CNN
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As captain of the Argentine national team, Lionel Messi fulfilled his lifelong dream by leading his country to World Cup glory in Qatar 2022.
In the first days of 2023, like Messi prepared to give an interview to Argentine radio On host Andy Kusnetzoff’s show ‘Perros de la Calle’ on Urbana Play, the World Cup winner knew he would soon fulfill someone else’s dream as well.
Juliana Yatorno is waiting for a call from the other side of the world. She is at home in Argentina and has no idea what is about to happen.
In 2018, Thomás, Juliana’s husband, made some cards with Lionel Messi’s face on them to hand out to thousands of people at the World Cup in Russia, to share his devotion to the Argentina No.10 as a way of showing gratitude of an entire country. .
“Thomás was a very intelligent and very creative person,” Juliana, known as Juli, tells CNN Español as she recalls that year.
“He comes to me one day and shows me that he had written the Messi prayer, which is the Lord’s Prayer adapted to Messi and all his magic with the ball.
“He shows it to me and says, ‘Would you like to make me a little card?'”
At the time, Thomás planned to travel with his brother and cousin from Argentina to Russia to watch the national team.
“His idea was to hand them out on the street so everyone would have a card. People asked him to give them one because it was a picture of Messi. I mean, who doesn’t want a picture of Messi?” says Julie.
Courtesy of Juliana Yatorno
The cards that Thomás made for their trip to Russia.
Guido, Thomás’ brother, also remembers this trip fondly.
“We’ve been football fans since we were kids, and one day Thomy told me something about cards,” Guido tells CNN.
“We did a pretty low-key trip, backpacking, carry-on because of the trip, and a few days before we were going he said, ‘Well, on the flight you’re going to get about 8,000, 10,000 cards.’ And the idea was for Messi to find out.”
That year, Argentina were eliminated at the round of 16, although Thomás’ passion for Messi remains undiminished.
After a decade together, Juli and Thomás got married and started trying for a child. Julie became pregnant in 2020, but shortly after learning the good news, Thomas died in a car accident.
“We had a motorcycle, a scooter,” recalls Juliana. “He had gone to play football with his friends and I didn’t realize what time it was. A friend called me in shock and screamed, “It’s him, he’s dead.”
“It was like that. Dot. First, I was worried about my health. I was pregnant and in shock, at the time it was like, “No, I can’t.” But then my head lit up with an idea and I said, “If he’s gone, that’s what’s left of his essence.”
During the 2021 Copa América, Guido and Juli continued to mourn Thomás’ death.
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post/Getty Images
Messi led Argentina to World Cup glory.
“At that moment I couldn’t. I had to distance myself from the national team. It was like I couldn’t watch something that made me so sad,” Guido says.
“I remember going to look for the little cards I had saved and sticking a card behind the TV. Well, at that moment with the Copa America I became friends with the idea and started to experience a different relationship with the national team and with my brother,” says Guido.
Messi lifted the Copa América on July 10 after years of never winning the tournament with Argentina’s national team. At dawn on July 11, Juliana’s waters broke. A few hours after Messi’s milestone, their son Aureliano was born.
For the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Julie gave one of the cards to a friend and they started sending it to each other via WhatsApp as a kind of “good luck trick”, she recalls.
“When I forgot to send the picture at the beginning of the game and sent it halfway through… [the team scored] a goal. I felt it so strongly, the magic that the card had, that I said: “I have to spread it.”
“I was listening to the radio and I said, ‘I’m writing a letter, I have to send it to everyone.’
“I don’t remember a happier time with anything. I couldn’t stop thinking about him [Thomás] and obviously I was happy because we won the World Cup – and I was happy for Messi. But at the same time, it’s like I’m saying, ‘I want to celebrate with you,'” Julie recalled, adding that she cried when Argentina beat France in the final.
Giuliana Gatorno
Juliana and Thomas’ son was born the day after the 2021 Copa America final.
Still waiting for a call from the other side of the world. On Kusnetzoff’s radio show, she was told they were preparing a special for the first month anniversary of the World Cup in Qatar, and she can’t begin to imagine what’s going to happen.
“Hello Julie,” says a familiar voice.
Messi is on the other end of the phone with a shy smile and the little card that Thomy created five years ago in his hand.
“Here’s the little piece of paper and, well, sorry to tell you, but I’m sure somewhere he saw me lift the World Cup.”