In search of Messi: Kerala woman learns Spanish in JNU, becomes journalist to interview the ‘G.O.A.T.’

Shahin’s curiosity not only landed her various reporting jobs in Spain but proficiency in Spanish, and there was just one reason — Messi.

Jushna Shahin at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium in Spain’s Madrid

Diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child, Messi’s rise against the odds resonated with Shahin. “From a daft fan to an astute one, I learned the sport, its rules, its beauty, and by 2010, I was preparing for Messi’s international appearance under the leadership of Maradona. It was the first time I was seeing him live on television. I was sure that victory was ours, but when Messi failed to score even once, I was devastated,” Shahin said.

The ‘Messiah of football’ is known for being a man of few words. “He did not appear before the media after the debacle. I was very inquisitive to know what he felt, so I scoured the internet from my computer labs at school, every inch of any newspaper and anything I could get my hands on about Messi.” But Messi never spoke, and whenever he did, it was an alien tongue that was as distant to her as the man himself.

In 2012, Maradona visited Kerala, and Shahin went out of her way to try and find how he communicated with Malayalis. She was convinced that being a journalist is the key to accessing the inaccessible, doing the impossible and meeting the most improbable. The only hindrance was the language, and she had to master it. “Messi’s personality was as elusive as the language, but I had to try,” said Shahin, laughing about how she later went on to convince her parents about studying Spanish. “I told them I wanted to be an Indian Foreign Service officer, and that command over Spanish was an advantage.”

Shahin left for Jawaharlal Nehru University in 2013 for an undergraduate degree and did an integrated MA in the language before leaving the varsity in 2019.

In her second year in college, she began to get a grasp on the language, and Messi’s interviews were not incomprehensible any more. “My aim got clearer, and the taunts and questions such as, ‘When are you going to Spain’ was no more just a joke.”

Having seen most of his interviews and interactions with the press, Shahin knows not only his dialect but also the pattern of his responses. “I will be able to confidently interview him. I anticipate a conversation where I can imagine him speaking in a particular manner,” Shahin says, as she played the interaction in her mind for the umpteenth time.

Now a mother, who lives in Madrid, Shahin is a journalism student at Real Madrid Graduate School. Many life-altering decisions were made, but her obsession is still intact.

After her JNU education, she hopped on a teaching opportunity under the Spanish ministry of education. “If I was to make my dream materialise, I knew I had to take it. Dreaming of watching Messi don the Barcelona jersey, I was unaware of how hard a ticket came by and the money I had to spend for it. I started freelancing and landed gigs with Indian sports media. When accreditations came, entry into stadiums was a cakewalk,” Shahin says.

Shahin’s husband Awad Ahmed, who moved to Spain to be with her, never stood in her way. It was Ahmed who accompanied her to Barcelona’s office to hand over a letter addressed to Messi. “I have no clue if he received it. To me, what matters is that I could go and give it to a place where someone said it would reach him, and about writing ‘To Lionel Messi’ on the FC barça’s logo envelope,” she says.

Earlier this year, Shahin, along with 20 journalists from across the world, got a press entry to watch a training session of Paris Saint-Germain players in Paris. “That was the closest I have seen him. The GOAT (greatest of all time) was up close, just beyond a barricade, and this was what I had dreamed of all my life. I could walk up to him, take a picture, and talk for some time; no one would stop me, but I would be debarred from representing any media. That was when my patience was tested. It had taken me years to get near a barricade that blocked me from my dream, I knew I could not throw all of it away for a brief stunt. As unendurable as it was, I am glad I did not give in, I had a bigger dream, and it lasts for more than 5 minutes of brief conversation at the end of which I would vanish from his memory,” said Shahin.

Currently in Qatar, awaiting the finals where Argentina will face the world champions France, Shahin is in a frenzy. She has not gotten her ticket to the Lusail stadium yet. Her interview with the Argentinian media house, Filo News, has become popular. “I wish someone contributed to my ticket. I know my chances are thin as even relatives of players have not been able to get in,” said Shahin, adding with a sigh, “I wish he wins, even if I can’t make it. It might be his last World Cup and having come so far, like in 2014, it would be heartbreaking to watch him hang up his boots.”