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Spurs duo united in grief keen for World Cup lift

Palacios, who is battling to recover from a leg injury for Honduras’ opener against Chile on June 16 in their first appearance at the finals since 1982, lost his teenager brother Edwin in May last year almost two years after he had been kidnapped.

Defoe, who is a long shot to make the starting lineup for England’s opening match against the United States on June 12, lost his half-brother Gavin - a popular disc jockey with the unsubtle performing name of ‘Esco Bars’ a reference to the late Colombian drugs baron Pablo Escobar. He was killed in a street fight in April 2009.

Both as is often the case with grief the reacted differently with Palacios - who has another brother Johnny in the squad whilst another the China-based Jerry was in the reserve list - wanting to walk away and give up as he felt it was because of his success that Edwin had been targeted.

“Edwin’s death was such a cruel blow I thought ‘that’s it I am going to jack in international football’,” the 25-year-old midfielder told the Daily Telegraph.

“I talked long and hard with my parents about it and in the end we decided it wouldn’t be the right thing,” added Palacios, who along with his family paid up a ransom of 125,000 pounds but to no avail.

Palacios, though, is determined now to make his mark as a manner of making Edwin proud of him, as due to his devout religious beliefs he believes he is looking down on him from above.

“Look to be honest with you Edwin’s death has actually intensified my hunger to achieve things,” said Palacios, who has proved a sympathetic ear and vice versa with Defoe.

“Sometimes before games I think about Edwin. The great memory I will always keep of him was of a good player, already in the Honduran Under-17 side.

“He was such a happy go lucky kid.”

Defoe, whose goals helped Spurs qualify for the Champions League for next season, never had any doubts that if he needed any more incentive to succeed this season then Gavin’s death was reason enough.

“I can still see it now,” he told the Daily Mirror.

“He’s 26 and he’s on a life support machine. We are standing round his bed and there is nothing we can do. I am just standing there and watching my brother die.

“Just like that,” added Defoe, who was a pall bearer at Gavin’s funeral.

Defoe said that Gavin’s death at such a young age had acted as a wake-up call.

“It had a massive impact on me,” 27-year-old Defoe admitted.

“It was hard to understand how someone so young could just slip away like that.

“I’d already wanted to be much more motivated in terms of my football this year. To make this year that much more special.”