A young Lionel Messi dribbles a soccer ball or poses for a photograph with his grandmother. As an adult, he embraces his children, kisses his wife, or points two fingers to the sky in memory of his grandmother after scoring a goal with Argentina.
In this Feb. 20, 2018 photo, Paraguayan artist Lilian Cantero paints a pair of soccer cleats in San Lorenzo, Paraguay. Cantero has received requests for her work from all over the world after Lionel Messi posed in a photograph with the cleats that she sent him as a gift. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
The hand-painted images on a pair of soccer boots by a young Paraguayan artist relive some of the most memorable moments in the personal life and career of the best player of his generation. Artist Lilian Cantero sent the boots to Messi as a gift to Barcelona, and he recently displayed them in a photo on a post that went viral on social media. Now, she is getting demands for her work from all over the world.
"It was such an incredibly humble gesture on his part," Cantero, 25, said at her atelier in the outskirts of Asuncion, surrounded by colorful designs posted on the walls. "For Messi to have one of my works was my dream since I began painting soccer boots."
Growing up, Cantero remembers flipping through the pages of an encyclopedia at home, mesmerized by the works of famous painters. In school, she once decorated white sandals with bright motifs. In college, she painted sandals again as part of an assigned project, where students launched their own small businesses. By word of mouth, friends who played soccer began asking her her to paint their boots. Eventually, she began designing for a local sports store and getting requests from Paraguayan professional players.
In this Feb. 20, 2018 photo, Paraguayan artist Lilian Cantero holds her designs at her studio in San Lorenzo, Paraguay. Artist Lilian Cantero sent the cleats to Messi as a gift to Barcelona, and he recently displayed them in a photo on a post that went viral on social media. Now, she is getting demands for her work from all over the world. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
But it was Messi's remarkable career that she wanted to bring to life.
Through documentaries and interviews, she learned how from an early age, Messi would dazzle with a soccer ball at his feet in his native city of Rosario; how he was encouraged by his maternal grandmother, Celia, to overcome challenges and become a professional player; and how Barcelona took a gamble on a 13-year-old undersized kid and paid for his growth hormone treatment. The five-time FIFA world player of the year would go on to win it all with the club, leading to comparisons with Pele and Diego Maradona, the game's greatest players.
"I chose Messi because he's one of the greatest players in history, but also because of his own history - his childhood, which demanded so many sacrifices," Cantero said. "That's what I wanted to express."
In this Feb. 20, 2018 photo, Paraguayan artist Lilian Cantero paints a pair of soccer cleats, in San Lorenzo, Paraguay. Growing up, Cantero remembers flipping through the pages of an encyclopedia at home, mesmerized by the works of famous painters. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Cantero sent the boots all the way from her country in the heart of South America to Barcelona with a friend who dropped them off in October at the Camp Nou stadium. In January, she could hardly believe it when she saw the photo of a smiling Messi, holding the boots in his hands. She also got a message from Rodrigo Messi, one of the player's brothers, thanking her for the gift.
Messi's boots are decorated on one side with the horizontally striped sky-blue and white colors of the Argentine flag and its golden sun. A phrase from the national anthem and the names of Messi's wife and children are painted on a side next to photos of a young Messi with his grandmother, playing at Grandoli, his childhood club, and in the lower divisions of Argentina's Newell's Old Boys.
The boots are adorned on another side with the blue and garnet colors of the Barcelona club shirt and images of Messi. They include his celebration of his first goal at the club with Brazilian player Ronaldinho, and when he lifted his number 10 shirt at Real Madrid's Santiago Bernabeu stadium after scoring his 500th career goal for Barcelona.
In this Feb. 20, 2018 photo, Paraguayan artist Lilian Cantero smiles in her studio backdropped by her painting designs which she adds to soccer cleats to honor Argentine soccer player Lionel Messi, in San Lorenzo, Paraguay. “I chose Messi because he’s one of the greatest players in history, but also because of his own history - his childhood, which demanded so many sacrifices,” Cantero said. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Messi has faced criticism in Argentina because he has never brought the country a major title, in contrast to his repeated success at Barcelona. All eyes will be on "The Flea" at the World Cup in Russia this year in a tournament that could crown his career. Regardless of the outcome, though, he is already praised both at home and abroad for keeping his common touch.
Since Messi published the photo, Cantero's career has taken off with requests for her designs from professional players, including Peru's Paolo Guerrero and Panama's Gabriel Gavilan. She is also in talks with Argentine players and a member of the U.S. national team. Her goal is to reach out to as many players as possible, and eventually, to get a shot as an official designer for an international athletic company.
"Many people have told me that I'm a source of pride for my country," she said, smilingly. "But I still can't believe all of this."
Tabitha Chawinga wasn't always a prolific scorer. The Paris Saint-Germain star played goalkeeper in rural Malawi as a young girl.
