1 00:00:04,440 --> 00:00:08,479 Speaker 1: From Media and pr X. It's Latino USA. I'm Maria 2 00:00:08,720 --> 00:00:22,639 Speaker 1: Rosa Today the Superman of Soccer's gonna say or Latino 3 00:00:22,760 --> 00:00:27,000 Speaker 1: USA listener, we have a really special show for you today. 4 00:00:27,480 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: It's the first episode from the Last Cup. It's a 5 00:00:31,600 --> 00:00:35,560 Speaker 1: new podcast produced in both English and in Spanish by 6 00:00:35,640 --> 00:00:40,839 Speaker 1: our own Futuro Studios and NPR, hosted by Argentine American 7 00:00:40,920 --> 00:00:48,240 Speaker 1: journalist Jasmine Guards. It's a series that goes way beyond football. 8 00:00:49,760 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 2: You are watching play the greatest football. 9 00:00:54,880 --> 00:00:58,000 Speaker 1: It's a story about one of the best soccer players 10 00:00:58,360 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: that's ever lived, Lionel Messi. 11 00:01:05,760 --> 00:01:07,960 Speaker 3: I don't think we've never seen or ever won't see 12 00:01:08,000 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 3: anything like Lionelsi. 13 00:01:10,280 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 1: And if we're going to talk about the Superman of football, 14 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:17,520 Speaker 1: the god of gods of soccer, we also have to 15 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: talk about Superman's kryptonite, the Argentina jersey sprint side. For 16 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:33,840 Speaker 1: many years, when Leo Messi put on Argentina's soccer jersey, 17 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:40,320 Speaker 1: the Albi Celeste. Things well, they didn't go so well. 18 00:01:40,720 --> 00:01:44,360 Speaker 4: But there was a target area and Messi misplaced it. 19 00:01:44,920 --> 00:01:46,360 Speaker 2: Messy. 20 00:01:46,400 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 5: Even now he. 21 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 4: Can't get his goal and he doesn't pick up the prize. 22 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:50,960 Speaker 2: He really wanted. 23 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:55,600 Speaker 1: His critics say he only cared enough to play well 24 00:01:55,720 --> 00:02:00,720 Speaker 1: for the European clubs. See say you that he'd left 25 00:02:00,840 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 1: Argentina too young and was no longer Argentine. 26 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:09,960 Speaker 2: Messi is soon Argentinos. 27 00:02:10,440 --> 00:02:14,320 Speaker 1: But the reality, what was really going on inside and 28 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: outside Leo might have been something totally different. We're talking 29 00:02:19,600 --> 00:02:23,919 Speaker 1: coaches would find Messi in the fetal position, screamed after 30 00:02:24,040 --> 00:02:26,600 Speaker 1: certain games. 31 00:02:27,280 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 6: So I'm just watching Leonel Messi put his shirt over 32 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:30,400 Speaker 6: his face. 33 00:02:31,680 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 5: He's now crouched down with his head on the field. 34 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:40,160 Speaker 1: And for Jasmine, the series host, some of the criticisms 35 00:02:40,320 --> 00:02:46,800 Speaker 1: towards Messi her Pisano hit her personally. She also left 36 00:02:46,919 --> 00:02:51,000 Speaker 1: Argentina as a teenager, and as time passed, she shared 37 00:02:51,120 --> 00:02:56,800 Speaker 1: a question that haunts many immigrants. What would happen if 38 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,440 Speaker 1: we went back and if we do, will we be 39 00:03:00,560 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 1: foreigners in our home countries. Jasmine, a huge soccer fan 40 00:03:07,720 --> 00:03:10,560 Speaker 1: and an NPR national reporter, has spent a lot of 41 00:03:10,639 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: time thinking about how soccer can be a way to 42 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: understand the world, both for its glory and for its darkness. 43 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: So this is not your typical sports story. This is 44 00:03:24,240 --> 00:03:31,280 Speaker 1: a podcast series that explores race, immigration, and colonialism. It's 45 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: about the mimi soccer has for immigrant communities in the 46 00:03:35,680 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 1: United States and around the world, and what it's meant 47 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:40,640 Speaker 1: to Jasmine. 48 00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:42,960 Speaker 2: The World Cup is the creme de la creme. 49 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:45,440 Speaker 3: You know every football I will sit down and tell 50 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 3: you that they will, one hundred times over give. 51 00:03:48,040 --> 00:03:51,680 Speaker 7: Up all of their club titles, all of their medals, 52 00:03:51,760 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 7: just for one World Cup. 53 00:03:54,880 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 1: And as Missy plays his last World Cup, what his 54 00:03:59,200 --> 00:04:03,040 Speaker 1: story tells us about leaving home and whether you could 55 00:04:03,080 --> 00:04:07,960 Speaker 1: ever really go back. I'll let Jasmine take it from here. 56 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:19,279 Speaker 5: The Last Cup is available in English and Spanish. This 57 00:04:19,480 --> 00:04:28,360 Speaker 5: is the English version, but a panel alfie Panol and 58 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,680 Speaker 5: please note this episode contains some explicit language and the 59 00:04:32,760 --> 00:04:37,080 Speaker 5: sounds of gunfire. Our story starts in two thousand and 60 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:40,919 Speaker 5: three with a videotape. A tape gets dropped off with 61 00:04:41,000 --> 00:04:45,599 Speaker 5: the coach of Argentina's under seventeen national soccer team. The 62 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:48,960 Speaker 5: coach's name is Ugani and what he sees on that 63 00:04:49,080 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 5: video leaves him speechless. 64 00:04:55,720 --> 00:04:58,400 Speaker 8: We had a video room all set up. I put 65 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,680 Speaker 8: this tape on and it was like five plays. In additional, 66 00:05:01,839 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 8: I was impressed. 67 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,760 Speaker 5: TOCALI gets tapes like this all the time. I mean, 68 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:11,680 Speaker 5: his job, after all, is finding the best young soccer 69 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,080 Speaker 5: talent in a country that is overflowing with soccer talent. 70 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,400 Speaker 5: The teenager he sees on screen, though, is an Argentine 71 00:05:19,480 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 5: kid who plays in Barcelona. According to sportswriter Gillemba Lage, 72 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:25,840 Speaker 5: this video is legendary. 73 00:05:27,000 --> 00:05:30,359 Speaker 9: You had a very small player, the smallest player, like 74 00:05:30,480 --> 00:05:34,120 Speaker 9: half of the size of everybody else, just dribbling everybody 75 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:39,840 Speaker 9: and scoring, assisting, so he could just do all the dribbling, 76 00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:41,480 Speaker 9: and then in the last moment he just gives a 77 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:44,640 Speaker 9: pass to somebody, a sign of you know that that's 78 00:05:44,720 --> 00:05:49,039 Speaker 9: not all about scoring. All that was early signs of 79 00:05:49,240 --> 00:05:50,039 Speaker 9: what came after. 80 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 5: Tocali faces a conundrum. He will soon take his team 81 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,640 Speaker 5: to Finland for the FIFA Under seventeen World Championship, and 82 00:06:00,680 --> 00:06:03,520 Speaker 5: this kid on the screen is precisely the kind of 83 00:06:03,520 --> 00:06:06,599 Speaker 5: player Togalli has been looking for to improve the squad, 84 00:06:07,040 --> 00:06:10,080 Speaker 5: but he's already assembled a whole team. 85 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,600 Speaker 8: Eco Machino saw the tape about five times and then 86 00:06:14,640 --> 00:06:17,560 Speaker 8: I asked myself, what do I do. I can't just 87 00:06:17,640 --> 00:06:21,280 Speaker 8: take this kid with us, what about these other boys 88 00:06:21,320 --> 00:06:23,039 Speaker 8: who have been practicing with the team. 89 00:06:23,160 --> 00:06:26,760 Speaker 5: For two years, and so Tokali goes to the tournament 90 00:06:26,839 --> 00:06:27,919 Speaker 5: in Finland. 