For Heather Openshaw:

I stood anxiously amongst the crowd. Today was my boyfriend's first game for AC Milan. We were both only sixteen but Hachim was good enough to play at such a level at only sixteen. He wasn't starting but I knew he was going to be subbed into the game in the second half. The first half had gone mostly smooth for the Milan side. They were tight at the back, only giving up two shots in the first half. The second half had rolled around and AC Milan was up by one. There was still thirty minutes until the end of the game when Hachim stood at midfield. His coach talked to him as the ref lifted the board announcing the substitution. He nodded to the final words his coach said to him before turning his attention to his approaching teammate.

As his teammate got off the field, Hachim mentally prepared himself. I saw his nervous face immediately mold into that of a determined player. He high fived his teammate before stepping onto the field. He ran onto the field quickly. Quickly making his way to his position, the ref restarted the game. Hachim ran up and down the field, getting open and making passes to his teammates. He challenged an opposing player and got the ball for Milan. Passing it up to one of his teammates, the play continued down the side of the field. There was a shot on goal but the opposing goalie easily scooped the ball into his arms.

Hachim and the other players all backed up from the goalie, waiting for the punt to return to the earth. Hachim eyed the ball as it landed near him. One of his teammates got the ball and passed it to Hachim who turned and sprinted up the side of the field. A defender moved to challenge him. Hachim faked out the defender using the same move I remembered him practicing thousands of times in the local park. He always said he wouldn't leave the park until he had perfected the trick.

His stubbornness and hardworking look on life resulted in the meeting between us. I had been in the park doing a project and homework with a group of friends after I had been out for a week with the flu. My friends were gracious enough to teach me the information. We had arrived at ten in the morning. We set up at a picnic table in the corner of the park. A little ways away from my friends and me was a boy, Hachim, practicing freestyle football.

I had been at that park for hours when I finally packed up to leave. But there he still was, practicing football. I had gone over to ask him why he practiced for such a long time. He simply stated, "I want to be the best, and to be the best you have to train with everyone ounce of energy you have in you." I returned to the park almost every day to just watch him, which is how we grew so close. I shook myself out of the flash back and turned my attention back to the game.

"Hachim is playing so well," Hachim's sister, Sara, commented.

"He trained very hard for this," I replied, staring at my boyfriend with a sense of pride. Of all the girls in the world, Hachim decided to spend time and energy with me, which I was grateful for.

"You know he said that you are his biggest inspiration to try hard. He wants to make you proud," Sara stated.

"He made me proud by simply following his dreams," I smiled, appreciation for my boyfriend spreading throughout my body. Hachim took a throw in. The ball was passed back to him. He attempted to go around the defender but was tripped from behind after he passed the angry defender. He fell to the ground. However, one of his teammates continued his run. The ref continued play under the notion of playing advantage. Hachim hopped up and ran down the field, catching up to the play rather quickly.

Milan quickly made their way up the field into their offensive half. Having recovered from his earlier tackle, Hachim had sprinted to the other side of the field into open space. There wasn't a defender on him and no one to challenge him for the ball. Hachim was open just outside of the goal box, a dangerous place to leave a player unmarked. Especially when that player was Hachim Mastour. One of his teammates picked him out amongst the craziness and passed the ball to Hachim, who was still running into the box. Extending his leg, Hachim kicked the still moving ball into the goal. The keeper was powerless to stop the shot. He had originally dived to the right and didn't have enough time to change his direction before Hachim embedded the ball into the net. I stood up and cheered loudly with Hachim's family and the rest of AC Milan fans as he celebrated in the corner with his teammates.

"And there's Milan's new wonder kid: Hachim Mastour with a beautiful goal in the seventy eighth minute. What a debut goal," the announcer stated into the microphone. AC Milan set back up, preparing for the other teams counter. Hachim played very well, winning the ball back for Milan quickly. Milan clearly dominated the pitch for the remaining time and I wasn't surprised that they won 3-0.

After the match ended, I walked down to the inner stadium with Hachim's family. We showed the guards our passes and walked down another set of stairs to walk into the waiting room as Hachim had called it. The door to the locker room muffled the sounds of celebration from inside the locker room. The players filed out of the locker room. Hachim was amongst the first and first hugged his mother. After hugging his sister, he turned his attention to me. No words were said as I ran into his familiar arms. "You played so well," I told him.

"Thanks Heather," he smiled. He wrapped an around my shoulder and led me out of the tunnel, his family trailing behind us. This was the start of something great, I thought. Hachim's career was just beginning and you couldn't wait to be there when it finally took off fully.