A collision with a defender changed all that. Her mouth was bloodied.
“After that I stopped playing the goal, because I was afraid as well (of) my mom,” Chawinga says.
Her mother frowned on her playing soccer and would slap Chawinga to get her to stop, she says. It's one of the many obstacles she's faced during her rise to stardom. As a teenager, she was considered so good that one time she was forced to remove her clothes on the field to prove to the other team that she's female.
The 27-year-old Chawinga's confidence and positive attitude have helped her excel on three continents. She left Malawi for the lower divisions of Sweden at age 17 and later played in China before joining Inter Milan for a season, and now PSG.
She's filled up the scoresheet at each stop and this season has helped PSG reach the semifinals of the Women's Champions League, facing French rival Lyon on Saturday.
"My dream is one by one. I was dreaming to play in Champions League, now I’m in Champions League. I have a dream to win Champions League, who knows ... maybe we can win Champions League this year. I have a dream to become (a) player who can win Ballon d’Or, maybe the first woman in Africa. Anything can happen, only God knows,” Chawinga tells The Associated Press in an interview from Paris ahead of the first-leg semifinal in Lyon.
Chawinga — whose younger sister Temwa is an emerging star for the NWSL’s Kansas City Current — recalled playing soccer with the boys in her village and using balls made of plastic and paper.
"I was happy if I got to play football. But every time I come back my mom beat me, slap me. They wanted me to stop football. But this is the career from God, so I think God have very big future for me.”
Her parents wanted her to focus on education. Instead of obeying them, Chawinga pressed on.
“I watch Marta many times, so I was like, ‘One day I will be like this player,’” she says of the Brazil great. “Let me just encourage myself even if my mom and my dad they don’t allow me. It was a very big challenge ... until I leave my parents' house to go to the city to start playing football with the girls.”
Chawinga moved to the capital Lilongwe as a teenager to link up with girls' team DD Sunshine.
She had no trouble racking up goals — in fact, few of the boys at her old school would dare cover her for fear of being passed and then teased by classmates — and one senior player from an opposing team forced her to undress “in front of everyone" to prove she's female.
“It was a very big shame,” Chawinga says. “After the end of the game she came to apologize to me.”
Chawinga has spoken out about the need for Malawi soccer authorities to better protect female players, and says progress has been made.
“I don't want some other people to find the same challenge, like what I (experienced). If people love football, let them play football how they are."
Speedy and smart on the field, Chawinga has scored in each of her last nine matches — 12 goals in that stretch including the Champions League, French league and French Cup.
She leads the French league in scoring a season after she topped the charts in Italy for Inter Milan. Both seasons have been on loan because she remains under contract to Wuhan Jianghan University in the Chinese professional league until December. She transferred from Kvarnsvedens in Sweden to Chinese club Jiangsu Suning in 2018 when Chinese teams were spending heavily to import talent.
Amid Chawinga's scoring spree, PSG coach Jocelyn Prêcheur suggests there's plenty more to come.
“She's expressing herself more and more on the pitch, she's pretty much fully settled in, you can feel she's enjoying it, and that has an impact on her performances,” says Prêcheur, who also coached Chawinga in China.
Chawinga has secured several firsts for her country including the first Malawian to play in the Women's Champions League and first Malawian to score in any UEFA competition.
Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera feted Chawinga last summer in the presidential palace in honor of her Italian exploits.
Chawinga credits coaches and teammates for her success — she easily names teammates who provided assists on her goals and in which games.
She's also a big fan of her sister Temwa. They played one season together in China.
“Most of the time I say she’s a superstar more than me," Tabitha says. She smiles when asked if they'll play on the same team again someday. “Anything can happen.”
Chawinga describes her relationship with her parents as “real good.”
“I’m the person to take care of them now."
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
FILE - PSG's Tabitha Chawinga, right, challenges for the ball with Bayern's Giulia Gwinn during the women's Champions League group C soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. Paris Saint-Germain forward Tabitha Chawinga faced challenges as a young soccer player growing up in Malawi. Her parents disapproved and wanted her to stop playing. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
FILE - PSG's Tabitha Chawinga, right, scores her side's first goal past Bayern goalkeeper Maria-Luisa Grohs during the women's Champions League group C soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in Munich, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. Paris Saint-Germain forward Tabitha Chawinga faced challenges as a young soccer player growing up in Malawi. Her parents disapproved and wanted her to stop playing. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
FILE - PSG's Tabitha Chawinga celebrates after scoring during the women's Champions League group C soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain in Munich, Germany, on Jan. 30, 2024. Paris Saint-Germain forward Tabitha Chawinga faced challenges as a young soccer player growing up in Malawi. Her parents disapproved and wanted her to stop playing. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader, File)