91 00:06:27,600 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 2: With the team he has. 92 00:06:29,400 --> 00:06:31,880 Speaker 5: They make it all the way to the semi finals 93 00:06:31,920 --> 00:06:37,760 Speaker 5: without giving up a single goal, says, and then they 94 00:06:37,760 --> 00:06:51,320 Speaker 5: face off with Spain. After the loss, Togalli finds himself 95 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:56,279 Speaker 5: sitting at a hotel restaurant having dinner, feeling dejected. He's 96 00:06:56,320 --> 00:06:59,960 Speaker 5: a handsome gentleman with striking green eyes and these bush 97 00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:05,760 Speaker 5: melancholy eyebrows, and he's sitting there trying to understand what happened. 98 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 8: The first thing you do is analysts lineup of players 99 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:14,040 Speaker 8: I'd brought to Finland. What did I do right? Where 100 00:07:14,040 --> 00:07:14,800 Speaker 8: did I go wrong? 101 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 5: To an outsider, it might seem like Dogarti is overreacting, 102 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 5: but this is a big deal. It's a youth championship 103 00:07:22,440 --> 00:07:26,160 Speaker 5: for the next generation of superstars. This is the equivalent 104 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:30,040 Speaker 5: of high school football in Texas, youth hockey in Canada. 105 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 5: In Argentina, soccer is essentially the religion, and Dogarti's job 106 00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:37,560 Speaker 5: is to find the next profit. 107 00:07:39,680 --> 00:07:42,920 Speaker 8: It was a big letdown. It was a bitter feeling 108 00:07:42,960 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 8: because I was really hoping we would win an under 109 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 8: seventeen championship. 110 00:07:47,080 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 2: And to add insult to injury. 111 00:07:48,800 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 5: The Spanish team is sitting right there next to him, 112 00:07:52,120 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 5: laughing and eating and living it up. The Argentine team 113 00:07:56,760 --> 00:07:59,559 Speaker 5: had to smuggle their own drinks in. That's how broke 114 00:07:59,600 --> 00:08:02,720 Speaker 5: they were. The Spanish team they got to travel with 115 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 5: their own cook. 116 00:08:05,440 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 8: I was very friendly with the cook and he told me, 117 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:12,000 Speaker 8: if only you'd had that kid on your team. 118 00:08:12,400 --> 00:08:16,360 Speaker 5: The cook starts to say something about this Argentine kid 119 00:08:16,400 --> 00:08:20,280 Speaker 5: who lives in Spain and plays soccer like he's superhuman. 120 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 5: People are talking about how he's the next big thing, 121 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,640 Speaker 5: and Spain is dying to get him on their national team. 122 00:08:30,160 --> 00:08:35,000 Speaker 8: General and I look up at him, he goes quiet. 123 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 8: All the technical directors and the coaching staff of Spain 124 00:08:38,280 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 8: were sitting right there. 125 00:08:39,840 --> 00:08:43,600 Speaker 5: This is when remembers that video lying around in his 126 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,760 Speaker 5: office and he realizes the cook is talking about that kid, 127 00:08:48,160 --> 00:08:51,120 Speaker 5: the one to Gali passed over. So he looks up 128 00:08:51,160 --> 00:08:54,440 Speaker 5: at the cook and asks. 129 00:08:54,000 --> 00:08:55,680 Speaker 8: You're talking about messy, aren't you. 130 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:01,320 Speaker 5: Soccer is complicated. It's about so much more than a 131 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:04,600 Speaker 5: ball and a field. With twenty two players, you can 132 00:09:04,640 --> 00:09:07,320 Speaker 5: be one of the most brilliant young players on the 133 00:09:07,360 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 5: planet on the way to becoming the best in the 134 00:09:10,160 --> 00:09:14,439 Speaker 5: world and still be a stranger in your own country. 135 00:09:15,200 --> 00:09:21,360 Speaker 5: I'm Jasmine Garst. Welcome to the Last Cup. Today on 136 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:23,439 Speaker 5: the show, we take a look back at how one 137 00:09:23,480 --> 00:09:26,600 Speaker 5: of the greatest soccer players of all time left his 138 00:09:26,640 --> 00:09:30,560 Speaker 5: country at a young age and why he longed to return. 139 00:09:31,520 --> 00:09:32,840 Speaker 2: It's a look back at. 140 00:09:32,679 --> 00:09:36,320 Speaker 5: The traumatic upheaval of the country we both call home, 141 00:09:36,920 --> 00:09:40,360 Speaker 5: how it pushed him and me and tens of thousands 142 00:09:40,360 --> 00:09:42,680 Speaker 5: of people off to parts of the world where we 143 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:47,840 Speaker 5: never ever expected to land, and the dream of coming back. 144 00:09:57,400 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 5: If you go to Argentina, one thing you will notice 145 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:03,600 Speaker 5: is that soccer is everywhere. A radio broadcast of a 146 00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,880 Speaker 5: game and an old cab, a TV blasting a match 147 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:10,120 Speaker 5: at a convenience store, and a soccer field on every 148 00:10:10,240 --> 00:10:14,320 Speaker 5: other block, or you know what passes for a soccer field. 149 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:17,200 Speaker 5: Often it's just kids playing in the dust with a 150 00:10:17,200 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 5: makeshift goal. 151 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:24,160 Speaker 9: Wherever you go, there is a page every you know, 152 00:10:24,280 --> 00:10:26,920 Speaker 9: fifty meters. Everybody's involved in the game. 153 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:30,880 Speaker 5: This again is Gien Balague. He wrote an authorized biography 154 00:10:31,040 --> 00:10:32,120 Speaker 5: of Leonelle Messi. 155 00:10:32,600 --> 00:10:36,400 Speaker 9: And it doesn't have to be organized football. It can 156 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:40,760 Speaker 9: be done anyway, be in any field. Because this is 157 00:10:40,800 --> 00:10:43,840 Speaker 9: the beautiful part of football that you can organize a 158 00:10:43,840 --> 00:10:45,040 Speaker 9: football game in no time. 159 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:50,680 Speaker 5: In fact, the legend of Leonelle Messi starts in the 160 00:10:50,720 --> 00:10:55,360 Speaker 5: early nineties on this field where toddlers who haven't even 161 00:10:55,400 --> 00:10:59,199 Speaker 5: been walking for that long are running and scoring goals 162 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:03,240 Speaker 5: under a mirror that shows a young, barefoot Messi juggling 163 00:11:03,280 --> 00:11:06,960 Speaker 5: the ball. I'm in the city of Rosario. It's about 164 00:11:06,960 --> 00:11:09,920 Speaker 5: one hundred and eighty miles from Buenos Aires, the city 165 00:11:10,000 --> 00:11:13,680 Speaker 5: I grew up in. I've come back to Argentina to 166 00:11:13,800 --> 00:11:17,400 Speaker 5: tell you about the dream. Most of these kids out 167 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:21,080 Speaker 5: here dream of becoming soccer gods, and a lot of 168 00:11:21,080 --> 00:11:22,240 Speaker 5: their parents dream. 169 00:11:22,000 --> 00:11:23,600 Speaker 2: About it too. 170 00:11:25,080 --> 00:11:28,520 Speaker 5: Argentina, this dream is so common it even has its 171 00:11:28,520 --> 00:11:33,920 Speaker 5: own name, Bibe, which roughly translates into the kid's dream. 172 00:11:34,440 --> 00:11:40,199 Speaker 5: In the US, there's hoop dreams. In Argentina, it's alive Aliva's. 173 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:42,280 Speaker 9: You know, the young man who gets on the accolades, 174 00:11:42,840 --> 00:11:44,080 Speaker 9: who reaches his dream. 175 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:46,680 Speaker 5: Of course, you make it big in your barrio, you 176 00:11:46,720 --> 00:11:49,160 Speaker 5: make it big nationally and then. 177 00:11:49,440 --> 00:11:52,120 Speaker 9: Maybe eventually make it into Europe. But certainly first Conker 178 00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:53,400 Speaker 9: Home and Messi. 179 00:11:53,559 --> 00:11:57,960 Speaker 5: He's a classic bibe. In the early nineties, working class family. 180 00:11:58,200 --> 00:12:01,720 Speaker 5: Dad works at a steel factory. Mom cleans houses to 181 00:12:01,800 --> 00:12:05,200 Speaker 5: make some extra money, and money was tight when he 182 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:06,000 Speaker 5: was growing up. 183 00:12:06,360 --> 00:12:10,040 Speaker 9: They just felt that that the wages weren't enough, that 184 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:13,240 Speaker 9: the little money that the mom could be doing, and 185 00:12:13,320 --> 00:12:16,120 Speaker 9: the money that that did, it just it was getting 186 00:12:16,120 --> 00:12:17,160 Speaker 9: to the limit. 