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Lionel Messi
January 19th, 2006
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 Another
off the Argentine assembly line of “New Maradonas”,
Lionel Messi may be the first to live up to that unfair comparison.
Where Javier Saviola, Juan Roman Riquelme and Pablo Aimar have unsurprisingly
failed to match HIS high standards despite initial promise, Messi has shown
that even at a young age he is able to carry the weight of expectant teammates
and a nation on his shoulders.
Credit must also be given to his Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard for not rushing
him into a starting place at Barcelona he is more than ready to hold.
"It is clear Messi is a talent, a future player, but I ask that everyone
continues supporting him when he is out of the team because he is still very
young." Rijkaard said in a recent interview. He continued:
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Career Highlights
June 24, 1987
Born in Rosario, Argentina
2000
Lionel and his family move to Spain to help treat his hormonal growth
deficiency
Signs for Barcelona at the age of 13
October 16, 2004
Makes his Barcelona first tem debut against RCD Espanyol
May 1 2005
Becomes the youngest league scorer in Barcelona’s history against Albacete when
he scored his first goal at 17 years, ten months and seven days
June 2005
Helps the Argentina Under 20 team win the FIFA World Youth Championship scoring
two goals against Nigeria in the Final
June 27, 2005
Renews his contract with Barcelona until 2010 with a €150 million buy-out
clause
August 4, 2005
Receives his first call up to the Argentine national team
September 25, 2005
Obtains Spanish citizenship allowing him to play more games for Barcelona no
longer being restricted by the non-EU player quota
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"I'm convinced about him because I know he isn't paying attention to all the
speculation in the media."He prefers to do his talking on the pitch.”
In fact his three goals and one assist in nine league starts for Barcelona this
season to add to his goal and assist in the UEFA Champions League back up his
coaches claim, and at 18 years young we are only just starting to see glimpses
of his enormous potential. Messi states:
"I want to keep on learning and I hope things go well for me. The thing is to
help the team as much as possible."
These are the words of a young man with a focused head on his shoulders and more
importantly good advisors around him. How many times have we seen the vultures
swoop in on young prodigies sweet talking them and their parents into
committing career suicide by sulking and demanding more playing time only to
become no more than a trivia question five years down the road.
With the World Cup in Germany swiftly
approaching Lionel Messi will definitely be one to watch if selected for
national duty.
Enrique Domínguez, Messi's former coach said "He could do things with the ball
that defied the laws of physics. The only other person I have ever seen do that
was Diego Maradona".
Let us all recall that Maradona himself did not come into his own until the 1986
World Cup in Mexico despite being tipped for great things in Spain four years
prior. That World Cup was a general disappointment for Maradona as well as
Argentina. Messi will be three years younger than Maradona was in his first
World Cup appearance and it is important that we all allow Lionel to continue
developing at his current pace without placing on him too much pressure for a
teenager to handle. For his part Messi must maintain his enthusiasm and work
ethic that has so far impressed his coaches and peers. If he can do that then
the sky is indeed his limit.
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Related Links
Lionel Messi
- The unofficial website! News, biography, pictures, wallpapers, video and
more...
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