Biography

One of FC Barcelona’s best football players and the deadly striker of Argentina, Lionel Andres Messi was brought into this world on 27th June 1987. Playing in the Primera Division for Barca and being the driving force for his national team, Messi has made an ever lasting impression on the football world within a very short span of time. Due to his on field heroics he is already being dubbed as the next Maradona. Being compared with Maradona is the best complement an Argentine footballer could ever receive as Diego Maradona is the very definition of football excellence in the world.

At just five years of age, Messi began playing for his father’s club of Grandoli. The Newell’s Old Boys was the next stop for the striker in 1995. Tragedy struck Messi when he was only 11; the youngster was unfortunately diagnosed with a deficiency of growth hormone which was threatening his promising football career. Even with the diagnosis of the deficiency, it didn’t slow Messi down, but it did make it harder for him to get signed as his illness had to be treated amounting to costly medical bills every month. The first club that was interested in Messi was River Plate, but they were not willing to pay for the cost of his treatment. Fortunately though, Carles Rexach who is the sporting director for the famous football club of FC Barcelona took notice of Messi’s talent and offered to sign him, the deal also included taking care of Messi’s medical bills. As a result of his signing with Barca’s youth team, Messi moved overseas along with his family to start a new life in Spain.

Soon thereafter, Messi showcased his talent on the European stage and put on some amazing performances with Barca’s B team. Amazing probably is an understatement when it comes to describing what Messi did on the field; the young striker displayed his unbelievable goal scoring ability by netting 35 goals in just 30 matches. With obvious talent, Messi didn’t stay with the Barca’s B team for long and finally made his debut with the senior club in 2004.

Representing FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi’s dream of playing for a major club at the top level finally came true and he cherished playing alongside some of the greatest football players in the world. At 17 years of age, Messi turned out to become the youngest player ever to play in the La Liga. It didn’t take long for him to display his goal scoring ability, netting his first goal for the club in May of 2005 against Albacete Baloompie.Messi always had the chance to play for Spain, but he wanted to wait for an invitation to play for his home country of Argentina as he has always dreamt of donning the same national colors as his idol Maradona. Finally in 2004, Messi got an opportunity of playing with Argentina’s Under 20 squad versus Paraguay. His real impact didn’t come until June of the following year in 2005 when Argentina participated in the Football World Youth Championship, which took place in Netherlands. Messi was his usual self, scoring 6 goals and taking home the Golden Boot along with the coveted championship for Argentina. After the display of his fabulous skills at the youth Championship, the comparison of Messi’s talent to the great Argentine footballer Maradona started to grow and subsequently a new superstar was born. In the same year, Messi earned himself a new contract with FC Barcelona, which would keep him playing for Barca through the 2010 season. This contract showed his value to the team as the amount of money involved was considerably higher than the amount paid for famous Barca teammate Ronaldinho, who is often referred by many as the best football player in the world. In August of 2005, Messi was offered a spot on Argentina’s senior national team and he appeared for the first time in a match against Hungary, but his first appearance for the national team ended very quickly and was filled with controversy. Just 40 seconds on the field and Messi was sent off as a result of an elbow to opposing player Vilmos Vanczak. The send off was quite controversial and even Maradona put his two cents in to defend Messi’s actions.As the young Argentine superstar was turning out to become one of the most feared strikers in the game, FC Barcelona extended Messi’s contract until 2014. As a result of a longer contract, Messi decided to become a Spanish citizen, which in turn made him eligible to finally play in the Spanish First Divison. In the past he was unable to participate, but once he received citizenship he was able to contribute for Barca. After becoming a Spanish citizen Messi received an award for his incredible efforts on the field, the Golden Boy it’s called, which is given to the best player under 21 years of age in Europe by Tuttosport, a newspaper in Italy. He was voted over some of the other notable footballers like Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo who both play for Manchester United.Messi’s first real injury, besides his hormone deficiency, hit him in 2006 when he went down playing in a Champions League match against England’s elite, Chelsea. Messi’s injury was in his right leg, he tore a muscle in his thigh and it ended his season. This injury was threatening to have a profound affect on Messi as the 2006 World Cup was soon approaching, but despite the injury he was still selected to represent his country. Messi sat on the bench for Argentina’s first match, but that didn’t last long and Messi set yet another record becoming the youngest player ever to play for Argentina in a World Cup when he came in for Maxi Rodriguez versus Montenegro and Serbia. His contribution to the national team was felt almost immediately after Messi assisted a goal scored by Hernan Crespo and also netted a goal himself to end the match. In Argentina’s next match against Mexico, Messi came on to the field once again as a substitute late in the match and netted a goal to break the tie score of 1-1, but he was called offside and the goal was waved off as a result, but Argentina managed to win the match in extra time. The following match against Germany was a different story for Messi; he sat on the bench the entire game just to watch his team get beaten in a penalty shootout.As Argentina’s World cup dream ended, Messi was eagerly looking forward to showcase his improved football talent at the international stage.

In the next season for FC Barcelona, Messi’s reputation as a superstar footballer kept growing. Unfortunately injury struck Messi, breaking his metatarsal against Real Zaragoza which made him miss about three months. Recovering quickly Messi made his return on February 11th against Racing Santander, but his real return to form wasn’t until March of 2007 when he embarrassed Real Madrid with a hat-trick, the match ended in a 3-3 draw.

During the year 2007, Messi was also rewarded with the Ibero-American best footballer award from the EFE for his performance on the field. Lately legendary footballer Maradona has developed a special liking towards the wonder kid from Argentina. Maradona heavily praised him in the press after Messi in a semi-final match of the Copa del Rey against Getafe CF netted a goal which looked very similar to the classic Maradona goal versus England in the World Cup of 1986 in April of 2007. This goal by Maradona has been dubbed as the Goal of the Century. The press in Spain had an absolute field day with Messi’s goal, as the comparison to Maradona’s Goal of the Century was undeniable; he dribbled past 6 players and ran about the same distance as Maradona did to score the goal of the century.

The emergence of Lionel Messi as an international superstar has given hope to all Argentine fans that they may be witnessing the return of their hero Diego Maradona. Fans at Barcelona throng to the football fields to watch their young star score game after game. Be it FC Barcelona or Argentine national team, Messi will be a force to reckon for many years to come. Looking at Messi’s incredible talent and his strong will to win, multiple Spanish league titles and the prestigious World cup title cannot be ruled out in the near future.