KSHB 41 reporter Tod Palmer covers sports business and eastern Jackson County, including Independence. Share your story idea with Tod.
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Two weeks before his seventh birthday, Matteo Rodriguez was diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, an extremely unlucky circumstance.
But the 10-year-old boy from Olathe, who credits soccer for helping him fight through treatments, may have been the luckiest kid in Kansas City on Wednesday — shaking hands with Lionel Messi and meeting Argentina's soccer team before practice at Compass Minerals National Performance Center in Kansas City, Kansas.
Diagnosed in 2022, Sporting Kansas City honored Matteo and his family at a game in 2023, and it was the team’s work with the Victory Project that made meeting La Albiceleste and Messi possible.
After an X-ray revealed a tumor that covered most of Matteo’s chest, he endured more than 100 hours-long hospital visits, lumbar punctures and blood transfusions on the road to recovery.
"When I was hospitalized, I would sit in bed, and I wouldn't be able to get up and go see my friends at all,” Matteo said. “That was really hard for me.”
Soccer helped Matteo cope with his treatments, offering a welcome distraction via video games or watching Messi play.
"I love how he is a good soccer player,” Matteo said. “He's kind to others, and he just makes my heart blossom.”
Meeting Messi, who helped Inter Miami CF win the MLS Cup last year after more than a decade starring in Europe, and the rest of Argentina’s team was a dream come true.
"It's beautiful,” Matteo said. “It's awesome to think that this is the world's best player and the champions of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, so it's just huge to meet Messi and Argentina.”
Emiliano Martinez — Argentina's starting goalkeeper, who also stars for Aston Villa in the English Premier League — was also among the players who posed for a picture with Matteo and his brother.
"He was kind and offered to take a picture with us,” Matteo said. “We shook hands, and I love how he has my brother's name, Emiliano. It was lovely just meeting his star.”
Matteo is entering fifth grade and plays right wing on his youth soccer team. When asked if he was approaching Messi's skill level, he gave an honest assessment.
"I'm starting to get up to the skill level, but so far, no," Matteo said.
He is, however, already an inspiration. Perhaps one day he will be a kind star soccer player making a young boy's dream come true.
"I look forward to that day, and I hope it comes," Matteo said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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