La Reina | The Story of Melanie Kavitz

flashback: the 2011 UCL final

May 28, 2011

Of all the scenarios that could've happened, a part of me dreaded that this was the one I was in.

Chelsea was playing their second Champions League final in their history, at Wembley Stadium, to a sold-out audience...

... against Barcelona.

The honour I felt representing the club on the biggest stage was indescribable. My parents were here, and I could feel their pride radiating onto me from the distance they were at in the stadium. I could feel the spirits of all the Blues watching us from here and from their homes, praying tonight to finally be the night they get to see their club lift that elusive trophy.

But in order to do that... we had to beat the best team in the world.

And what made it infinitely worse was that I was on the bench.

It was my fault for being careless during training. I should've kept my mouth shut about the muscle discomforts I was feeling because Ancelotti made it perfectly clear that he wasn't ready to take a risk with me being completely unplayable during the final. Some minutes, according to him, were better than no minutes, and I had to swallow it.

The Champions League anthem roared through the speakers, and I was listening to it from the bench. My eyes find their way to the Barcelona side - the team I once called my home. A part of me, despite the love and commitment I have for Chelsea, yearned to have been able to fight for that trophy with the side I used to call home. But I couldn't think that way, because we had a trophy to win - the biggest one we could win.

I tried my best not to look at him, though. It had been more than a year since we last spoke, but the pain of loss lingered. His hair swept across his forehead, and that boyish charm of his remained intact in his eyes. It didn't matter if I had moved on... I was still weak for him.

Our eyes met briefly as the anthem blasted in our ears, and I was the first to turn away, not able to meet his eyes. This was the first game I was to play against him in a club shirt, and my nerves were going through the roof. I was only 20 years old; how was I going to measure up against the best club in the world with the best player in the world at the helm?

The whistle blew, and it was game on.

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

May 28, 2011

A part of me was happy to see Melanie on the bench.

Another part of me was crushed.

But I knew I couldn't think about that right now - not when we had the Champions League trophy at stake.

When we found out we were to face Chelsea in the final, many of us were rightfully nervous. Melanie, ever since leaving Barcelona, turned into a beast. Chelsea may not have been able to win any domestic cups throughout the season, but Melanie's performances both domestically and in this competition had been something out of a storybook - none of it seemed real.

But it was.

Chelsea as a team may not be better than us, but if anybody would be the difference-maker for them... it would be her.