Jhohan Romana's smile,
and his arms around Messi,
for a moment,
it felt like more than a hug...
It was not only Romana's embrace,
not only a defender holding a legend…
It was football
wrapping its arms around Messi...
It was the love of millions
speaking without a single word:
"Dear Messi,
don't be tired of dreaming.
Don't be discouraged.
Rise again.
Keep walking.
Keep playing.
Keep shining."
After the sorrow,
after the funeral of his beloved father,
Messi returned to the field,
carrying a silence within his heart
that no stadium could ever hear...
And then came this beautiful hug,
with a smile upon it,
as though life itself whispered:
"You are not alone."
Dear Messi,
your journey inspires me
more deeply than football.
Your simplicity teaches me humility.
Your humanity teaches me kindness.
Your love teaches me to remain human
in a world becoming increasingly polluted
with hatred, selfishness and noise...
Your hard work tells me
that dreams do not die
when life becomes difficult.
Sometimes,
they simply ask us
to stand up once more.
When I watch you play,
I feel something inside me rise.
Football gives me happiness.
You give me inspiration.
And together,
you give me a little more strength
to climb toward a higher level
of my own life.
So, dear Messi,
please keep that beautiful smile.
Be energetic.
Keep running.
Keep creating.
Keep giving joy to the world.
And when the journey becomes heavy,
remember,
there are millions of hearts
standing beside you...
That hug from Jhohan Romana
may have lasted only a moment…
but to me,
it became a language
spoken by the whole world...
A language of love.
A language of humanity.
A language of football.
A language that says:
Fall if you must.
Cry if you need to.
Grieve when your heart is broken.
But when tomorrow calls,
rise again.
Because life is not measured
by how many times we fall,
but by how courageously
we return to the field.
And dear Messi,
as long as I have breath within me,
I will carry your example in my heart,
and keep climbing,
keep dreaming,
keep loving,
and keep moving forward…
until my very last breath...
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem