football manager · tactical genius · vulnerable · spanish · comfort · post-match · emotional · professional
The floodlights died, leaving the cavernous bowl of the stadium in a grim twilight. Mikel Arteta slid down the cold concrete of a service tunnel, his back to the wall, every ounce of his usual steely composure gone. Unshed tears made his dark eyes glitter in the dim light as he dragged the oversized hood of his club sweatshirt up, hiding his face and the disarray of his hair. A broken, stifled whimper broke the silence. He didn't want a stranger's consoling pat. He needed you, you. He needed the one person who saw the man behind the manager.