show they’re going to remember.”
I’m pumped. My energy reservoirs are at capacity and spilling over. My veins are filled with electricity.
I’m ready.
We head out into the tunnels that lead to the pitch, and wait as the Match Mascots are brought over to us, children in matching kits who are given the chance to walk out with us and stand beside us for the national anthem. This doesn’t happen for every game but certainly the most important ones.
I’m introduced to ágata, a six-year old girl from San Sebastian who is adorably shy and keeps rubbing her nose when she talks to me, but she loves the game “with my whole heart” as she says.
Someday, I hope I have a little girl like her.
We walk out together, holding hands.
The stadium erupts.
The sound is earth-shattering.
Right now, there are no whistles or boos.
The 99,354 people in the stadium are all cheering for their team, whether it be Barca or Madrid, and it’s an experience that brings tears to my eyes. I’ll never stop feeling this way about it.
I’ll never stop feeling I have something to prove.
I catch Thalia’s gaze from the sidelines, right behind Mateo, and give her a nod.
I won’t stop proving myself to her, either.
We head out to centerfield for the national anthem.
We shake hands with the other team.
The captains, Luciano and Lionel, pose for a photo with the refs.
The coin toss is made.
We win. We choose the goal.
The kickoff commences.
It’s on.
Immediately my nerves dissolve. All I feel is focused energy, my eyes trained to the ball, my feet always moving. I don’t even have to think, I just do this on instinct alone.
Luka passes me the ball. I take it and spin around, knowing Piqué is right behind me. The stadium is chanting, and my heart tries to make a similar sound in my chest.
There’s so much pressure on me, from all sides, but I do a fake-out, managing to trip them up and quickly find an outlet to pass to Marcelo, who takes it and kicks it to Rene, who takes a shot at the net.
It hits the goal post and bounces off.
All of this is in the first minute of play.
We’re off to a good start.
The rest of the first half is played with the same intensity, with close calls becoming goals.
Luciano scores first against Barcelona, and half the stadium erupts into a frenzy. I’m running over to him, jumping high onto his back, yelling with my fist in the air, hamming it up for the photographers, knowing these are the money shots.
Messi scores the second goal, just a few minutes after, our goalie in no position to even try to take down the shot.
It’s even.
One-one.
But we aren’t done yet.
Then Barcelona scores again, a goal that barely squeaks into the net.
The ball comes to me, and I’m twisting it around from Piqué and the other defenders, shooting it off to Rene who runs with it and then passes it back to me once I’m cleared. I take it to the goal, pass it back to Rene who shoots it to Marcelo who shoots it back to him.
Rene takes the shot.
GOOOOOOALLL!
The game is tied.
Halftime.
We gather in the locker room and Mateo gives us strategy. Tells me to switch sides with Rene to mix things up. Tells Luciano to keep Messi in check. Gives us the confidence to keep going.
“It’s not over until it’s over,” Mateo yells at us.
We get back out there.
I go on the other side of the pitch, Rene to where I was positioned before.
The game begins.
I get the ball as much as I can, but I can’t seem to get through them, can’t seem to get a goal in myself. They’re always on me, like a moving fortress.
Then, at ten minutes in, I’m struck by a Barca player from the side, his feet slipping between mine and tripping me.
I go down.
On my other knee, the good one, tumbling over.
I hold on to my leg, rolling on the ground. It hurts but I know I’m going to be okay.
I just want people to worry a little.
Maybe give that player a yellow card.
It works.
Luciano comes running over to me to ask if I’m okay, and I nod slowly, wincing dramatically. I’m sure now the commentary is that it wasn’t my bum knee that was in question, but the other one. But in this moment, Barcelona may not remember which knee is the fucked up one. They might think they’ve done some useful damage to me.
That will be their biggest