The Camp Nou stood majestically in the Barcelona evening, its colossal structure illuminated against the deepening September sky like a hallowed cathedral awaiting its congregation.
On September 10th, 2013, as the Spanish team bus pulled into the stadium's hallowed grounds, Mateo Álvarez felt the familiar thrum of anticipation, but it was laced with a profound, almost poetic, irony.
This was the arena where he had once dreamed of forging his professional career, a dream cruelly snatched away. Now, he was here, a Spanish international, wearing the vibrant red of his country rather than the iconic blue and red of Barcelona. The purpose was different, the jersey changed, but the job, the essence of football, remained the same.