187 00:12:19,920 --> 00:12:23,880 Speaker 5: By the time he's eight, he joined a major national club. 188 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:26,400 Speaker 5: He went to play for the kids squad at new 189 00:12:26,480 --> 00:12:30,199 Speaker 5: Usaili Boys. That's one of the main teams in Rosadio 190 00:12:30,559 --> 00:12:33,480 Speaker 5: and one of the biggest teams in the country. Even 191 00:12:33,480 --> 00:12:35,679 Speaker 5: though it was a kid's team made of boys born 192 00:12:35,679 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 5: in nineteen eighty seven, they were so good people called 193 00:12:39,160 --> 00:12:51,960 Speaker 5: them la Maquina the machine of eighty seven. Here in Prosadio, 194 00:12:52,080 --> 00:12:55,320 Speaker 5: I met Niels fans who told me they loved watching 195 00:12:55,559 --> 00:12:56,520 Speaker 5: young Leo play. 196 00:12:57,080 --> 00:12:58,760 Speaker 9: The amount of people that went to see, you know, 197 00:12:58,800 --> 00:13:02,120 Speaker 9: the under the eleven of news or boys, all the 198 00:13:02,160 --> 00:13:04,160 Speaker 9: fact that he had to go have to leave school 199 00:13:04,160 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 9: and got to tournaments abroad. Those things indicate that totally 200 00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:09,360 Speaker 9: everybody knew that he was something. 201 00:13:09,440 --> 00:13:15,120 Speaker 5: Specially even as teammates back then knew there was something 202 00:13:15,200 --> 00:13:19,160 Speaker 5: special about this boy, said Kio man Alana. No relation 203 00:13:19,320 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 5: to the soccer legend was a bit younger, but he 204 00:13:21,960 --> 00:13:24,720 Speaker 5: said he was fascinated by how Messi played. 205 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:29,319 Speaker 10: You know, did to stand out among the others, not 206 00:13:29,520 --> 00:13:33,080 Speaker 10: just because he was small physically button, but also because 207 00:13:33,120 --> 00:13:36,960 Speaker 10: of his speed, the technique he had. But then he 208 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:42,079 Speaker 10: was totally differentet he was from another planet. 209 00:13:44,640 --> 00:13:47,960 Speaker 5: But there's a problem. In the early stages of his 210 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:52,560 Speaker 5: soccer career. Messi is in fact very small for his age. 211 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:57,120 Speaker 5: He isn't growing like other boys. When Messi was eleven, 212 00:13:57,240 --> 00:14:01,760 Speaker 5: he went to see an endocrinologist, doctor go Schwarstein. He 213 00:14:01,840 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 5: finds that Leo has a hormone deficiency, which for an 214 00:14:04,960 --> 00:14:10,199 Speaker 5: aspiring athlete is super problematic. This could derail his dreams. 215 00:14:12,880 --> 00:14:15,000 Speaker 4: If he hadn't gotten treatment, he would have been like 216 00:14:15,120 --> 00:14:18,680 Speaker 4: any other kid suffering from an untreated growth hormone deficiency, 217 00:14:19,280 --> 00:14:23,520 Speaker 4: and definitely he would have been shorter than he is today. 218 00:14:23,600 --> 00:14:24,600 Speaker 4: I don't know, maybe. 219 00:14:24,600 --> 00:14:26,560 Speaker 2: Four or six inches shorter. 220 00:14:27,480 --> 00:14:29,240 Speaker 4: I don't know if he would play at this level. 221 00:14:33,200 --> 00:14:37,520 Speaker 5: And the treatment is very expensive. In Gian's book simply 222 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,960 Speaker 5: called Messi, he says mules paid for some of the treatment. 223 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 5: In an interview with ESPN, Messi a teenager with a 224 00:14:45,120 --> 00:14:48,200 Speaker 5: crackly voice and a goofy haircut. He talks about his 225 00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:54,200 Speaker 5: hormonal treatment, which was kind of a lot. He says, 226 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:59,880 Speaker 5: I had to inject myself every night and every day, 227 00:15:00,800 --> 00:15:04,200 Speaker 5: an injection to wake up my hormones to grow normally. 228 00:15:06,440 --> 00:15:10,040 Speaker 5: Once he starts getting treatment, the dream is back in sight, 229 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:17,920 Speaker 5: but things in the country are changing. I was a 230 00:15:17,920 --> 00:15:22,200 Speaker 5: teenager in Argentina back then in the late nineties. While 231 00:15:22,240 --> 00:15:26,720 Speaker 5: Messi was perfecting his extraordinary dribble and rosadio. I was 232 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:30,960 Speaker 5: further south in Buenos Aires. I hadn't heard of Messi yet, 233 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:34,440 Speaker 5: of course, but we grew up in similar environments. We 234 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:37,840 Speaker 5: had parents who were stressed out about money. We were 235 00:15:37,920 --> 00:15:42,240 Speaker 5: raised largely by our grandmothers. And that's about where the 236 00:15:42,280 --> 00:15:46,560 Speaker 5: similarities end. While he was polishing his free kicks and 237 00:15:46,600 --> 00:15:50,240 Speaker 5: injecting hormones, I was a fifteen year old perfecting my 238 00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:54,800 Speaker 5: black eyeliner technique, fighting with my little brother, listening to 239 00:15:55,000 --> 00:16:01,600 Speaker 5: Umbia like Shila Hole and Domino, while grandma was in 240 00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:08,480 Speaker 5: the kitchen cooking and singing boles, you know, by some emocho, 241 00:16:13,400 --> 00:16:16,160 Speaker 5: and at some point should come out and be like, okay, 242 00:16:16,360 --> 00:16:18,240 Speaker 5: come on, everybody, everybody. 243 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:18,320 Speaker 4: Get up. 244 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:21,040 Speaker 2: You can't just be locked in here all day, get out. 245 00:16:21,440 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 2: You gotta get some fresh air. 246 00:16:23,680 --> 00:16:26,240 Speaker 5: So I'd go to the park by my house and 247 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:35,200 Speaker 5: smoke with my friends all day. When i'd come back 248 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,240 Speaker 5: home at night from our adventures, I'd spray a lot 249 00:16:38,320 --> 00:16:41,480 Speaker 5: of deodorant on myself to mask the smoke. 250 00:16:41,240 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 2: And sometimes crawl into bed. 251 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:46,640 Speaker 5: Next to my grandmother. I would have never told my 252 00:16:46,760 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 5: teenage friends this, but we used to hold hands in 253 00:16:49,800 --> 00:16:52,200 Speaker 5: our sleep, even if we were mad at each other. 254 00:16:53,040 --> 00:16:55,440 Speaker 2: But Junda. 255 00:16:56,400 --> 00:17:07,040 Speaker 5: So we could be together in each other's dreams. 256 00:17:04,760 --> 00:17:05,640 Speaker 2: Was an odd one. 257 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,760 Speaker 5: My grandmother slept with her patent leather platform shoes on 258 00:17:09,960 --> 00:17:12,480 Speaker 5: in case there was an emergency and she had to 259 00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:17,880 Speaker 5: run out, and a tiny plastic radio was always on, 260 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:27,040 Speaker 5: muffled under her pillow, playing the news in and as 261 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:31,960 Speaker 5: I lay there, I'd hear the official numbers fifteen percent unemployment, 262 00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:38,200 Speaker 5: seventeen percent unemployment. Eventually it would get to twenty. Things 263 00:17:38,240 --> 00:17:45,520 Speaker 5: were getting very, very bad. The healthcare system was imploding. 264 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,960 Speaker 5: Here's doctor Diego Schwardstein Leo Messi's and do chronologist. 265 00:17:54,560 --> 00:17:58,880 Speaker 4: We're talking about the year ninety eight, ninety nine, almost 266 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 4: two thousand and one, and the Argentina's social structure just broke. 267 00:18:05,600 --> 00:18:13,800 Speaker 4: It fractured. There were no protections. People couldn't get medications hormones, so. 268 00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:16,560 Speaker 2: This was a huge problem. 269 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:22,520 Speaker 4: I mean people's cancer treatment got interrupted, Diabetics couldn't get insulin. 270 00:18:23,400 --> 00:18:26,360 Speaker 5: The Messis have said that Newles, their soccer club, stopped 271 00:18:26,400 --> 00:18:30,000 Speaker 5: helping pay for his hormone treatment because even the big 272 00:18:30,040 --> 00:18:33,800 Speaker 5: soccer clubs in Argentina, these multi million dollar enterprises that 273 00:18:33,880 --> 00:18:36,680 Speaker 5: you would think were a recession proof, even they were 274 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:41,240 Speaker 5: feeling the economic crisis and without a treatment, Messi's future 275 00:18:41,320 --> 00:18:45,159 Speaker 5: as an athlete was becoming uncertain. Gimba Lage says money 276 00:18:45,320 --> 00:18:47,360 Speaker 5: was getting tight for the family. 