The football field of my childhood still remains.

With his feet firmly planted on the grass, his eyes fixed on the sky and his arms outstretched, Lionel Messi stood still for a long time after scoring a goal.

He dedicated the goal and the joy to his grandmother, who passed away when Messi was only 10 years old. Up there, Celia – the hardworking woman from the suburban neighborhood of Rosario – must be smiling gently as she watches her grandson go.

Messi occasionally chooses that celebration after scoring a goal, especially hard-fought, game-changing goals. Remembering his grandmother, the grandson expresses his gratitude and hopes she will share in his joy.

That was also the moment Lionel mentally returned to his small hometown, where he was born and spent his childhood. His hometown had become a nurturing cradle and a driving force helping him progress in his career.

Not a bustling, lively street, Calle Lavalleja is just a small suburban neighborhood, 4 km from the center of Rosario, whose residents are mostly working people who commute daily in various professions.

The streets were sparsely populated, houses were rarely closed off, and the neighbors lived together in harmony and closeness. That atmosphere seems to linger in the soul and heart of the boy who had to leave home, far from his mother and siblings, at the age of 13; it is the warmth that fueled so many dreams during Messi's time at the La Masia academy in Spain.

For the boy, his hometown was always close, sacred, and vibrant in his daily life. So much so that later, when asked about the most beautiful and precious memory of his life, Messi answered without hesitation: "My home, my old neighborhood, the place where I was born." For the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner, the spirit of his birthplace and the values ​​that inspired and nurtured him from childhood have always been a source of life and inspiration.

His joy and motivation in each day of his life are rooted in and reflected in that small, familiar neighborhood. "Just thinking about each street corner there, imagining each alley and tree back home, fills me with excitement," the man, who had just turned 39, said enthusiastically.

"Pass the ball, Leo!" – Jorge Messi's voice boomed from the sidelines as the ball reached his eight-year-old son. "Pass it!" – he yelled. But no! The ball remained firmly in Messi's grasp. The boy then risked pushing the ball past two close opponents, only to lose it to them. Frustrated and angry, he ran around the field, shouting as he went.

Even Messi himself, after achieving fame, admitted that as a child he was overly passionate about football and excessively competitive, sometimes so reckless that his older brothers and friends in the neighborhood and school were afraid to face him. But it was thanks to that that the garden of his maternal grandparents' house and the humble little street corner that nurtured his childhood, in the memory of the famous player, come alive whenever he recalls them.

Neighbors on Calle Lavalleja Street are never surprised to see Messi and his family bustling about in their old house every year, during the summer or Christmas season. They also see the captain who once lifted the World Cup trophy with the Argentine national football team cycling through familiar narrow alleys, eagerly joining the warm crowds.

"Everything for me seems to begin and end within the nurturing and shaping embrace of that gentle, small neighborhood."

The famous player has sent such messages many times, and people understand that this place will never be forgotten but will forever accompany Messi on his journey of life and football.

The aroma from the old kitchen, the playful voices on the childhood football field, the faded lime paint on the old house walls—all remain as intact as my kind grandmother.

Messi will once again gaze towards the sky after scoring a goal...

Source: https://nld.com.vn/con-hoai-san-bong-tuoi-tho-196260213101924348.htm