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{{Football player infobox
{{Football player infobox
| playername = Lionel Messy
| playername = Lionel Messy
| image = [[Image:Lionel Messy 31mar2007.jpg|200px]]
| image = [[Image:220806 messi06-07.jpg|200px]]
| fullname = Lionel Andrés Messy
| fullname = Lionel Andrés Messy
| nickname = Leo<br />''La Pulga''<br />''La Pulga Atómica''<br />''Diablo Grotesque''<br />"El Messias"
| nickname = Leo<br />''La Pulga''<br />''La Pulga Atómica''<br />''Diablo Grotesque''<br />"El Messias"

Revision as of 15:42, 5 July 2007

Lionel Messi
File:220806 messi06-07.jpg
Personal information
Full name Lionel Andrés Messy
Height 1.69 m (5 ft 6+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Supporting striker / Attacking Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Spain Barcelona
Number 21

Lionel Andrés Messi (born 24 June 1987 in Rosario) is an Argentine international football player who currently plays for FC Barcelona in the Primera División. Often touted in the media as New Maradona, Messi has been publicly named as his "successor" by Diego Maradona himself.[2]

Career

Beginnings

Lionel Messi was born in Santa Fe Province on 24 June 1987. At the age of five, he started playing football for Grandoli, a club coached by his father. In 1995, Messi switched to Newell's Old Boys.[3] At the age of 11, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.[4] River Plate showed interest in Messi's progress, but did not have enough money to pay for the treatment of the illness, which cost over £500 a month. As Argentina's economy was collapsing, Carles Rexach, then sporting director of FC Barcelona, was made aware of Messi's talent, and Barcelona signed him after watching him play,[5] offering to pay for the medical bills if he was willing to move to start a new life in Spain.[3] His family moved with the young player to Europe and he starred in the club’s youth teams.[5]

He soon found himself starting for the Barcelona B team, averaging more than a goal per game, by scoring 35 goals in 30 matches[6]..

Barcelona début

In October 2004, Messi made his official début for the first team against RCD Espanyol, becoming the third-youngest player[citation needed] ever to play for FC Barcelona. When he scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete Balompié on May 1 2005, Messi was 17 years, 10 months and 7 days old, becoming the youngest to ever score[citation needed] in a La Liga game for FC Barcelona.

Argentina U-20

Messi was offered the chance to play for the Spanish national side[citation needed], but he declined, preferring to wait for the opportunity to play for the country of his birth. In June 2004, he got his chance, playing in an under-20 friendly match against Paraguay.

In June 2005, Messi played in the U-20 team that won the Football World Youth Championship in Netherlands, picking up the Golden Boot as top scorer with 6 goals, and the Golden Ball for the best player of the tournament. Despite his youth, Lionel was already being compared to Diego Maradona, one of the greatest football players of all time. On June 27, FC Barcelona renewed his contract until 2010, establishing a selling clause of €150 million (which happens to be 30 million more than his Barcelona team mate, Ronaldinho).[3][7]

International début

On August 4, José Pekerman called him up to the senior Argentine national team. He made his début against Hungary being put in during the 63rd minute, but was sent off after just 40 seconds, because the referee Markus Merk found he had elbowed the defender Vilmos Vanczák who was tugging Messi's shirt, and left the pitch in tears. The decision was heavily contested as Maradona even claimed the decision was pre-meditated.[8][9] Messi then had his first real international debut on September 3 in Argentina's 0-1 World Cup qualifier away loss against Paraguay playing the last eight minutes of the match.[10] Ahead of the match he had said "This is a re-début. The first one was a bit short"[11]

2005-06 season

On September 16, for the second time in three months, Barcelona announced an update to Messi's contract - this time improved to pay him as a first team member and extended till June 2014.[3][12] Messi obtained Spanish citizenship on September 25 and was finally able to make his début in this season's Spanish First Division. He had previously been unable to play because FC Barcelona had filled their quota of non-EU players. Messi's first home outing in the UEFA Champions League came on September 27 against Italian club Udinese.[13] He impressed with some great passing and a seemingly telepathic relationship with Ronaldinho that earned him a standing ovation from the 70,000-odd Nou Camp faithful.[14] In December of that year, the Italian newspaper Tuttosport awarded him the Golden Boy 2005 title for the best under-21 player in Europe, ahead of Wayne Rooney, Lukas Podolski, and Cristiano Ronaldo.[15]

Messi netted 6 goals from 17 league appearances and scored 1 Champions League goal from the 6 games he featured in. His reputation for big match temperament was helped by performances in Barcelona's important away leg victories against Real Madrid and Chelsea in the league and Champions League respectively, each considered his best of the respective campaign.[16][5] Messi's season ended prematurely on 7 March 2006, when he tore a muscle in his right thigh during the second leg of the second round Champions League tie against Chelsea.[17] Barcelona ended the season as champions of Spain and Europe.

