Synopsis
Born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario,
Argentina, soccer player Lionel Messi moved to Spain at the age of 13, after
the FC Barcelona club agreed to pay for hormone-deficiency treatments. Messi
became a star in his new country, scoring at will while leading his club to
championships. In 2012, he set a record for most goals in a calendar year, and
afterward was named FIFA's "Player of the Year" a record fourth time.
Lionel Messi was born Luis Lionel
Andres Messi on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina. As a young boy, he tagged
along when his two older brothers played soccer with their friends,
unintimidated by the bigger boys. At the age of 8, he was recruited to join the
youth system of Newell's Old Boys, a Rosario-based club. Recognizably smaller
than most of the kids in his age group, Messi was eventually diagnosed by doctors
as suffering from a hormone deficiency that restricted his growth.
Messi's parents, Jorge and Ceclia,
decided on a regimen of nightly growth-hormone injections for their son, though
it soon proved impossible to pay several hundred dollars per month for the
medication. So, at the age of 13, when Messi was offered the chance to train at
soccer powerhouse FC Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, and have his medical
bills covered by the team, Messi's family picked up and moved across the
Atlantic to make a new home in Spain.
Although he was often homesick in
his new country, Messi moved quickly through the junior system ranks, and by
the age of 16, he had made his first appearance for Barcelona. Messi put
himself in the record books on May 1, 2005, as the youngest player to ever
score a goal for the franchise. That same year, he led Argentina to the title
in the under-20 World Cup, scoring on a pair of penalty kicks to propel the
team over Nigeria.
Year 2009
Messi eventually grew to 5 feet and 7 inches, and with his
short stature, speed and relentless attacking style, he drew comparisons to
another famous Argentinean footballer: Diego Maradona. Messi steered Barcelona
to a wealth of success, most notably in 2009, when the left-footer's team
captured the Champions League, La Liga, and Spanish Super Cup titles. That same
year, after two consecutive runner-up finishes, he took home his first FIFA
"World Player of the Year" honor/Ballon d'Or
award.
Year 2010-2011
Amazingly, the diminutive soccer
wizard continued to improve, discovering new ways to elude defenders while
leading Barcelona to La Liga and Spanish Super Cup championships in 2010 and
2011, as well as the '11 Champions League title.
Year 2012-2014
Messi embarked on an all-out assault
on the record books in 2012. He became the first player to score five goals in
a Champions League match in early March, and a few weeks later he surpassed
Cesar Rodriguez's club-record 232 goals to become Barcelona's all-time leading
scorer. By the end of 2012, Messi had accumulated an astounding 91 goals in
club and international play, eclipsing the 85 netted in a single calendar year
by Gerd Muller in 1972. Fittingly, he broke one more record when he was named
the FIFA Ballon d'Or winner for the fourth time in January 2013. Messi led
team Argentina to the finals of the 2014 World Cup. Although his team lost to
Germany, he was named best player of the tournament.
~2013-ME-334
