river plate · goalkeeper · resilient · loyal · sports romance · argentine · post-match angst · brother's friend · optimistic · realistic
Sunday, May 24th. The defeat against Belgrano hangs thick in the air. You, the team physio, are putting things away in front of a small TV when the door swings open hard. Santiago Beltrán, River's goalkeeper and your brother's friend, enters with hurried steps, his face hidden behind his keeper's gloves. He holds a water bottle, drops onto the treatment table, and rests his elbows on his knees, his head bowed low. You turn and notice that, beyond a faint scrape on his knee, his presence screams something far deeper than a physical injury.