World Cup 2006

The injury that kept him from playing for two months at the end of the 2005/06 league jeopardised his presence at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Nevertheless, Messi was selected in the Argentina squad for the tournament on May 15 2006. He also played in the farewell match against the Argentinian U-20 team for fifteen minutes and a friendly against Angola from the 64th minute.[18][19]

Messi witnessed Argentina's opening match win against Ivory Coast from the bench because the manager Pekerman wanted to shield him from the pressure.[20] In the next match against Serbia and Montenegro, he came on as a substitute for Maxi Rodríguez in the 74th minute. In doing so he became the youngest player to represent Argentina at a World Cup. He assisted Hernán Crespo's goal within minutes of entering the game and also scored the final goal in the 6-0 victory. This goal made him the youngest scorer in the 2006 World Cup and the sixth youngest scorer in World Cup history, Pelé being the youngest.[21] Messi started in Argentina's following 0-0 tie against the Netherlands as a forward. Fellow striker Carlos Tevez and he were not allowed any space by the Dutch defence, which prevented him from causing any damage and he was substituted in the 69th minute.[22]

In the following game against Mexico, Messi came on as a substitute for Javier Saviola in the 84th minute, with the score tied 1-1. He appeared to score a goal, but was ruled offside. Argentina proceeded to win the game 2-1 in extra time. [23] Messi spent the entire quarter-finals match against Germany, which Argentina lost in a penalty shootout, on the bench.[24]

2006-07 season

Messi maintained his reputation as a big match player when he tricked Brazilian full back, Roberto Carlos, making him fall over and break a finger during one particularly deft move.[25] His 89th minute equaliser away to Werder Bremen was pivotal in Barcelona's qualification to the Champions League knock out phase. Messi had another long lay off with a broken metatarsal which kept him out for 3 months.[26] He sustained the injury in a game against Real Zaragoza on November 12, after tackles from Alberto Zapater and Albert Celades.[27] On 5 January 2007, Spanish newspaper El Mundo Deportivo reported that Internazionale president Massimo Moratti was planning a £71 million bid for Messi;[28] however, Moratti denied any immediate plans to sign Messi in an interview posted on Internazionale's official website.[29] He made his return against Racing Santander on the 11th of February, where he came on as a second-half substitute.[1] On 10 March 2007, he scored a hat-trick against Real Madrid in El Clásico, with his third goal coming in injury time to earn 10-man Barcelona the draw 3-3 at home to Real Madrid. Messi was the first player to score a hat-trick in El Clásico since Iván Zamorano did it for Real Madrid in the 1994-95 season, and the first Barcelona player to do it since Romario scored three against Real Madrid in the 1993-94 season. Messi is the youngest player ever to have scored in El Clásico, and against Recreativo he scored again. This was his 7th goal. He scored again against Deportivo, from a wonderful pass from Ronaldinho. This was his 8th goal in the 2006-07 season. A wonderful solo goal against Getafe CF in a Copa del Rey game on 18 April further reflected Messi's footballing similarity with Diego Maradona, and has further forged the youngster as one of the hottest prospects in the game[citation needed]. On June 9 Messi scored a goal with his hand against RCD Espanyol very similar to Diego Maradona, once again furthering the comparisons with Maradona and Messi. Messi scored 2 goals when they beat Atletico Madrid with 6-0, and 2 goals against Espanyol. On the closing day of La Liga, Messi scored two goals against Gimnastic de Tarragona. Despite his efforts to lead his club to victory against Gimnastic, Barcelona lost La Liga crown to Real Madrid. Few days later Spanish news agency - EFE awarded him EFE Trophy 2007 for the best Ibero-Amaerican football player in La Liga ahead of Daniel Alves from Sevilla and club mate Ronaldinho. Messi gained the title as the youngest player ever.

Messi shortly before scoring the goal.

El Golazo

On April 18, 2007, Messi scored two goals during a Copa del Rey semi-final against Getafe CF, one of which was very similar to Maradona's famous goal against England at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, known as the Goal of the Century.[30] Messi's goal is already considered a major contender for the best goal of the year. The world's sports press exploded with Maradona comparisons, and the Spanish press labelled Messi "Messidona". He ran about the same distance (62 metres), beat the same number of players (six, including the goalkeeper), scored from a very similar position, and ran towards the corner flag just as Maradona did in Mexico 21 years before. In a press conference after the game, Messi's team-mate Deco said: "There's no other like Leo." [31]

Hand of god: Edition two

Lionel Messi scored a wonderful goal against Getafe in Copa del Rey, and on June 9 Messi scored a goal using his hand (illegally) against Espanyol. The Real Madrid coach Fabio Capello was angered by Messi's goal and said that the referee should have seen that Messi hit the ball with his hand. Messi said in a press conference after the game: "It was an unnecessary goal", but he celebrated the goal because he was happy to level out the game. This only furthered the comparisons between Maradona and Messi.

