La Reina | The Story of Melanie Kavitz

barcelona vs manchester united

I wanted to believe I was excited for the game - to be able to see all of the players I grew up watching in person should be a dream come true for anybody. And I would've felt all of that to my core... if I hadn't been scared out of my mind.

I knew Adair would never admit this to me, but I knew he was nervous too. The unpredictability of games like the Champions League final has been a predicament for several decades now; the teams you thought were objectively the best side still end up losing to sides not quite up to par, but that was how the tournament operated. The best teams didn't always win the trophy at the end of the day.

And even though in my heart I knew Barcelona were the better side, I also knew there would be a chance of them losing, and the thought of seeing the team I love so dearly losing such a monumentally important game was getting to me.

But I knew I had to shake that concern away from my head. We came so far to enjoy a good game. Win or lose, Barcelona had one of the best seasons in their history. No matter what happens, nobody could take that away from them.

We were still in our VIP box, watching the opening ceremony. We had a small little space for ourselves; a lovely seating area with a screen to watch the game from the views of the camera in addition to being able to watch it live. I couldn't believe Bradley was able to get a space like this for us at such a last-minute request, but I was thankful for the privacy.

Eventually, the players walked out onto the pitch, and not long after the anthem we were all so familiar with was blasting through the stadium. It was a slight to behold seeing the fans holding up the scarves of the teams they loved so much - supporting them through what was going to be the most important game they would play this year.

My eyes trailed over the entire Barcelona side, and I could see the looks of determination plastered on everybody's faces. But, when I saw Leo, I knew immediately just how nervous he was. I couldn't blame him, of course; he had been the face of Pep Guardiola's masterclass for the whole season. I never asked about the pressure he was under because I knew the answer to the question, and making him talk about it was something I was not going to do.

"How was it like meeting him?" Adair's voice came out of nowhere. I turned to my right, and I noticed he had been standing next to me from the glass balcony. "Messi, I mean."

I didn't want to tell him about the friendship Leo and I had built over the last several months, as I knew it was going to just lead to more questions. "It felt surreal - meeting the man I'd been admiring through the screen for so many years." I paused for a minute before turning my head away to look at the pitch, realizing the game had just begun. "What about you? How was meeting Cristiano?"

"Just like you said," Adair said, and I could sense he was smiling. We may have had different idols, but the admiration we had for those who made the game what it is will remain strong for years to come. We both knew that.

...
leo's point of view
...

We hadn't even been on the pitch for ten minutes with the ball, and already we got our first goal.

I was right in the middle of the goal when I saw Samu dancing around three different defenders. I was preparing to receive the shot from him as I had a clear vision of the goal, but I soon realized that there wasn't enough space for him to pass to me. He took the shot himself after a brilliant display of dribbling, and it had been an exceptionally clean one. I ran into his arms with a half dozen players following from behind to do the same. There were still 80 more minutes to go, but we had a cushion - this was something to build off of. Manchester United now needed two goals to take the win from us.