277 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:52,360 Speaker 9: They had to make decisions about the future. The prospects 278 00:18:52,359 --> 00:18:56,800 Speaker 9: weren't great. Factories were closing, jobs were being lost. In fact, 279 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:58,960 Speaker 9: that it was going to be a recession, which happened, 280 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:05,120 Speaker 9: and they realized that they may have to take steps 281 00:19:05,160 --> 00:19:08,320 Speaker 9: towards leaving the country. 282 00:19:12,080 --> 00:19:14,680 Speaker 5: My dad was a professor at the University of Buenos 283 00:19:14,720 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 5: Aires at the time. He lost almost all his work 284 00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:22,160 Speaker 5: that year, so did my mom. Our family basically tail 285 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:26,679 Speaker 5: spent into having almost no income and the government started 286 00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:29,400 Speaker 5: putting caps on how much of your savings you could 287 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:34,800 Speaker 5: take out of the bank. There was a lot of anguish. 288 00:19:35,160 --> 00:19:37,040 Speaker 5: I remember waking up in the middle of the night 289 00:19:37,160 --> 00:19:40,040 Speaker 5: to get a glass of water and finding my father 290 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:44,960 Speaker 5: at the kitchen table just staring into space. He was 291 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 5: also starting to wonder if we should try to leave. 292 00:19:56,320 --> 00:19:59,840 Speaker 5: After the break, European soccer club start making big money 293 00:20:00,119 --> 00:20:44,600 Speaker 5: and turned their sights towards Latin America. People don't realize this, 294 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:47,919 Speaker 5: but a long time ago, it wasn't that common to 295 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,879 Speaker 5: see so many Latin American and African players in the 296 00:20:50,920 --> 00:20:53,400 Speaker 5: European leagues for starters. 297 00:20:53,440 --> 00:20:55,040 Speaker 2: There was a major rule. 298 00:20:54,880 --> 00:20:58,560 Speaker 5: Change that removed caps on how many foreign players were 299 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:03,040 Speaker 5: allowed on any given European team. Another thing that changed 300 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:07,399 Speaker 5: cable companies made deals with the big European soccer leagues. 301 00:21:07,760 --> 00:21:11,600 Speaker 9: Sky Sports proudly presents heavy Premier League football. 302 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:16,320 Speaker 5: In nineteen ninety two, the British Premier League sold broadcast 303 00:21:16,440 --> 00:21:20,320 Speaker 5: rights to Sky Sports in a landmark deal worth three 304 00:21:20,400 --> 00:21:23,160 Speaker 5: hundred and four million pounds. 305 00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:26,400 Speaker 9: Here we go, Weekends will never be the same again. 306 00:21:26,440 --> 00:21:29,960 Speaker 9: We're here for the next five hours with Soper Sunday. 307 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:32,160 Speaker 10: Delighted to be part of the FA Premier League. 308 00:21:32,160 --> 00:21:34,199 Speaker 9: It's a whole new ball game. For all of us. 309 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:36,719 Speaker 4: And remember this is the only place you'll see. 310 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,919 Speaker 5: The deals meant larger audiences, more sponsorships, more money in 311 00:21:41,000 --> 00:21:45,560 Speaker 5: teams pockets. Simon Cooper, the author of The Barcelona Complex, 312 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:48,200 Speaker 5: says European teams started thinking. 313 00:21:48,119 --> 00:21:51,120 Speaker 7: Okay, well, we're going to buy the best Brazilians, Argentinians 314 00:21:51,119 --> 00:21:54,200 Speaker 7: and New York Wayans principally and bring them here because 315 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:55,480 Speaker 7: we have the money now to do that. 316 00:21:56,040 --> 00:22:00,240 Speaker 5: Player after player, the European team started really going in 317 00:22:00,400 --> 00:22:05,560 Speaker 5: on getting the best talent from Latin America. 318 00:22:07,760 --> 00:22:10,840 Speaker 7: So in the late seventies Argentina had arguably the best 319 00:22:10,920 --> 00:22:14,720 Speaker 7: league in the world, and by the early nineties it's 320 00:22:14,760 --> 00:22:17,560 Speaker 7: just the kind of feeder team and baseball team, almost 321 00:22:17,600 --> 00:22:21,160 Speaker 7: a Triple A league for the European leagues. 322 00:22:21,880 --> 00:22:25,840 Speaker 5: And then at some point European clubs they start to think, well, 323 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:31,000 Speaker 5: why not bring younger players for cheaper. Cooper, who has 324 00:22:31,000 --> 00:22:35,000 Speaker 5: written a lot about Messi, says, Messi's dad knew his. 325 00:22:35,000 --> 00:22:39,840 Speaker 7: Son is brilliant. It doesn't take business genius to realize 326 00:22:40,400 --> 00:22:42,760 Speaker 7: that the gold is in Europe and not here. 327 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,720 Speaker 5: In fact, European scouts were starting to sniff around Rosadio. 328 00:22:50,200 --> 00:22:52,840 Speaker 5: Take the case of Serkio. We heard from him earlier. 329 00:22:52,880 --> 00:22:57,159 Speaker 5: He was that teammate of Messi's at Nules. When I 330 00:22:57,200 --> 00:22:59,760 Speaker 5: met him in Rosadiokio said it was in the year 331 00:22:59,840 --> 00:23:03,720 Speaker 5: two thousand, when he was just eleven years old, that 332 00:23:03,800 --> 00:23:06,600 Speaker 5: a European scout came to one of his games. 333 00:23:07,240 --> 00:23:10,560 Speaker 10: No no, no, Saria, no Saria. I didn't know there 334 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,000 Speaker 10: were scout in this town watching me play, but. 335 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,880 Speaker 5: Of course they were. Sahio was a great player. In fact, 336 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:20,600 Speaker 5: when I turned my recorder off, people in Rosadio actually 337 00:23:20,640 --> 00:23:23,919 Speaker 5: tell me he played as well as Messy, if not better. 338 00:23:24,640 --> 00:23:27,680 Speaker 5: There's this one game in particular that stands out. 339 00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:30,560 Speaker 10: For Serhio Mio. 340 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:33,840 Speaker 5: He didn't play well that day. 341 00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,080 Speaker 10: No, yeah, didn't remember. I left the game and my 342 00:23:36,160 --> 00:23:39,080 Speaker 10: dad cursed me out because I didn't have a good game. 343 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:39,880 Speaker 2: He says. 344 00:23:39,880 --> 00:23:43,119 Speaker 5: A Spanish scout approached his father with an offer. You 345 00:23:43,119 --> 00:23:45,640 Speaker 5: could let us take Sadhio to Spain, or you can 346 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:48,159 Speaker 5: come with him and we'll give you a stipend to 347 00:23:48,240 --> 00:23:48,960 Speaker 5: live off. 348 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:55,120 Speaker 3: The Mifamilia. 349 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:57,720 Speaker 10: At the time, my dad was the sole bred winner 350 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:01,000 Speaker 10: at home. He couldn't just leave. He clearly doesn't have 351 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,800 Speaker 10: any regrets. He said that he will never allow his 352 00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,240 Speaker 10: eleven year old son to live by himself. 353 00:24:06,800 --> 00:24:09,600 Speaker 2: Serio's dad said no to the Spaniard. 354 00:24:12,040 --> 00:24:16,800 Speaker 10: Yeschell, he never told me and that was careful. We 355 00:24:16,920 --> 00:24:21,680 Speaker 10: had strong arguments. Even now when the topic comes up sometimes. 356 00:24:21,359 --> 00:24:23,600 Speaker 5: Said He went on to play for minor teams in 357 00:24:23,720 --> 00:24:26,919 Speaker 5: Argentina and around Latin America, and he says he often 358 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:30,080 Speaker 5: wonders what if his dad had said yes to the 359 00:24:30,119 --> 00:24:31,040 Speaker 5: Spanish scout. 360 00:24:34,119 --> 00:24:37,560 Speaker 10: Drea, I still have that question in my mind, the 361 00:24:37,600 --> 00:24:39,920 Speaker 10: what if? Who could I have been if I had 362 00:24:39,920 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 10: the resources like in Europe, I will have gotten better nutrition. 