Meu Amor

Chapter 1

"Ok, guys. I've got good news and bad news. Where should I start?"

"Bad news always first."

"John had a fall last night while training, injured his knee pretty badly, and will be out for the rest of the year."

"Oh my God, is he alright?"

"He is in a lot pain, but he is having surgery today. He told me not to worry, that he will be fine. But as much as it sucks, his bad news lead us to the good ones. One of you will be covering for him, and the lucky one is... Taylor!"

"Me? But what about Manu? Shouldn't he be the one covering for John since he is his assistant?" Taylor asks.

"I was going to tell you once he came back from his holidays, but nevermind. He has accepted an offer to join the Champions League team. It's less work, and that way he can help at home."

"So that means that Taylor and I are the new John and Manu?" I ask.

"Exactly. Congratulations girls! Your first game will be the Manchester derby. Hope you enjoy it!"

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"Relax, girl. We'll be ok and totally nail this, trust me" Taylor says, putting a hand on my leg and trying to make it stop moving.

"Oh, I'm not nervous. Well, maybe a bit. What I am the most, is excited" I reply. We are finally doing pitch side work, and I can't wait.

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I finished my journalism degree two years ago. While most people knew the field they wanted to work in, I wasn't sure, I liked too many things. But one day, after seeing a female journalist covering a football game, I said to myself: maybe I can do that too. I sent a curriculum to Sky Sports, and God knows why and how, they called me back.

I expected to spend most part of my time doing things for others, from getting coffees to ordering files. Just as you see on movies. But to my surprise, they had me join the Premier League team as an assistant.

During my first year, I helped transcribing the notes others took during games, turning them into articles for the website. They were articles about the smaller teams, those only their fans care about, but I was writing and my name was there.

One day, one of the guys I worked with had to cover for someone from the Big 6 team, aka, the most important clubs in the country, the ones everyone watched on tv. It was a Manchester United – Liverpool, and we weren't watching it from home. We were at the stadium, sharing our spot with journalists from all around the country, seeing it all first hand. And I fell in love with it. This was what I wanted to do. To actually live the games and share that with those at home.

For some reason, Taylor read the article I wrote that day, asked around... And the following week I was working as her assistant and becoming part of the Big 6 team. I wasn't writing anymore, but just being by her side during meetings and helping wherever I was needed, was enough. An all this was finally paying off, making me go back to Manchester and to the actual pitch side.

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"I'm going to the bathroom before we start. Can you make sure everything is ready and that no one ruins our spot?" Taylor says.

"Sure, don't worry."

We are at the Etihad, Manchester City's stadium, the game starting in 20 minutes. The players are already warming up, and Taylor should be doing her live in just a bit. After that, we'll stay close to the benches, taking notes during the game, reporting back during the halftime, and doing the interviews once the game is over.