Work Text:
I knew of you long before we first met.
Whispers of a young boy from a small town in Argentina most people have never heard of. Now in Barcelona. In La Masia.
The whole of Catalonia was buzzing with anticipation. Barça had apparently struck gold with this mysterious recruit. They called him the new Maradona. A child. A prodigy. A dream.
Word travelled fast across all of Spain.
At Sevilla FC youth academy, the managers and players were huddling over a TV screen watching some kids from Barça playing a friendly match with Valencia.
“It’s unbelievable!”
“How is he so fast?”
“This kid is crazy! A phenomenon!”
“No, no….a freak.”
I pushed past a few of the other kids to try to see the match on the screen. A figure in the classic blaugrana of the club has the ball at his feet.
So small, was the first thought I had.
Soft dark hair, long enough to fall just above his shoulders. Number 10 etched golden across the back of his kit that looked too big on his skinny frame.
There’s no way this runt is who everyone’s been talking about, I almost scoffed.
But in a short moment I was already proven wrong.
All of a sudden the boy burst into a quick run, controlling the ball so masterfully it almost looked like it was stuck to his feet. Several quick and unexpected changes in direction and he had managed to dribble past one, two, three, then four players with so much ease and fluidity before tapping the ball to score a goal like it was a walk in the park.
As the people around me exclaimed their astonishment and praises, the video had focused on the boy celebrating with his teammates. Eyes bright with joy, smile so wide, but face soft and shy as he was swarmed by the bigger boys.
I let out a deep breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
And the only thing that I could think of at the moment was one thing.
Beautiful.