363 00:24:44,640 --> 00:24:47,000 Speaker 10: I suffer so much playing in the juice leagues in 364 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 10: Argentina it was abusive and Argadina that really, I mean, 365 00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:53,560 Speaker 10: look at the state the country is in today. I 366 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,800 Speaker 10: think that any boy who has the opportunity to should 367 00:24:56,840 --> 00:24:57,360 Speaker 10: go abroad. 368 00:25:02,760 --> 00:25:06,600 Speaker 5: There's one boy who also played at Nules who jumped 369 00:25:06,600 --> 00:25:10,200 Speaker 5: at the opportunity. Around the same time as Sakio's dad 370 00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 5: said absolutely not to a Spanish scout, Messi's dad started 371 00:25:15,600 --> 00:25:19,040 Speaker 5: talking to one of the biggest teams in Spain, barsa 372 00:25:19,080 --> 00:25:21,160 Speaker 5: football club in Barcelona. 373 00:25:22,720 --> 00:25:26,879 Speaker 9: So message dad a big footballman, and he realized the 374 00:25:26,880 --> 00:25:30,280 Speaker 9: potential of Leo and they went for it. 375 00:25:30,960 --> 00:25:33,120 Speaker 5: So Messy got on a plane to do a tryout. 376 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:37,359 Speaker 5: He was only thirteen. He made a big impression, but 377 00:25:37,920 --> 00:25:39,399 Speaker 5: Barsa had doubts. 378 00:25:39,720 --> 00:25:41,960 Speaker 7: One of the problems in soccer is it's very hard 379 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:45,240 Speaker 7: to extrapolate from being good at thirteen its being good 380 00:25:45,240 --> 00:25:47,840 Speaker 7: at eighteen. It just doesn't mean very much. If a 381 00:25:47,920 --> 00:25:52,040 Speaker 7: kid is grace at thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, your body changes, 382 00:25:52,160 --> 00:25:55,720 Speaker 7: your desires change. Some kids get better, some kids don't. 383 00:25:56,400 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 7: So it's just not a good bet. 384 00:25:59,040 --> 00:26:02,199 Speaker 5: And this Bla reminds me was a kid who required 385 00:26:02,240 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 5: an expensive hormonal treatment. 386 00:26:05,160 --> 00:26:07,440 Speaker 9: There was a big question mark, and yes he had 387 00:26:07,440 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 9: to do also with the hormone treatment that had to 388 00:26:10,880 --> 00:26:13,760 Speaker 9: be paid by the agents. When he landed in Barcearonacau 389 00:26:13,800 --> 00:26:15,800 Speaker 9: Barcearona didn't have the money for it or didn't want 390 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:16,359 Speaker 9: to pay for it. 391 00:26:16,840 --> 00:26:21,160 Speaker 5: Messi comes back to Argentina without a contract. A few 392 00:26:21,160 --> 00:26:25,800 Speaker 5: months later, Messi got invited to join the Varsa Youth Academy. 393 00:26:26,920 --> 00:26:29,600 Speaker 5: The Messis didn't tell a lot of folks in Brosadio 394 00:26:29,720 --> 00:26:32,959 Speaker 5: that they were leaving. It was early two thousand and one, 395 00:26:33,160 --> 00:26:36,720 Speaker 5: and Balagay says Messi cried the whole way to the airport. 396 00:26:37,520 --> 00:26:40,040 Speaker 5: A few months later, I would take a similar journey. 397 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:43,440 Speaker 5: Many people did, because in December two thousand and one 398 00:26:43,840 --> 00:26:52,119 Speaker 5: things blew up in Argentina. There's this one memory I 399 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:55,560 Speaker 5: have of my country coming apart to this day. I 400 00:26:55,560 --> 00:26:58,000 Speaker 5: think about it more often than I like to admit. 401 00:26:59,400 --> 00:27:02,119 Speaker 5: It's the memory of this young man. I saw him 402 00:27:02,280 --> 00:27:06,119 Speaker 5: on TV. He was protesting outside the Presidential Palace, not 403 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:09,680 Speaker 5: far from where I used to live. This guy, he's 404 00:27:09,720 --> 00:27:13,080 Speaker 5: a kid, he must have been like in his early twenties, 405 00:27:13,720 --> 00:27:14,480 Speaker 5: and he's being. 406 00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:17,119 Speaker 2: Dragged away by cops and as. 407 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:22,920 Speaker 5: They're taking him, he screams, we're dying of starvation. They're 408 00:27:22,960 --> 00:27:29,320 Speaker 5: starving us, and then he yells his name. I was 409 00:27:29,359 --> 00:27:31,960 Speaker 5: a kid myself, not that much younger than he was, 410 00:27:32,280 --> 00:27:36,000 Speaker 5: and I think the reason this moment is seared in 411 00:27:36,119 --> 00:27:39,760 Speaker 5: my memory is because as he was screaming his name, 412 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:43,360 Speaker 5: I thought to myself, he wants us to know who 413 00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:51,760 Speaker 5: he is in case they do something to him. That's 414 00:27:51,800 --> 00:27:56,200 Speaker 5: how violent the government crackdown had gotten. It was December 415 00:27:56,240 --> 00:27:58,800 Speaker 5: two thousand and one, and here, in a nutshell, is 416 00:27:58,840 --> 00:28:03,520 Speaker 5: how the country reached its breaking point. A brutal dictatorship 417 00:28:03,640 --> 00:28:07,679 Speaker 5: ruled over Argentina in the seventies and early eighties. During 418 00:28:07,720 --> 00:28:12,920 Speaker 5: that time, foreign debt increased fivefold. Add to that, decades 419 00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:18,000 Speaker 5: of disastrous economic and monetary policies, ramp and corruption in 420 00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:20,800 Speaker 5: the nineties. That's just a few of the things that 421 00:28:20,880 --> 00:28:26,680 Speaker 5: led to this totally unsustainable situation. People started going hungry, 422 00:28:27,200 --> 00:28:32,600 Speaker 5: Hospitals started having shortages. It got so bad groups of 423 00:28:32,640 --> 00:28:37,320 Speaker 5: people started busting into supermarkets, grabbing whatever they could eat 424 00:28:37,359 --> 00:28:41,440 Speaker 5: and running. The morning the government declared a state of siege. 425 00:28:41,560 --> 00:28:45,000 Speaker 5: I was watching the news when the broadcast was interrupted 426 00:28:45,040 --> 00:28:46,840 Speaker 5: by an official announcement from the. 427 00:28:46,760 --> 00:28:52,280 Speaker 4: President niaponent in periuro persona. 428 00:28:53,240 --> 00:28:56,600 Speaker 5: The president was basically saying some of our rights were 429 00:28:56,640 --> 00:29:02,040 Speaker 5: no longer guaranteed. No moving freely in spaces, no gathering 430 00:29:02,120 --> 00:29:06,760 Speaker 5: in groups. You could be arrested without explanation, and militarized 431 00:29:06,840 --> 00:29:09,280 Speaker 5: police were deployed, and. 432 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:15,239 Speaker 11: The response from the police was brutal. They showed up 433 00:29:15,280 --> 00:29:20,640 Speaker 11: and whipped people. They shot at them, elderly people, women, miners. 434 00:29:21,160 --> 00:29:22,040 Speaker 2: It didn't matter. 435 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:27,680 Speaker 5: Eventually protesters ran because I'm out of office. Over the 436 00:29:27,680 --> 00:29:31,960 Speaker 5: next month or so, we would get four more presidents. 437 00:29:35,360 --> 00:29:38,200 Speaker 5: Around this time, my parents decided that we were going 438 00:29:38,240 --> 00:29:41,959 Speaker 5: to try and move to the United States, and I 439 00:29:42,000 --> 00:29:45,640 Speaker 5: remember we had this family talk in which we sat 440 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:49,640 Speaker 5: down and explained to my grandparents that this way, when 441 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:53,160 Speaker 5: they got older, we could help them out. This is 442 00:29:53,160 --> 00:29:56,080 Speaker 5: the only time I have ever seen my grandfather cry. 443 00:29:56,320 --> 00:30:00,800 Speaker 5: He was like a big, old shuddering tree. In the 444 00:30:00,840 --> 00:30:03,320 Speaker 5: middle of the talk, I excused myself to go to 445 00:30:03,400 --> 00:30:05,720 Speaker 5: the bathroom and just sat on the edge of the 446 00:30:05,760 --> 00:30:10,520 Speaker 5: toilet and sobbed. My parents were both teachers, so it's 447 00:30:10,520 --> 00:30:13,000 Speaker 5: not like there were a lot of savings to be salvaged. 448 00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,880 Speaker 5: But on this one hot summer day, my mother grabbed 449 00:30:16,880 --> 00:30:19,800 Speaker 5: the cash she'd been storing away at home, put it 450 00:30:19,840 --> 00:30:22,640 Speaker 5: in a pouch under her clothes, and put on her 451 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,560 Speaker 5: red winter jacket. On the cab ride to the airport, 452 00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:30,920 Speaker 5: she was stern and irritated with us. Now, as an adult, 453 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:39,360 Speaker 5: I understand why she must have been really scared. That 454 00:30:39,440 --> 00:30:42,200 Speaker 5: would be my last drive through Buenos Aires for many 455 00:30:42,280 --> 00:30:48,400 Speaker 5: years to come. That year, about two hundred and twenty 456 00:30:48,400 --> 00:30:52,640 Speaker 5: five thousand people left the country. One economist I spoke 457 00:30:52,680 --> 00:30:55,080 Speaker 5: to told me that at the time he remembers seeing 458 00:30:55,120 --> 00:30:59,000 Speaker 5: graffiti at the airport which read Elulti and selira baui 459 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:02,160 Speaker 5: la lush last. 460 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:04,040 Speaker 2: One out, turn off the lights. 