Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be the mother of one of the most famous footballers in the world? And what happens when your son is the symbol of the country where you were born and is only two games away from winning the only title he is missing in his career? This crazy pressure almost overwhelmed Celia Cottichini, who is of course Leo Messi’s mother, who laughed that the tremendous tension in the penalties against the Netherlands from the World Cup quarter-final match last Friday almost “killed” her.
The flea’s mother watched the nerve-racking match from the stands in Qatar and sat next to his wife, Antonella Roccuzzo and their three sons Thiago, Matteo and Ciro and other family members. She admitted that after watching her son score one of the penalties that guaranteed Argentina a ticket to the semi-finals of the tournament, she felt as if he had freed her “from the evil jaws of defeat”. Celia shared her feelings at the end of the game and said: “I suffered terribly. I can’t go through a game like this again because I think I’ll just die.”
The mother of the biggest star in Argentina added excitedly: “When Holland equalized, we were devastated and the children didn’t stop crying. None of us, including the little ones, made up for it. I hope that God will continue to light our way and make sure that we win this World Cup.” Messi’s mother, like any proud mother, is keeping her fingers crossed that her son’s last World Cup will end with the trophy in hand: “It’s his big dream. And ours too.”