Argentina National Team

Lionel Messi is gaining much success with the national team. Basile has placed Messi into a central-attacking position, right behind two forwards. Since the introduction of this new tactic, Messi's playmaking abilities have been exploding. In his first game, in a center-attacking midfield position, Messi delivered a precise cross for Carlos Tevez to score. In the following game against Algeria, Messi hit the post, scored from the spot (forcing the penality himself), and scored a spectacular goal to win the game.

Copa America 2007

Lionel Messi played his first game in Copa America when Argentina defeated United States 4-1 in the first game. Carlos Tevez came on as a substitute for Messi in the 79th minute.

His second game was against Colombia, in which he caused a penalty that Hernan Crespo converted to tie the game at 1-1. He also played part in Argentina's second goal as he was fouled outside the box, which allowed Juan Roman Riquelme to score from a freekick, and increase Argentina's lead to 3-1. He was later substituted again by Carlos Tevez. The final score of the game was 4-2 in Argentina's favor and guaranteed them a spot in the tournament's quarterfinals.

Statistics

All-time club performance

Club Season League Cup[32] Europe[33] Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FC Barcelona 2004-05 7 1 1 0 1 0 9 1
2005-06 17 6 2 1 6 1 25 8
2006-07 26 14 4 2 6 1 35 17
Career totals 50 21 7 3 13 2 70 26

Honours

With Argentina National Team:

With FC Barcelona:

Personal Honours:

References

  1. ^ ESPN (Last updated 25 Jun 2007)
  2. ^ Reuters (2006-02-25). "Maradona proclaims Messi as his successor". China Daily. Retrieved 2006-10-08. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b c d Williams, Richard. "Messi has all the qualities to take world by storm in The Guardian. Accessed November 10, 2006.
  4. ^ Lionel Messi in worldsoccerabout.com. Accessed December 31, 2006.
  5. ^ a b c "The new messiah". FIFA.com. 5 March 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-25.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference lionelmessi.net/lionel-messi-fc-barcelona.aspx was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ "Ronaldinho signs contract extension till 2010". FCBarcelona.com. Accessed November 10, 2006
  8. ^ Vickery, Tim: Messi handles 'new Maradona' tag on bbc.co.uk. Accessed December 30, 2006.
  9. ^ Argentine striker Messi recalled for World Cup qualifier in People's Daily Online. Accessed on December 30, 2006.
  10. ^ Reuters: Pekerman: "Messi is a jewel" in eurosport.com. Accessed January 6, 2007.
  11. ^ Reuters: Messi tries again as Argentina face Paraguay. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
  12. ^ http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20050927/ai_n15617525
  13. ^ "Lionel Andres Messi - FCBarcelona and Argentina". footballdatabase.com. Retrieved 2006-08-23.
  14. ^ Reuters (28 September 2005). "Ronaldinho scores the goals, Messi takes the plaudits". rediff.com. Retrieved 2006-08-23. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  15. ^ "Lionel Messi: football's new "Golden Boy"". XINHUA online. 2005-12-15. Retrieved 2006-07-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ "Messi "I Like To Play With The Crowd Against Me"". Goal.com. 29 June 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-25.
  17. ^ "Frustrated Messi suffers another injury setback". ESPNsoccernet. April 26, 2006. Retrieved 2006-07-22.
  18. ^ Vickery, Tom: Messi comes of age in bbc.co.uk. Accessed December 30, 2006.
  19. ^ Argentina allay fears over Messi in bbc.co.uk. Accessed December 30, 2006.
  20. ^ Messi weiter auf der Bank in kicker.de. Accessed December 30, 2006
  21. ^ Argentina 6-0 Serbia & Montenegro in bbc.co.uk. Accessed December 30, 2006.
  22. ^ Holland 0-0 Argentina in bbc.co.uk. Accessed December 30, 2006.
  23. ^ Argentina 2-1 Mexico (aet) in bbc.co.uk. Accessed December 30, 2006.
  24. ^ Germany 1-1 Argentina in bbc.co.uk. Accessed December 30, 2006.
  25. ^ Messi vs Carlos. 2006-11-14. Retrieved 2007-04-19. {{cite AV media}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  26. ^ "Doctors happy with Messi op" (Press release). FCBarcelona.com. 2006-11-14. Retrieved 2006-11-16. {{cite press release}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  27. ^ "Messi to miss FIFA Club World Cup". FIFA.com/Reuters. 2006-11-13. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |accesdate= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ "Moratti prepares Messi move". channel4.com. 5 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  29. ^ "Massimo Morati on Inter Channel". Inter.it. 8 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
  30. ^ "Messi dazzles as Barca reach Copa Final". ESPN Soccernet. 2007-04-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  31. ^ Lowe, Sid (2007-04-20). "The greatest goal ever?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  32. ^ Includes Copa del Rey and Supercopa de España
  33. ^ Includes UEFA Supercup
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