461 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:50,280 Speaker 5: In this video from Bartsia Football Club, shot after he 462 00:31:50,440 --> 00:31:55,160 Speaker 5: arrived in Barcelona, a young Messy sounds relieved. 463 00:31:58,360 --> 00:31:59,880 Speaker 9: I didn't I went on. 464 00:32:00,680 --> 00:32:04,480 Speaker 5: He says he's living a different and better life in Barcelona. 465 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:08,160 Speaker 5: He's happy because things have changed for him, and you 466 00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,440 Speaker 5: have to understand he left his country just as everything 467 00:32:11,560 --> 00:32:19,719 Speaker 5: was really unraveling. Still, he says, Argentina is home. All 468 00:32:19,840 --> 00:32:22,920 Speaker 5: his friends and family are back there. His mom and 469 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:26,120 Speaker 5: siblings were in Rosadio. It was just him and his dad, 470 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:31,200 Speaker 5: which sounds kind of lonely. GiB says this was a 471 00:32:31,200 --> 00:32:32,720 Speaker 5: lot for a young teenager. 472 00:32:33,080 --> 00:32:36,880 Speaker 9: Basically, he realizes that he couldn't very early on, that 473 00:32:36,880 --> 00:32:40,040 Speaker 9: he couldn't make mistakes, and he couldn't doubt because if 474 00:32:40,040 --> 00:32:42,160 Speaker 9: he did, the whole thing could collapse. 475 00:32:42,520 --> 00:32:45,400 Speaker 5: In interviews like this one with ESPN and Messi says 476 00:32:45,440 --> 00:32:50,920 Speaker 5: he's happy at Bartisa, but he has this story. He 477 00:32:51,000 --> 00:32:53,520 Speaker 5: wants to go home someday and play for a local 478 00:32:53,640 --> 00:33:00,960 Speaker 5: team in Argentina, but he never did. Instead, he rocketed 479 00:33:01,040 --> 00:33:16,160 Speaker 5: up the ranks of Bara's youth systems. In late two 480 00:33:16,160 --> 00:33:19,720 Speaker 5: thousand and three, he debuts with the grownups on Barsa's 481 00:33:19,720 --> 00:33:27,880 Speaker 5: first division team against a Portuguese team. It's been reported 482 00:33:27,920 --> 00:33:30,920 Speaker 5: that he was so excited he couldn't sleep that night 483 00:33:31,080 --> 00:33:34,200 Speaker 5: before the game. The game, by the way, is narrated 484 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:38,640 Speaker 5: in Portuguese. Throughout most of this game, Messi is sitting 485 00:33:38,640 --> 00:33:41,480 Speaker 5: on the bench looking kind of nervous, holding his hands, 486 00:33:42,400 --> 00:33:43,520 Speaker 5: and then he gets sent in. 487 00:33:43,720 --> 00:33:44,640 Speaker 2: Towards the end. 488 00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:52,120 Speaker 5: He reminds one of Maradona, the announcer says, referring to 489 00:33:52,200 --> 00:33:56,160 Speaker 5: soccer god Diego Maradona, who will hear a lot about 490 00:33:56,240 --> 00:34:00,240 Speaker 5: in the next episode. This is a comparison that will 491 00:34:00,320 --> 00:34:04,320 Speaker 5: haunt Messi throughout his career, but for now, he runs 492 00:34:04,320 --> 00:34:07,840 Speaker 5: onto the field like an excited puppy, his awkward teenage 493 00:34:07,880 --> 00:34:12,560 Speaker 5: hair flopping around, his team uniform looking too big for him. 494 00:34:13,160 --> 00:34:15,719 Speaker 5: Messi doesn't score in this game, but he got so 495 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:17,560 Speaker 5: close several times. 496 00:34:18,120 --> 00:34:20,120 Speaker 4: Messy Alpha sad. 497 00:34:20,200 --> 00:34:23,920 Speaker 5: That day everyone got a whiff of his greatness. He 498 00:34:24,080 --> 00:34:27,200 Speaker 5: was only fifteen years old, one of the youngest players 499 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:31,239 Speaker 5: to ever hit the field for Badsay's first division, and 500 00:34:31,360 --> 00:34:35,480 Speaker 5: already he was putting fear into the hearts of goalies. 501 00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:39,360 Speaker 2: Because this says. 502 00:34:40,680 --> 00:34:49,520 Speaker 5: Yes, so it was no surprise that very early on, 503 00:34:49,719 --> 00:34:52,600 Speaker 5: Spain starts to think, we need this guy on our 504 00:34:52,680 --> 00:34:56,440 Speaker 5: national team. Of course, Spain thinks Messi would be eager 505 00:34:56,480 --> 00:35:00,480 Speaker 5: to join. Why wouldn't he. Spain gave Messi so much, 506 00:35:01,000 --> 00:35:04,239 Speaker 5: Why would he ever want to leave? Why would he 507 00:35:04,320 --> 00:35:08,080 Speaker 5: want to go play back home? Why does anyone dream 508 00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:12,719 Speaker 5: of going back home? While Messi was killing it on 509 00:35:12,800 --> 00:35:16,759 Speaker 5: pitches in Europe, my family and I we lived in 510 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:20,960 Speaker 5: a motel in southern California. That first year in the US. 511 00:35:21,040 --> 00:35:24,000 Speaker 5: I worked a lot of jobs at once. I did 512 00:35:24,120 --> 00:35:28,040 Speaker 5: nights at a bakery, I cleaned bathrooms at a hair salon, 513 00:35:28,520 --> 00:35:32,239 Speaker 5: and I worked at this one store called the Frustrated Cowboy, 514 00:35:32,640 --> 00:35:36,160 Speaker 5: where I sold cowboy hats and boots to suburban nights. 515 00:35:36,239 --> 00:35:39,239 Speaker 5: While listening to text Ritter on a loop. 516 00:35:39,280 --> 00:35:46,320 Speaker 9: I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy. 517 00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:49,240 Speaker 5: It was like I had been thrown into the deep 518 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:53,319 Speaker 5: end of the American experience. And during my breaks, I'd 519 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:56,560 Speaker 5: sit in the parking lot smoking, and I'd think to myself, 520 00:35:58,040 --> 00:36:07,440 Speaker 5: coming here was a mistake. I couldn't afford to go back, 521 00:36:07,640 --> 00:36:10,240 Speaker 5: but I kept my country in the rear view mirror, 522 00:36:10,880 --> 00:36:13,239 Speaker 5: and I tell myself one day, I'm going to make 523 00:36:13,239 --> 00:36:15,920 Speaker 5: a U turn. Maybe in a year or two, Okay, 524 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:19,520 Speaker 5: three years, I'm gonna give it three years. Just wait 525 00:36:19,560 --> 00:36:22,280 Speaker 5: to know if the people I arrived with, my parents 526 00:36:22,320 --> 00:36:24,200 Speaker 5: and my brother are going to be okay, and then 527 00:36:24,200 --> 00:36:25,120 Speaker 5: I'm going to go back. 528 00:36:26,560 --> 00:36:28,799 Speaker 2: Before I knew it, that place. 529 00:36:28,520 --> 00:36:30,520 Speaker 5: I loved so much, the one I kept in the 530 00:36:30,560 --> 00:36:34,360 Speaker 5: rearview mirror, had become a speck on the horizon, and 531 00:36:34,440 --> 00:36:38,200 Speaker 5: I'd spent a lot of time telling myself I'll be 532 00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:42,239 Speaker 5: right back, and I meant it every single time I 533 00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:47,560 Speaker 5: said it. And Messi, I think he meant it too. Yeah, yeah, 534 00:36:47,600 --> 00:36:50,320 Speaker 5: I know. I was making a minimum wage and Messi 535 00:36:50,560 --> 00:36:53,279 Speaker 5: was well on his way to becoming a millionaire. 536 00:36:53,840 --> 00:36:56,040 Speaker 2: But I get why he did what he did. 537 00:36:56,200 --> 00:37:01,080 Speaker 5: When Spain asked him to join their national team, he 538 00:37:01,160 --> 00:37:09,560 Speaker 5: said no. Despite having been adopted and taken care of 539 00:37:09,680 --> 00:37:15,200 Speaker 5: by Spain, GiB says, Messi felt deeply Argentine. He wanted 540 00:37:15,200 --> 00:37:18,480 Speaker 5: to play and be recognized by his home country. 541 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:23,839 Speaker 9: Home is home, and you may be appreciated by Catalans 542 00:37:24,040 --> 00:37:27,239 Speaker 9: or by you know, millions around the world, but I'm 543 00:37:27,239 --> 00:37:30,760 Speaker 9: telling you you are an immigrant, so am I. Unless 544 00:37:30,760 --> 00:37:33,479 Speaker 9: I'm recognized the home. It just doesn't feel the same. 545 00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:34,959 Speaker 9: It doesn't feel the same. 546 00:37:41,640 --> 00:37:45,880 Speaker 5: Messi says it himself in that ESPN interview. His goal 547 00:37:46,080 --> 00:37:51,640 Speaker 5: is to play with the Argentine national team. Say it's 548 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:54,240 Speaker 5: something he's wanted to do for a very long time, 549 00:37:54,320 --> 00:37:57,440 Speaker 5: and he's never achieved it. Even as he speaks, he 550 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:02,560 Speaker 5: still has that working class Argentine accent that avoids consonants 551 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:06,920 Speaker 5: like its dodgeball. He longed to play for Argentina on 552 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:11,120 Speaker 5: the national team, but there was a slight problem the 553 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:15,120 Speaker 5: gatekeepers of Argentine soccer. They didn't really know who Leo 554 00:38:15,160 --> 00:38:18,839 Speaker 5: Messi was. I mean Ugo to Galli, that's the under 555 00:38:18,880 --> 00:38:22,000 Speaker 5: seventeen coach. When we last heard from him at the 556 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:26,120 Speaker 5: beginning of this episode, he got that videotape and set 557 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:26,680 Speaker 5: it aside. 