The FIFA World Cup 2022 held in Qatar is at the pinnacle. France and Argentina will have a head-to-head battle with the ball on December 18, 2022, to behold the highest glory. The craze regarding FIFA 22 has spread across the globe in diverse nature from cheering for their favourite team to paying wonderful tributes to their favourite players. Besides, netizens have showcased their incredible talent in the medium of songs, dance, sculpture, paintings and much more.
Paraguayan woman artist has grabbed the attention of the world for displaying her incredible artistic skills. Lili Cantero wowed the world with her artistic brilliance as she displayed her talent by painting pictures of the legendary Brazilian footballer Pele and Diego Maradona, the Argentinian star. She drew an amazing picture of the veteran footballers on, of course, footballs.
Cantero’s talent was thrust into the limelight way back in 2018. Lionel Messi, an Argentinian soccer star’s post on social media with a customised pair of boots had caught the eyeballs of the football world. Boots painted by hand depicted the story of Messi’s career and life, from childhood memories to on-pitch glory. When Cantero, gifted it to the man of glory, little did she know that the 2022 FIFA Championship at Qatar would raise her career to the glory of the world cup itself.
Cantero prepared the football-inspired art show, on FIFA Championship in Qatar, and on the most sought-after players and teams, of Qatar 2022 and exhibited 25 works in total consisting of boots, balls, also canvases and 3D structures. Aiming to highlight the history of the World Cup, which has been won by only eight countries, Cantero highlighted the number 8 in her art. Brazil has won the most World Cup titles with five, followed by Italy and Germany with four, Uruguay, Argentina, and France with two, and England and Spain with one each. Supported by the Paraguayan embassy in Qatar, Cantero exhibited her spectacular artworks under the title, 8 stadiums, 8 Champions and one dream, Qatar 2022.
The hand-painted football shoes were presented within a 3D display representation of the World Cup stadiums in Qatar. They also projected the image of Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the horse and falcon, and other symbols related to Middle Eastern, Latin American, and Paraguayan culture.
Cantero had hit the screens and pages of media much before the ball was kicked off in Qatar. She, rolling her painting brush on the boots and football aroused curiosity if she was doing it all for most of the stars of football. When the media widely covered her plans for Qatar and her work of art, she relatively, gained a massive promotion which isn’t a history before any of its kind.
Categorically Qatar edition of FIFA has been a colossal platform for her career but her intense strive to achieve something greater also has carried her to the position. One such is, once she personally got to present the shoes to Ronaldinho illustrating a kiss his mother had given him after winning the Ballon d’Or award in 2005 as the best football player in the world. Her remark during which is what one should know to understand the personal touch that she intends on her artwork. “When I paint for players, what I try to do is to look for the humanisation of the figure, because many times the player is like an idol and many people forget that behind that player there is a person,” Cantero said.
Cantero’s distinctive take off on her football-inspired career goes back to her youth. In school, she was known for decorating sandals with various adorning patterns. Specialised in sandal art she painted sandals as part of her projects and hobby.
Her college days already turned into a business as her soccer friends ordered her hand-painted boots in a row. With the growing demand, she with her college mates launched their own small businesses. Eventually, she began designing for a local sports store and getting requests from professional athletes. Her exposure to the world in Qatar has left her with a deep desire to continue growing, and expanding to work with other regions and countries. Travelling from a South American country to the Middle east she has already conceived in her mind the United States, since the next World Cup will be in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.
