from him. Excuse me, but that was **Bull**.
Some Hongo fans might protest to this and call me names, so I'm going to list a few points which confirm my theory:-
1)The guy is a miserable drunk. He's the scum of the earth according to honorable sportsmen(like Kira?!).
2)He's a damn liar. And I don't think I have to explain this one to you all. Watch the last episode of the first series to know what I'm talking about.
3)He has no role in the story whatsoever, excluding the episode where he coached the original Nankatsu Team against Wakabayashi's team. The only thing he's good at, is to critique Tsubasa on every single move he does during a match. The worse thing is, he never tells Tsubasa about his negatives! What kind of a friend is he? Is that the right way to repay a guy for a favor??
I think that Takahashi created Roberto Hongo for the sake of attracting South and Central American audiences. And since Brazilian players are the best in soccer, it had to be a successful shot! Although again, the real attraction was set off by the sudden appearance of Wakashimazu. Kira had foreshadowed his arrival in a very suspenseful manner too, during the Hyuga VS. Matsuyama match. That's why I said that Hongo was a mistake from the beginning.
Ironically enough, something good had to come out of Roberto some way or another. Before leaving to Brazil, he managed to write up a novel about Soccer Techniques, and left it on Tsubasa's desk back home. From what I've seen from the second part of the series, it became clear that 3/4 of the chapters were written during one of those hang-overs Roberto got after drinking a lot of scotch! Tsubasa became a self-centered soccer maniac!
Everytime he gets the ball, he uses his Drive Shot, regardless of the distance between him and the goal(Counting in the numerous opponents that lie in between, helpless!). Is this sportsmanship, according to Mr.Hongo?? How could his teammates become better if he doesn't pass the ball to them every now and then, giving them a chance to score?? And what was the end result?? Collapsing for over 5 times in one game!!! Even the Steel-Hearted Hyuga began to feel sorry for the prat! This explains why Roberto didn't appear in the second part, other than a flashback in the beaten Tsubasa's mind! Ah well, everyone does a mistake in a certain stage of his life, Isn't that true, Yoichi san?
This is Hesham Al-Emadi, reporting from the Tsubasa Intelligence Agency in Bahrain.