Art, Perfected

Simeone stepped forward and pulled Chen Anno into a firm embrace.

He patted Anno's back. "Brilliant work, Annuo... uh... I mean, you played really well."

Chen Anno laughed and patted Simeone's back in return. "You weren't bad yourself, boss."

After that greeting, Simeone kept him there and talked his ear off.

Chen Anno listened patiently. Only after Simeone had talked for quite a while did he head onto the pitch.

He walked onto the field and greeted his former teammates one by one, embracing Gabi, Koke, Torres, and the others.

Griezmann was last.

The Frenchman looked caught between regret and resignation.

He opened his arms, and the two embraced.

Griezmann leaned close to Chen Anno's ear. "Give me your shirt."

Chen Anno let go and shook his head.

"What the hell? You won't?"

"I'm giving it to someone."

Griezmann paused, then followed Chen Anno's gaze toward the South Stand.

He understood at once.

Griezmann shrugged, punched Chen Anno lightly in the chest, and walked away.

Finally, Chen Anno headed toward the South Stand.

The fans there had yet to leave. As they watched him approach, cheers and applause rose all around.

Chen Anno stepped past the advertising boards and went straight toward one spot.

A little girl stood there, perhaps seven or eight years old, with her hair in a ponytail and a hand-drawn poster in her hands.

One look told him she had drawn it herself.

It showed Chen Anno in an Atletico Madrid shirt two years earlier, kissing the UEFA Champions League trophy.

Chen Anno stopped in front of her and bent down.

"Hey... hello. Could I have your drawing?"

The little girl's eyes went wide. Her lips moved twice, but she couldn't get a full sentence out.

She just nodded hard, her ponytail swinging back and forth.