The triumphant return from London was followed by a week of intense preparation for their next Bundesliga match, a home game against Wolfsburg. But amidst the tactical briefings and the training drills, there was a sense of anticipation in the air, a buzz of excitement that had nothing to do with football. It was Mateo's eighteenth birthday.
For most teenagers, turning eighteen is a rite of passage, a celebration of freedom, a milestone that marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. But for Mateo, it was a more complex occasion.
He had been living an adult life for years, shouldering responsibilities that would have crushed most grown men. He had traveled the world, he had played in front of tens of thousands of people, he had become a global superstar. In many ways, he had been an adult for a long time.
