Argentina vs France WC final: Kerala girl learns Spanish, becomes journalist to meet Messi

As the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar draws to a close on Sunday (December 18) a passionate Lionel Messi fan from Kerala is making headlines ahead of the Argentina-France final at the Lusail Stadium.

Jushna Shahin, who hails from Kerala’s Kannur district, says she was “bewitched” by Messi as a kid, and to meet and talk to her favourite player she has gone to great lengths.

“Back in 2006, I was a mere kid when I was bewitched by Messi. Until 2010, I struggled hard to watch his live matches. And in 2016, I finally succeeded to be able to understand the language that he speaks, Spanish,” 27-year-old Shahin recalled in an Instagram post.

Also read: Full coverage of FIFA World Cup 2022

Shahin dreamed of talking to Messi and after realising that the Argentine superstar knows only Spanish, she learned the language and moved to Spain to be closer to Messi, who used to play for FC Barcelona. Now, Messi plays for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in France.

“I was brought up in a family that keenly followed football. Since my grandfather was a staunch supporter of Brazil, I started rooting for Argentine team just to vex him in the beginning. Eventually, I got so obsessed with the game, that I learned its rules by the time I was in Class VI. Even my friends nicknamed me Messi,” Shahin said in an interview with Indian Express in 2020.

“I wanted to study Spanish since it is the native tongue of my favourite sportsman. When I cleared the entrance examination to pursue Spanish honours degree, my parents expected me to aim something like the Indian Foreign Service. However, my aim is to be a sports journalist and I wish to interview Messi, at least in the next World Cup in Qatar in 2022,” she added.

Watch: Top contenders for Golden Ball in Qatar WC

In April this year, she told Mathrubhumi’s English website, “I was down in tears after Argentina was knocked out by Germany in the quarterfinals of the 2010 World Cup. Then, I started watching interviews, only later to get caught between the Spanish the footballers spoke. Strenuous efforts to learn Spanish through YouTube went astray. And it was then that I found this BA-MA integrated course in Spanish Language Literature and Cultural Studies offered by Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

“It took a lot of effort to convince my parents to let me go to Delhi. This was a huge step for me, and I was one of two or three undergraduate students from Kerala. So, it was the need of the hour to break the cultural barriers and blend into a JNU culture, where I found a new perspective on life.”

After learning Spanish, Shahin fulfilled another of her dream and became a sports journalist so that she can interview Messi.

Also read: How this herbal drink helped Argentina and Messi at Qatar WC

Now, she is in Qatar, writing for various media outlets and analysing the games on radio channels. After she spoke to an Argentine radio channel, she caught the attention of football fans not only in India but in other countries too.

After she got married in 2019, she moved to Spain to work as a ‘Language and Cultural Assistant’. The same year, she watched Messi for the first time, in a UEFA Champions League game (FC Barcelona vs Borussia Dortmund), at a stadium. There, she held a placard that said she waited for 13 years to watch Messi live.

In February 2021, Shahin, who was seven-month pregnant at the time, covered her first match as a journalist.

Also read: Children in Kerala also in grip of football World Cup fever

Recalling that day, Shahin wrote on Instagram, “To watch Messi play the whole match in front of your eyes, and you without paying or buying a ticket, but earning a reserved seat at the stadium, with your name on it, out of sheer hard work – an actual media accreditation pass as a journalist, to find my dream turn true.

“With a life nurturing inside me, a growing 7-month baby bump, to endeavour with fervour, all the way up to the grandstand press box, amongst all the other habituated journalists from all parts of Europe, to report the Copa del Rey Semi-final, 1st leg against Sevilla FC and FC Barcelona, on February 10, 2021 at Ramon Pizjuan! That marked my first match to report from the stadium by actually watching the match live without actual replays, quite incomprehensible, the first few minutes.

“Sheer joy with queer excitement, the adrenaline rush heating my body in the chill-freezing 9pm. Missing blinks, and jumping at shots, the time flew, only to get accredited again to another match in next few weeks, UEFA Champions League, Round of 16, against Sevilla FC and Borussia Dortmund.”

Watch: FIFA World Cup 2022 fever grips Kerala

Messi is set to play his last international match for Argentina in the World Cup final on Sunday. As Messi chases a World Cup title, Shahin continues to chase her goal – interviewing Messi.