Luca Caioli

swell with pride

Chapter 1
Rosario

Present day
‘I buy the rump or a piece from the hindquarter. They’re cuts of beef I’ve also seen in Barcelona but I don’t know what they’re called. I put a bit of salt on each piece, dip them in egg and coat them in breadcrumbs. I fry them until they’re nice and golden-brown and I put them in an oven dish. I slice the onion finely and fry it over. When the onion turns white, I add chopped tomatoes, a little water, salt, oregano and a pinch of sugar. And I leave it on the heat for around twenty minutes. Once the sauce is done, I pour it on top of each piece of beef, making sure they’re well covered. I take some cream cheese or hard cheese out of the fridge and lay it on top of the beef in thin slices. I leave them in the oven until the cheese melts. All that’s left to do is fry the potatoes as a side dish and the milanesa a la napolitana [schnitzel napolitana] is ready to serve.’
With the passion and experience of a good cook, Celia describes her son Lionel Messi’s favourite dish

Then it was off to Cairo. Arab Contractors had provided him with an exemption, a letter allowing the boy to miss class so he could get to the pitch by 2.30pm. Training began at 3.30pm and finished at 6pm. He would have a quick shower, then run to catch the four or five minibuses home. If all went well, he would arrive between 10 and 10.30pm. There was just time to have dinner and go to bed. The same routine would start all over again the next day. It was a tough, very tough life for a fourteen year old. But as he would say years later: ‘You don’t get anything without giving something. And I’ve always been capable of making lots of sacrifices for football.’