Her Heart Beats Faster When The Granddaughter Steps On the Pitch

The family debate over who is Emily's biggest fan has been going on for years. Emily says it’s her grandma without hesitating, then adds that her dad and brother won’t be unhappy to hear it.

Susana came to the United States from Buenos Aires, originally for the birth of Emily's brother, Joaquin. Her husband was there for the early years of Emily's life, but passed away before he could watch her play at the level she is reaching now. Susana carries that with her every time she goes to a game.

Watching her from the beginning

Susana has been watching Emily play football since she could barely walk. She remembers a small girl playing in the yard with a special talent for handling the ball. That was the moment she understood what this was going to be.

"From the age of two, two and a half, you could already see her great passion for football. She would go out to the yard and grab the ball and kick it, with so much force for someone so little," Susana says. From there, it became everything: the training sessions, the travel, the early mornings, the tournaments in other cities. Susana went to as many as she could reach.

What she sees when Emily plays

Susana watches games differently from the rest of the family. She is quieter. She reads Emily's mood from the way she moves on the pitch, the way she carries herself between plays, the moments when everything is flowing, and the moments when something is off.

"I observe her, and I see when she is happy and responding with everything she has. And sometimes I can see that her mood is not quite the same, and I feel a little sad too, because I know she can do everything," she says, adding that watching someone she has known since before she could talk become someone the world is starting to notice is an emotion that’s difficult to put into words. 

"When I see her step onto the pitch, my heart beats faster. I am grateful that life is allowing me to be here, accompanying her in all these important moments," Susana says.

The night drive to the final

At the Generation Adidas Cup, the family decided to drive through the night to be at the final. Nobody told Emily. She was warming up on the pitch with her teammates when she looked up at the stands and saw her grandmother, her aunt, her uncle, and her brother. She started smiling and didn’t stop.

Susana had been following the tournament from home until that point. The decision to make the trip was easy. Emily was in a final. That was enough.

"I can only accompany her with my feelings and be there, present at the pitch, as often as I can," she says. She describes her role in Emily's journey differently from the way Nelson describes his. He is at the center of the practical support: the early mornings, the travel, the financial commitment. Susana is at the center of something else.

"The support is more emotional than anything else. But with my whole heart," she says.

The family that made her

Susana talks about the family's closeness as something inseparable from what Emily is becoming as a player. The unity, she says, is visible to Emily on the pitch. When fifteen people are there, Emily knows it. When they cannot be there, she feels it.

"I believe that the family unity also helps Emily, because she is happy when we all come to watch her. She is grateful that we are present. It is a very special accompaniment for her," Susana says.

She is asked whether she has any fears about the path ahead. She thinks for a moment.

"Emily is going to reach her objective. She is going to make every possible sacrifice to get there," the grandmother says, with the certainty of someone who has been watching since the beginning and has not seen a reason to doubt it yet.

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