558 00:38:27,120 --> 00:38:30,840 Speaker 8: Ego machincoes. I saw the tape about five times. 559 00:38:31,280 --> 00:38:34,720 Speaker 5: I was impressed, but they decided not to take Messi 560 00:38:34,800 --> 00:38:38,120 Speaker 5: with them to the Under seventeen World Championship in two 561 00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:41,200 Speaker 5: thousand and three, the one they end up losing, Which 562 00:38:41,239 --> 00:38:43,720 Speaker 5: is how do Galli and his colleagues ended up drinking 563 00:38:43,760 --> 00:38:47,040 Speaker 5: with the Spanish cook who kept on telling everybody about 564 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:51,280 Speaker 5: this magical kid who's about to debut for Badza's first 565 00:38:51,320 --> 00:38:57,240 Speaker 5: division team. Leo Messi Herado Silio, better known as brofe Aka. 566 00:38:57,400 --> 00:39:01,040 Speaker 5: The professor was part of the Argentine couchin staff during 567 00:39:01,040 --> 00:39:03,160 Speaker 5: that youth championship. 568 00:39:05,000 --> 00:39:07,839 Speaker 6: And he said, you Argentinians are a bunch of jackasses. 569 00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:13,359 Speaker 5: Wait, the cook asks, you knew about this kid and 570 00:39:13,440 --> 00:39:16,280 Speaker 5: you didn't put him on your team. You know, Spain 571 00:39:16,360 --> 00:39:21,240 Speaker 5: really wants him for their own national team. Right even now, 572 00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:26,000 Speaker 5: like almost twenty years later, when Doccai recounts the Spaniard's tale, 573 00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:28,760 Speaker 5: he starts pounding his fist on his desk. 574 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:34,160 Speaker 8: I can assure you that in that moment, I wish 575 00:39:34,200 --> 00:39:37,040 Speaker 8: I could have teleported it back to Argentina to make 576 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:40,839 Speaker 8: sure this so called messy joined our team. I went 577 00:39:40,920 --> 00:39:43,359 Speaker 8: back to my room and the next morning I woke 578 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:47,040 Speaker 8: up and I called the president of the Argentine Soccer Federation. 579 00:39:47,880 --> 00:39:52,839 Speaker 5: The negotiations were on. The Argentine Soccer Federation was officially 580 00:39:52,920 --> 00:39:56,279 Speaker 5: trying to get Messi to join their team. They called 581 00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:59,120 Speaker 5: up neighboring Paraguay and set up a friendly game for 582 00:39:59,200 --> 00:40:04,520 Speaker 5: the under twenty squad. Professi says the Argentine's soccer federation 583 00:40:04,680 --> 00:40:07,399 Speaker 5: played their cards close to their chest. They didn't want 584 00:40:07,440 --> 00:40:09,760 Speaker 5: to make a big fuss about this new player. 585 00:40:11,520 --> 00:40:13,160 Speaker 6: We didn't tell them we were trying to force a 586 00:40:13,200 --> 00:40:15,360 Speaker 6: player onder our national team when we lied to them 587 00:40:15,400 --> 00:40:17,680 Speaker 6: and said let's just get some practice. 588 00:40:19,040 --> 00:40:22,040 Speaker 5: The real reason for assembling this game is a rather 589 00:40:22,120 --> 00:40:26,480 Speaker 5: obscure soccer rule. If a player who is not signed 590 00:40:26,520 --> 00:40:30,680 Speaker 5: to any country puts on that country's team jersey and 591 00:40:30,800 --> 00:40:34,879 Speaker 5: plays in a game where tickets are sold, that's it. 592 00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:39,560 Speaker 5: The national team gets to claim that player. On June 593 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:43,000 Speaker 5: twenty ninth, two thousand and four, Messi stepped onto an 594 00:40:43,040 --> 00:40:47,399 Speaker 5: official game with an Argentine jersey, sealing his fate. 595 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:50,560 Speaker 6: You know, almost no one showed up. The stadium was 596 00:40:50,600 --> 00:40:53,160 Speaker 6: still under construction, but it had to be an official 597 00:40:53,200 --> 00:40:56,120 Speaker 6: match and tickets had to be sold. 598 00:40:56,640 --> 00:40:59,759 Speaker 5: It was broadcast by Days, an Argentine sports channel that 599 00:40:59,840 --> 00:41:02,360 Speaker 5: was still kind of new at the time, and it 600 00:41:02,480 --> 00:41:03,760 Speaker 5: was completely empty. 601 00:41:03,920 --> 00:41:04,560 Speaker 2: There were like. 602 00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:08,000 Speaker 5: Three dudes and a stray cat sitting in the bleachers. 603 00:41:08,440 --> 00:41:14,879 Speaker 5: Messi gets sent in during the second half. This kid 604 00:41:15,040 --> 00:41:17,640 Speaker 5: is going to play a few minutes, says the announcer. 605 00:41:17,920 --> 00:41:22,160 Speaker 5: He's a bit of a mystery. He's seventeen He's from Rosario, 606 00:41:22,280 --> 00:41:27,359 Speaker 5: but he went to Spain to play really young. What's 607 00:41:27,400 --> 00:41:29,719 Speaker 5: notable about this game is that the team is all 608 00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:33,480 Speaker 5: but ignoring Messy, like at some point it's a blowout 609 00:41:33,640 --> 00:41:36,480 Speaker 5: six to zero, and even the announcers. 610 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:42,360 Speaker 2: Pass it to the new guy. He's all by himself. 611 00:41:46,880 --> 00:41:50,440 Speaker 5: But then someone does pass it to him and he. 612 00:41:50,239 --> 00:41:53,600 Speaker 2: Turns it on dribbling at the speed of light. 613 00:41:57,680 --> 00:42:00,680 Speaker 6: The seventh goal was his. He dribbles past like six 614 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:03,359 Speaker 6: Paraguayan players. It's like the balls attached to him. 615 00:42:09,320 --> 00:42:10,360 Speaker 2: What a goal. 616 00:42:10,920 --> 00:42:15,160 Speaker 5: The three people in the stadium cheer. Office says, everyone 617 00:42:15,239 --> 00:42:20,080 Speaker 5: who saw that goal on both teams was like juish, well, 618 00:42:20,120 --> 00:42:20,520 Speaker 5: where'd you. 619 00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:24,680 Speaker 6: Get this player? Nobody had heard of him. 620 00:42:24,680 --> 00:42:28,160 Speaker 5: Messi, who at this point has already debuted for Batsay's 621 00:42:28,239 --> 00:42:31,800 Speaker 5: first division team, looks like he cannot believe his luck. 622 00:42:32,280 --> 00:42:34,880 Speaker 5: He hugs a teammate who lifts him up a little. 623 00:42:35,080 --> 00:42:38,240 Speaker 5: Another guy pats him on the head after the game, 624 00:42:38,440 --> 00:42:42,960 Speaker 5: But Officeilodio says, so. 625 00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:45,279 Speaker 6: I sat him down and said, okay, pal, what's it 626 00:42:45,360 --> 00:42:48,160 Speaker 6: going to be. Do you like playing with us? She even, 627 00:42:48,880 --> 00:42:51,080 Speaker 6: and he said to me, I love this team. 628 00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:59,880 Speaker 5: Messi had arrived back home, but what he didn't know 629 00:43:00,680 --> 00:43:03,960 Speaker 5: was that coming back home is never easy. 630 00:43:04,600 --> 00:43:06,760 Speaker 2: In fact, it can be a nightmare. 631 00:43:12,880 --> 00:43:16,399 Speaker 1: That was episode one of The Last Cup, the new 632 00:43:16,440 --> 00:43:21,200 Speaker 1: podcast from Futuro Studios and NPR. It's out now wherever 633 00:43:21,320 --> 00:43:22,480 Speaker 1: you get your podcasts. 634 00:43:22,680 --> 00:43:23,640 Speaker 5: He is dad. 635 00:43:24,960 --> 00:43:25,719 Speaker 2: En Espanol. 636 00:43:27,640 --> 00:43:29,840 Speaker 1: I got a chance to sit down with Jasmine Garth, 637 00:43:30,120 --> 00:43:32,839 Speaker 1: the host of The Last Cup, and we talked about 638 00:43:32,840 --> 00:43:43,719 Speaker 1: this series and how the podcast goes way beyond football. So, Jasmine, 639 00:43:44,120 --> 00:43:46,319 Speaker 1: what does this entire story mean to you and give 640 00:43:46,400 --> 00:43:49,560 Speaker 1: us a look into you know, for you to be 641 00:43:49,600 --> 00:43:53,920 Speaker 1: able to tell the story of soccer, Massy and and 642 00:43:54,000 --> 00:43:57,040 Speaker 1: actually your own story, So make that connection for us. 643 00:43:58,160 --> 00:44:02,160 Speaker 5: Messy's story in part tarticular, I think is really fascinating 644 00:44:02,239 --> 00:44:06,839 Speaker 5: because it has echoes of themes that I myself have experienced, 645 00:44:06,880 --> 00:44:10,920 Speaker 5: and it also has echoes of themes and feelings that 646 00:44:11,080 --> 00:44:16,160 Speaker 5: I had reported on when covering immigrant communities. And of 647 00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:18,920 Speaker 5: course I realized that people might say, well, you know, 648 00:44:19,000 --> 00:44:23,160 Speaker 5: Messi is a millionaire now and he's you know, very 649 00:44:23,200 --> 00:44:27,160 Speaker 5: far removed from my experience and from most people's experience. 