Sporting Lisbon today signed tsunami survivor Martunis to their academy, 11 years after the disaster that forced him to survive on puddle water for 21 days and killed his mother and two brothers.

Martunis, now 17, was unveiled in the Portuguese capital having pursued his dream in spite of the desolation brought on by the disaster that hit his home in Indonesia on Boxing Day 2004, the Daily Mail reports.

The giant waves, caused by an earthquake in the Indian Ocean, killed 230,000 people across 14 countries and separated the young boy from his family and leaving him to live off some noodles he had found and water from puddles.

Now, Martunis has joined Sporting's famous academy that nurtured the talents of his hero, Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo, and Luis Figo in the past.

'It's great to be here, this club makes my dream possible,' he said at his presentation. 'I am incredibly excited about this opportunity. Viva Sporting!'

Sporting president Bruno de Carvalho said: 'Martunis will work at the academy. We will work with him also in his development as a human being and as a man.'

Martunis grew up in Banda Aceh, Indonesia and attended English classes three times a week in addition to a soccer school in his home city in pursuit of his dream career. 

Portuguese star Ronaldo met with Martunis in the aftermath of the disaster after images of him in a Portugal shirt - he was playing football when the 9.3 magnitude earthquake struck - hit headlines across the world. 

At the time, Ronaldo said: 'I believe that many adults would not even be able to deal with what he has gone through.

When found by a group of journalists wandering the beaches of the Indonesian city, Martunis needed a saline drip due to the dehydration he had suffered, while he was also said to be frail and badly bitten after the 21-day ordeal.

A member of the Save the Children team who delivered him to hospital said that had he been found a day later he may not have survived.

Martunis was later reunited with his father but his siblings and mother were among the many casualties in one of the world's worst natural disasters.

The seven-year-old's home was rebuilt with money sent by the Portuguese FA and raised by Ronaldo's fundraising efforts before he met his hero three years later.

He is said to have always dreamed of becoming a professional footballer and the move to Sporting is the next step on that path.

'My favourite hobby is playing football,' Martunis said in 2008. 'I don't like other sports. It's fun. My grandfather was a footballer. I want to be a footballer when I grow up.' 

'I let him play football in the afternoon,' his father Sarbini said. 'I ask him to go to school, learn to read the Koran and attend an English course.

'I want him to be a clever boy with a bright future. I don't want him to end up like me who did not have a proper education. I hope he gets a good job in the future.

'I will be very proud if he enjoys a good life or becomes a professional footballer.'