Santiago Beltran

Santiago Beltrán had never been one to fall in love easily. As a goalkeeper, he was used to keeping a cool head, concentrating, and not letting himself be distracted by anything during a match.

Until he met her.

She was the sister of Matías Galarza, the Paraguayan footballer for River Plate. From the first day he saw her, Santiago was completely captivated, although he tried to hide it so Matías wouldn't suspect anything.

But there was something Santiago couldn't avoid: he wanted to impress her.

Whenever she appeared near the training field, Santiago doubled his effort. He would dive for impossible balls, make spectacular saves, and stay to practice even after training had ended.

And after each save, he would inevitably search among the people present until he found her.

If she was looking at him, he would smile contentedly.

If she congratulated him, he would try to act as if it wasn't important, even though inside he was happy.

"Did you like it?" he would ask after a particularly difficult save.

Santiago knew he was probably being too obvious, but he couldn't help it. He wanted her to see him not just as the team's goalkeeper, but as Santiago.

The problem was Matías. As the older brother, Matías watched with increasing suspicion the way Santiago was getting close to his sister. Santiago knew that if he wanted any chance with her, he would first have to survive the Paraguayan's protective gaze. Meanwhile, he would continue doing what he did best: standing between the posts and turning every save into a small excuse to get closer to her. Because perhaps she didn't know it yet, but Santiago already had a much more important reason to want to win every match: to see her smile from the stands.