Junior Messius : Another Fairytale Late Bloomer

AC Milan's Junior Messius wrote the incredible story of his return, scoring his first goal for his club in his Champions League debut and keeping the Rossonerri's hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive. Messius scored in the 87th minute at the Wanda Metropolitano on last Wednesday night to give the Rossonerri a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid. The change in the Brazilian's fortunes is truly astonishing, having played at the amateur level just a few years before playing on stage in the Champions League. Also he occasionally had to work as a refrigerator delivery man in search of a livelihood. The Brazilian footballer, who played at the amateur level two years ago, entered the field in the 64th minute of Wednesday's game. Twenty minutes later he proved himself a hero. Overcoming Oblak in his header bringing AC Milan to a four point tally equal to Atletico, leading by one point with Porto in second place. Liverpool are at the top of the table with 15 points after winning 5 of 5 matches.

Messius, who is on loan from Croton in AC Milan, has played just two matches for Rossonerri before his match winning goal. However, his fight with his own misfortune is not new, if he had given up which is the common thing to do in such dire circumstances, he might have chosen to be the delivery man as his profession today. The former Cruzeiro youngster moved to Italy in 2011 in search of work. Struggling to make a living, he took a job at an appliance store in Turin. He did not say goodbye to football forever, as his only connection to the game was team from the amateur league. Where he participated as a group of Peruvians living in Turin. Messius's footballing talents were not hidden under a blanket for too long, and he soon received an offer from former Torino star Ezio Rossi to join fifth-tier club called Castle. Messius was forced to reject the opportunity because matchdays are colliding with his work days, which could have led to him being fired from the job. Rossi though, insisted that he would take him to the team. And Messius finally agreed to his request. Thus began his new career in Italy, entering the top tier of Italian football in AC Milan's colors after playing for Crotone in Serie B in 2019/20.

Events like Mesius's story of coming from absolutely nothing inspire us to learn not to give up in any area of ​​life. There is bound to be ups and downs in life, you have to survive the time and wait for the opportunity. Opportunities will come in life. With a little bit of hard work and confidence, you also need the help of luck. As they say in great old Britain, "All you need is luck, trust, and a little pixie dust". Messius's last minute header could have hit the bar or it could've been saved by Oblak, maybe he could not have been fielded today. But to survive in the struggle of life, we have to take advantage of the opportunity we have got, they will not come again and again. And then again there is Murphy's law, which is to state that whatever can happen, will happen.

However, AC Milan has not qualified yet, but after so many years of patience, Rossonerri kept the hope of going to the second round alive. And hope as long as you breathe. Like Rossonerri fans, football fans would love AC Milan to be a regular on Europe's biggest stage again.