A letter from a fellow countrywoman to Messi: Don't give up

Yohana Fucks' letter became a phenomenon in Argentina because of the persuasiveness and emotion she put into it, hoping that the captain would reverse his decision to retire from the national team.

Dear Lionel Messi,

You will probably never read this letter. But I write anyway, not just as a fan, but as a teacher, a job I have chosen and love as much as you do football.

I could write about your extraordinary talent in our country’s most popular sport, and the joy of being born into the generation lucky enough to watch you perform miracles with your feet. Or I could write about the admiration you have awakened in every country in the world. But that would be a cliché. Instead, I am writing to ask you to do what is perhaps the most difficult thing you have ever faced. I want you to help me with the difficult task of shaping the behavior of the children who look up to you as a football hero and a role model.

Messi decided to retire from the Argentina national team after his second consecutive defeat to Chile in the 2016 Copa America final. Photo: Reuters.

No matter how much I love and dedicate myself to my job, I will never be able to bring the same passion to my players as you have. Now they will see their greatest idol give up. I beg you not to give satisfaction to the mediocre, to those who are disappointed by a thousand unfulfilled dreams and then take out a player to vent their anger, to those who talk about resting because it is easy and light.

He was hearing this from a teacher, a stranger to him, who every day confronts the bad habit of Argentines who think that other people’s work is easy. They think that scoring goals is as easy as building a house or a person’s future. This sickly conservative way of thinking breaks people down, makes them stupid judges, harshly criticizing other people’s work with contempt and arrogance. They only record victories and consider mistakes as failures, even though it is precisely these mistakes that are human and that help us to learn.

Please don’t give up, don’t let my students think that this country is all about winning and being number one. Don’t let them see that no matter how much success you have in life, you will never please the rest, and worse, don’t let them feel that life is about pleasing others. Don’t send them the wrong message that, no matter how much adversity you have overcome, how much struggle you have had since childhood to achieve what you have achieved, the wonderful things you have done are still overshadowed by the criticism of those who, in their hearts, would kill someone to be like you.

Messi is an example of overcoming difficulties for many children, not only in Argentina.

If someone like him, a man with family backing, huge personal wealth and the support of so many people, cannot fight jealousy, how can the children believe that they can continue to face a series of battles, day in and day out.

I don’t tell them about how good Messi is at football, I tell them about how he practiced free kicks thousands of times to aim the ball into an angle that no goalkeeper could reach. I tell them about a Messi who had to take countless painful injections to pursue his dream, a Messi who spent all the money he earned to help other boys, who were in difficult situations like his. I tell them about a Messi who grew up, who raised a family and had the hardest job in the world, which was being a good parent. A Messi who saved fans from being hurt when they invaded the pitch in the middle of a match for him. A Messi who could even miss a penalty, because mistakes make us human, and that shows everyone that even great people can be imperfect.

Don’t give up, don’t throw away your national shirt because when you wear it, you are a great Argentine, representing all of us. Not all of us wait for medals and cups to feel proud of having you as an Argentine. Don’t let my students feel that coming second is a failure and that a man’s worth is measured by the cups he has, or that losing a match means losing all glory.

A fan holds up a banner reading: "Messi, don't go, we love you" as he waits for the Argentina team to return to Buenos Aires. Photo: Reuters.

My students need to understand that the greatest hero, whether they become doctors, soldiers, teachers or footballers, is one who gives his or her all for others, even though he or she knows that no one will ever appreciate him or her more for it, knowing that when success comes, it will be everyone’s, and when failure comes, it will be his or hers alone. Yet he or she will keep trying. Above all, he or she will gain heroism and courage, by fighting and overcoming failures with courage and integrity, even when the universe says he or she will never make it.

And one day, they will enjoy the greatest victory, will feel the joy of being themselves, with the devil they faced no longer an obstacle.

People are talking about gossip. I believe in the strength of your heart."

According to VNE