In the spotlight

1

Matteo Rodriguez

The ball hit my feet when I received the pass. I was positioned on the right wing side when I ran past the opponent's defender. I quickly passed him the ball, making the crowd roar in excitement. My teammates were a little bit behind me; therefore, I thought dribbling might help me a little bit.

I have found myself running on the wing, too far from the goal but too far in to lose my chance. Trying a cross could be worth a try, but the risk is too high, so I came up with another idea. My teammate and my best friend Vini ran next to me behind me a little, and I quickly passed the ball to him while I got around the center back.

When I was in a good position to get the ball back, he swiftly sent it back my way, leaving both defenders and the keeper exposed. My stamina was draining at this point, so I went for a simple long-range shot. Watching the ball fly towards the goal felt like an eternity. My breath hitched for a moment seeing the keeper literally throwing himself at it; he didn't mess around, that's for sure.

But you can't just defend a legendary Rodriguez shot. The ball flew into the upper left corner of the goal perfectly, making it completely impossible for anyone to reach it. Perfect curve and perfect score. I sighed in relief, with a huge smile forming in the corner of my mouth. Vini jumped on my back along with my other teammates as the crowd erupted in extremely loud cheering and shouting from every side.

My second goal this evening, Atletico Madrid really couldn't keep up with our new attacking tactics, just as the manager said earlier. Slowly, my friends began standing up from our spontaneous stack, and thankfully, I could catch my breath again.

The match rapidly approached the end, as we were focusing on keeping the ball as far away from our goal as possible. After annoying the opposite team for a good 15 more minutes, the redemptive whistle was heard, stopping everyone in their tracks.

The white jersey side of the stadium roared and cheered loudly, while the other side was visibly disappointed, but this is what football is. Sometimes up, sometimes down. And this is exactly how I fell in love with this sport a long, long time ago.

I started playing football when I was around 4–5 years old, as soon as I learned how to walk and run. My father was and is a fanatic football fan, cheering for his hometown, CD Tenerife, to this day.

That is where I started at first. I was born and raised in Tenerife, in a not-so-rich but more loving family. My father and mother, both of them native Spanish residents, along with my sister who was only two year older than me.

Isabella and I both defeated our odds in life as she headed north to pursue a career in fashion design. She is currently working for Dior as a Parisian with her architect Italian husband and their 2-year-old daughter, Luna.

And there was me, the younger brother. After growing out of Tenerife, my then-coach successfully landed a spot for me in Getafe. After joining their youth squad at only 12, I was finally able to leave Tenerife once and for all.

Being on your own on a completely unknown land at 12 and having a whole ocean separate you from your family was really hard for me. I almost left the academy twice; the second time, I had my papers signed and ready when my coach talked me out of the idea.

And every time I stepped on the pitch, felt the ball before my foot, and heard my teammates cheering when I scored a goal, every minute I spent alone in the gym was worth it. At 17, I was ready to finally join the adult squad after being La Liga U18's top scorer and securing my place in Spain's national youth team.

I will forever remember that call when my coach got me into his office after our match with Barca Academy. I didn't even have time to change; just as I was in my jersey and shoes, I basically sprinted to the office, fearing the worst scenario.

As I entered, my coach and two strangers stood before me. One of them was wearing a white tracksuit, while the other was dressed up all fancy, in a suit with ties and slicked-back hair. I recognized the fancy man from my match earlier, since people like him weren't an everyday sight.

As it later turned out, it wasn't a coincidence that they were spectating the match. The fancy-dressed man was a scout who brought Real Madrid's youth coach to Getafe for this match. They were scouting me for months, and extremely lucky for me, I scored a hat trick against Barca Academy, which impressed the coach so much that he offered me a paid spot at their academy if I signed a contract stating I would not leave Real Madrid before I turned 22.

I needed ten whole seconds to make my decision. Before I realized my position, I was already in a car heading towards the capital, on FaceTime with my crying mom and proudly shouting dad. Isabella took out a week of work as soon as she heard the news, and we flew our parents into Madrid for my debut game as a Real Madrid academy player.

Vinicius and Federico jogged to my side as we walked down towards the exit from the pitch. Before I turned 19, they put me on the adult squad. I had the privilege to play alongside legendary players such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale before the age of 20 and participated in World Cup matches until the semi-finals. No wonder my value was too high for any club to buy me out of Madrid.

"We crushed them, boys." Vini clapped his hands together, making me and Federico smile. Luckily, I was able to make friends quickly with most of my teammates. Our chemistry was impeccable, both on and off the field.

"Matteo did, but we were there for support." Federico dabbed Vini up laughing as I shook my head laughing at their bullshit. Without them, I couldn't have scored a single goal, that's for sure.

We headed straight to our changing room since we were the home team today. I opened the door first, but let Vini and Federico pass before me, like a true gentleman. And they say class is dead.

"Good job today, lads." The coach spoke up with his tactics board still in his hand from earlier today. I quickly passed the man, watching as he finally let go of that board and opened the door for the manager.

"As you all know already, we are heading off to Milan tomorrow for the Champions League group stages!" the coach announced, and everybody cheered happily, me included.

"You already received every detail through email; check it if you haven't already. Make sure to get a good night's rest and don't be late from the airport." He quickly went through every basic piece of information they had before every trip.

"See you all tomorrow." The manager nodded quietly, then left along with the coach and every other staff member that was present in the changing room. Without saying anything else, everybody began changing their clothes and taking a shower. I was completely drenched in sweat, so before doing anything else, I grabbed my towel and my tracksuit from the bench.

After a quick shower, I felt refreshed and pretty tired. The comfortable clothes felt like heaven on me after being in the jersey for almost a day.

"Alright, see you tomorrow." My teammates started to leave the room heading home, but I made sure to say goodbye to everyone properly. It is crucial to maintain our chemistry both on the field and out in the busy weekdays.

Before long, I was ready to leave as well, heading towards the underground garage where I parked my car before entering the stadium. When I finally spotted my all-black Mercedes AMG GT 63, my eyes lit up, and I fished out my car keys from my huge ass bag.

I pressed the starting button on my keys and watched as the lights lit up next to the Mercedes logo. I opened up the trunk of the car and pushed my huge bag into there as it filled almost every space. When it was finally positioned, I could close the door and take the driver's seat.

Music filled the car as I was driving to my downtown apartment, thinking about Milan. I have always loved traveling and playing in the Champions League; therefore, combining the two would always result in an amazing trip. I couldn't wait for tomorrow.