650 00:44:27,840 --> 00:44:31,880 Speaker 5: But I think that there's there's certain things about Messi's 651 00:44:32,320 --> 00:44:36,040 Speaker 5: personal story, right about how he left home and what 652 00:44:36,160 --> 00:44:40,239 Speaker 5: happened when he got to another country. That really resonated 653 00:44:40,280 --> 00:44:44,200 Speaker 5: to my own experience and to stuff I've heard other 654 00:44:44,239 --> 00:44:46,600 Speaker 5: people talk about, like what it's like to leave home, 655 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:49,640 Speaker 5: fears about whether or not you can ever really go 656 00:44:49,760 --> 00:44:53,360 Speaker 5: back and be accepted, you know, a lot of doubts 657 00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:57,240 Speaker 5: and dreams an Yodansas. There was something about Messi's story 658 00:44:57,280 --> 00:44:58,799 Speaker 5: that felt really universal. 659 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:02,520 Speaker 1: I love the fact that you know, you're saying that 660 00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:07,040 Speaker 1: there's a kind of universality about what happens when you 661 00:45:07,080 --> 00:45:11,200 Speaker 1: move from one place to another, and there is always 662 00:45:11,280 --> 00:45:17,120 Speaker 1: I think for us immigrants, there is na Sierra anoranza. 663 00:45:17,520 --> 00:45:19,960 Speaker 1: You just use that word. It's such a beautiful word. 664 00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:23,560 Speaker 1: It's a kind of nostalgia. So tell us a little 665 00:45:23,560 --> 00:45:28,160 Speaker 1: bit about how that those themes come to play in 666 00:45:28,200 --> 00:45:29,280 Speaker 1: the podcast. 667 00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:33,960 Speaker 5: The podcast traces three stories in parallel right. It traces 668 00:45:34,160 --> 00:45:38,640 Speaker 5: young Leo Messi's story as this super talented kid who 669 00:45:38,719 --> 00:45:42,840 Speaker 5: has to leave Argentina around two thousand and one, where 670 00:45:42,960 --> 00:45:48,600 Speaker 5: the country essentially fell into a very serious socioeconomic collapse. 671 00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:52,720 Speaker 5: It traces my story. I actually left a few months 672 00:45:52,760 --> 00:45:56,399 Speaker 5: after Messi for similar reasons. I mean, the crisis had 673 00:45:56,480 --> 00:45:59,319 Speaker 5: just affected us to this point that it was no 674 00:45:59,400 --> 00:46:02,320 Speaker 5: longer sustainable, we really had to leave. 675 00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:03,839 Speaker 2: And it also, to some. 676 00:46:03,880 --> 00:46:07,280 Speaker 5: Extent, traces the story of my best friend who stayed 677 00:46:07,320 --> 00:46:10,600 Speaker 5: behind in Argentina and lived his life there. And it 678 00:46:10,719 --> 00:46:13,920 Speaker 5: explores the relationship between the person who leaves and the 679 00:46:13,960 --> 00:46:19,279 Speaker 5: person who stays and how complicated that relationship is. And 680 00:46:19,320 --> 00:46:21,799 Speaker 5: I think, no matter where you're from, there is like 681 00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:26,479 Speaker 5: a very complicated, very sometimes tense relationship with the home 682 00:46:26,560 --> 00:46:29,560 Speaker 5: country in which there is any dansa and there's resentment 683 00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:34,200 Speaker 5: and there's longing. You know. With this podcast, I really 684 00:46:34,360 --> 00:46:39,080 Speaker 5: wanted us to explore the complexity of the immigrant experience 685 00:46:39,120 --> 00:46:40,760 Speaker 5: and like the different emotions. 686 00:46:41,200 --> 00:46:43,160 Speaker 1: I love the fact that we start off by talking 687 00:46:43,160 --> 00:46:47,400 Speaker 1: about soccer and we're having this deeply emotional conversation about 688 00:46:47,440 --> 00:46:48,680 Speaker 1: longing and anyoranza. 689 00:46:48,719 --> 00:46:49,880 Speaker 2: I'm like, oh my god, I can't. 690 00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:53,080 Speaker 1: Wait to listen to this podcast. It's just it sounds delicious. 691 00:46:53,440 --> 00:46:56,920 Speaker 1: So what else can we expect in this four part series. 692 00:46:57,520 --> 00:46:59,960 Speaker 5: I mean, this is a sports story for sure. It's 693 00:47:00,080 --> 00:47:02,680 Speaker 5: definitely a podcast for people who love soccer. Like, if 694 00:47:02,719 --> 00:47:05,480 Speaker 5: you love soccer, you're gonna get a chance to really 695 00:47:05,560 --> 00:47:08,760 Speaker 5: nerd out on you know, the evolution of the style 696 00:47:09,000 --> 00:47:12,640 Speaker 5: how Latin Americans play versus how Spain plays. There's also 697 00:47:12,719 --> 00:47:16,680 Speaker 5: a really interesting economic story, you know, about how like 698 00:47:17,160 --> 00:47:22,840 Speaker 5: Latin American soccer's relationship with Europe really mirrors a lot 699 00:47:22,880 --> 00:47:27,560 Speaker 5: of kind of neocolonial structures. Europe has the money to 700 00:47:27,600 --> 00:47:32,439 Speaker 5: buy the best Latin American players. Wow, right, and that 701 00:47:32,480 --> 00:47:36,280 Speaker 5: has had a really serious effect on Latin American soccer. 702 00:47:36,320 --> 00:47:38,880 Speaker 5: And what I loved is that we're talking about soccer 703 00:47:38,920 --> 00:47:42,399 Speaker 5: but as a window to understand the world. 704 00:47:42,719 --> 00:47:42,920 Speaker 4: You know. 705 00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:44,919 Speaker 5: One of the best compliments I got about this show 706 00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:47,680 Speaker 5: so far is someone who listened and was like, I 707 00:47:47,719 --> 00:47:49,360 Speaker 5: hate soccer, and I loved. 708 00:47:49,120 --> 00:47:50,600 Speaker 2: This podcast. 709 00:47:51,719 --> 00:47:54,800 Speaker 5: Because we talk about immigration, and we also talk about 710 00:47:54,840 --> 00:47:58,400 Speaker 5: like the darker sides of soccer, you know, like the 711 00:47:58,680 --> 00:48:03,000 Speaker 5: dreams that it crushes and the people who it leaves behind. 712 00:48:03,600 --> 00:48:07,319 Speaker 5: I think this is a story about soccer, and it's 713 00:48:07,360 --> 00:48:11,040 Speaker 5: a story about leaving home and trying to come back 714 00:48:11,120 --> 00:48:13,319 Speaker 5: and wondering if you ever really can do that. 715 00:48:17,560 --> 00:48:21,120 Speaker 1: Well, I don't hate soccer, but I know nothing about soccer. 716 00:48:21,600 --> 00:48:25,680 Speaker 1: But I'm totally looking forward to listening to this new 717 00:48:25,760 --> 00:48:30,480 Speaker 1: podcast co produced by Futuro Studios with NPR. The name 718 00:48:30,560 --> 00:48:34,360 Speaker 1: of the podcast is The Last Cup. I can't wait 719 00:48:34,520 --> 00:48:37,319 Speaker 1: to go and listen, Fasie. That is Jasmine, so so 720 00:48:37,320 --> 00:48:42,719 Speaker 1: so happy for you, Thank you, Maria. Jasmine Guards is 721 00:48:42,719 --> 00:48:46,239 Speaker 1: a national reporter with NPR and the host of The 722 00:48:46,360 --> 00:48:50,840 Speaker 1: Last Cup, the newest podcast by Futuro Studios and NPR. 723 00:48:51,200 --> 00:48:54,480 Speaker 1: And remember every episode of The Last Cup is available 724 00:48:54,480 --> 00:48:58,520 Speaker 1: in englishmen and Espaol. Check it out and subscribe to 725 00:48:58,560 --> 00:49:20,560 Speaker 1: it wherever you get your podcasts. That's it for today. 726 00:49:21,040 --> 00:49:24,480 Speaker 1: The Last Cup is produced by Fernando Chavari, Marlon Bishop, 727 00:49:24,680 --> 00:49:28,719 Speaker 1: Juan Diego Ramirez and Julieta Martinelli at Futuro Studios and 728 00:49:28,800 --> 00:49:33,560 Speaker 1: by nprs Jasmine Gardis, Andrew Mambo and Luis Trees. The 729 00:49:33,680 --> 00:49:39,759 Speaker 1: Latino USA team includes Andrea Lopez Grusado, Marta Martinez, Daisy Contreres, 730 00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:46,120 Speaker 1: Mike Sargent, Victori Estrada, Rinaldo, Leanos Junior Alejandra Slasa, Patricia 731 00:49:46,160 --> 00:49:50,160 Speaker 1: Sulvarand and Julia Rocha, with help from Raul Prees. Our 732 00:49:50,280 --> 00:49:54,719 Speaker 1: editorial director is Fernandez Santos. Our director of Engineering is 733 00:49:54,920 --> 00:49:59,360 Speaker 1: Stephan Milbau. Our senior engineer is Julia Caruso. Our associate 734 00:49:59,400 --> 00:50:03,840 Speaker 1: engineers our Gabrie Lebiez and JJ Krubin. Our marketing manager 735 00:50:04,000 --> 00:50:08,080 Speaker 1: is Luis Luna. Our New York Women's Foundation fellow is 736 00:50:08,120 --> 00:50:13,000 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Lowenthal Torres. Our theme music was composed by Xenia Rubinos. 737 00:50:13,280 --> 00:50:16,359 Speaker 1: I'm your host and executive producer mariguh jo Josa. Join 738 00:50:16,440 --> 00:50:19,320 Speaker 1: us again on our next episode, and in the meantime, 739 00:50:19,600 --> 00:50:21,680 Speaker 1: look for us on all of your social media and 740 00:50:21,840 --> 00:50:28,200 Speaker 1: riquer that de no devayes Joe. 741 00:50:28,239 --> 00:50:32,480 Speaker 3: Latino USA is made possible in part by the Ford Foundation, 742 00:50:33,120 --> 00:50:37,040 Speaker 3: working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide, 743 00:50:37,640 --> 00:50:41,759 Speaker 3: the John D. And Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the 744 00:50:41,880 --> 00:50:48,279 Speaker 3: Heising Simons Foundation, unlocking knowledge, opportunity and possibilities. More at 745 00:50:48,520 --> 00:50:50,239 Speaker 3: hsfoundation dot org