La Reina | The Story of Melanie Kavitz

may

It had been a long road ahead since I came back from seeing my parents.

For starters, while there had been no more international matches to be played as of now, club football would soon come to an end as it was mid May. Therefore preparations for the Gold Cup would start to commence very soon. And because preparations were going to start soon, I had taken it upon myself to work diligently for the last several weeks on my own to be ready for what was going to be my first major tournament.

As important as World Cup qualifiers were and no matter how seriously we had taken them, the Gold Cup was a chance to win a trophy. An actual, FIFA-recognized trophy.

And speaking of trophies, Barcelona were having the time of their lives.

Not only did they win La Liga and the Copa Del Rey, they had made it to the Champions League final where they were set to play against the reigning Champions themselves - Manchester United. No matter how much boasting and bragging Adair did to remind all of us of the legacy that United held and the masterclass that Fergie was about to put on the field for us to see, I could tell he was nervous, because Pep Guardiola's Barcelona were monsters. And Lionel Messi had been in the centre of it.

Leo and I have become much better in terms of communicating with one another, and I had been the one to call him, crying with happiness, after watching Barcelona beat Bayern Munich in the second half to reach the final. It still felt surreal to be the friend of the man that I had looked up to so much, but being able to actually congratulate him for an achievement instead of screaming across the television was a beautiful thing.

I had also told him about my pending participation in the Gold Cup, which, oddly enough, made him incredibly enthusiastic.

"Although I'm proud of the fact that I was able to win the Olympic gold medal with the team I played alongside with, the Copa loss two years ago still hurts. I wanted to lift a cup for my country, because I don't think there's a better feeling in the world."

He was right. There wasn't a better feeling than winning something with your country's shirt on your back. This was my chance to do that for the ground I was born and raised on. The soil that nurtured me for all these years, and gave me every opportunity I could've hoped for even if it was impossible.

"I'm going to give my life for this Cup. It'll come home with us."

"I know you will. And I can't wait to see you play for it."

That bit of recognition. That bit of belief. Especially when it was coming from someone I considered my hero. It meant more than everything, and I felt myself become more determined than ever to fulfil my goals for this tournament, not just for the team and all that it represented, but for the respect it would bring us.

...

"Come on, Bob! Please! It's just for two days! There are still two weeks left to train for the tournament after I come back!"

"I'm not letting you drop everything just to go see a single game."

"It's not just a game! It's the Champions League final for crying out loud!"

"I get that, but you're the only one that is even asking to go, so I'm not going to give into your temper tantrum."

"I'm sorry for interrupting," I couldn't help but feel awkward for breaking up the commotion between Adair and Bradley, and the discomfort grew as I felt both pairs of eyes staring at me as I stood idle by Bradley's office door. "I was just seeing where you were since you weren't out on the training ground."