LIONEL MESSI

A shoutout to “the greatest soccer player of all time.”

Encouraging readers to believe that the sky is the limit, Wainer suggests that Messi exceeded his own childhood aspirations. “Even in his biggest little-kid dreams,” she writes, “could Leo Messi have imagined what life had in store for him?” Making much of his diminutive size throughout (“he had a condition that kept him shorter than most of the kids his age”) but also his exceptional speed and “laser-focused” style of play, she goes on to lay out career highlights, from scoring over 200 goals for a youth league team by age 12 to leading Argentina to a FIFA World Cup after a 36-year drought in 2022. Adding quick mentions of his family, his charitable foundation, and his current team, Inter Miami, she concludes with a restatement of the earlier question—wondering if he dreamed of being known all over the world “way back / when he was the smallest kid on the pitch?” Marianno opens and closes with a painted collage of Messi sports cards over the years; in between she depicts him and young fans of diverse skin color in various uniforms posing with balls and awards or pointing both index fingers skyward in his characteristic reaction to scoring.

A clear motivational message to smaller athletes of all sorts.