It has been
interesting so far on the series The
Great Men’s Cross, right from the story of Ben Carson, Jack Ma, to Albert Einstein and
then Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Les Brown. So far, their stories have been
challenging and have inspired so many from the testimonies shared with us. You
can also drop your comments and as well share it so others can benefit. We
decided also to give a shot at sports and build up a challenging story on Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo who had very rough beginning.
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In few days, we will study the life of the two
and learn from them. For every great position in life, there is a greater
challenge for that purpose. This article will focus on Lionel Messi, who grew
up in a slum and had health problem when he was young. It might have appeared
that there was no opportunity for such people in football due to height
deficiency and deteriorating health, but his dreams and aspirations were more
important than his problems. He later became a five-time winner of the Ballon
d’Or and has continued to dominate the world of football with the hope that
this will not end soon.
Also, many wondered while Messi refused to
leave Barca and always claim to be comfortable and feel at home. Comparing with
Cristiano Ronaldo who has had time at Portugal (Sporting CP), England (Manchester
United), Spain (Real Madrid), and currently trades in Italy (Juventus), Messi
has refused to betray the honesty and support Barca gave to him at his time of
need and he has decided to repay Barca in their own coin. This article will
shed more light why Messi has remained at Barca and might not leave soon. Let
us learn from Lionel Andres Messi Cuccittini.
Lionel Messi: The Loyal Barcelona Hero
Lionel Messi is an
Argentine footballer who has gone professional both as a forward and a captain
to both the Argentinian and Barcelona team. Aside being considered the best player in the world, he is also
regarded as one of the best and greatest players that have graced the game of
the round leather. Messi consecutively won the Ballon d’Or four times out of
the five he had.
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He has spent his entire professional club
career in Barcelona and has won a total of 33 trophies which includes nine La
Liga titles, six Copa del Rey and four UEFA Champions League titles.
Early
years
Lionel Andres
Cuccittini Messi was born on 24 June, 1987 in Rosario, Argentina. Messi was the
third out of four children to a steel factory manager father, Jorge Messi and
the mother Celia Cuccittini, who used to work in a magnet manufacturing shop.
While growing up, Leo
developed an interest in football at a very young age and he played with his
elder brothers constantly. When Messi was four, he joined Grandoli, a local
club in Argentina where his own father coached him. Messi was inspired to play football by his grandmother because she
follows him to his training and matches.
Before Messi was 11, he lost his
grandmother and this greatly affected him. Since the incidence, anytime Messi
scores, he celebrates his goals looking up and points to the sky to pay a
tribute to his grandmother (so you know now why Messi points and looks up
when he scores).
His
challenges
Messi has been a
lifelong supporter of Newell’s Old Boys and he joined the club when he was just
six. He played for the club for six
years during which he scored close to 500 goals. Unfortunately, at age 10, Messi had a devastating blow to
his professional career; Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency.
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At this time, his father health insurance was only able to cater for two years
growth hormone treatment; at a cost of $1,000 per month. Messi’s club, Newell’s
Old Boys promised to help him and contribute to the payment but they failed on
their promise. River Plate also showed interest in Messi’s footballing ability
but were not able to help on his treatment due to the country’s economic
setback.
The
Jackpot
Since
Messi’s family had relatives in Catalonia, Spain, they decided to go for a
trial in Barcelona in September 2000. Charly Rexach, the Barcelona’s first team
coach then quickly wanted to sign him but the board would not allow him because
of Messi’s young age.
On
14 December, Messi’s family issued an ultimatum to Barcelona to sign him or
forget it and the senior coach Rexach seeing no other paper around him had to
use a napkin to sign Messi to Barcelona.
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The Journey
February 2001, the
family moved to Barcelona and lived beside the stadium, Camp Nou. Messi
couldn’t play with age mates because of the transfer issues and he found it
hard to integrate into the team without playing football with them; an already
reserved guy. Due to Messi’s calm and
silent nature, his teammates thought he was dumb.
Messi stayed a year at
Barcelona’s youth academy, La Masia before he was finally enrolled in the
Spanish Football Federation in February 2002. Since he could now play in all
the competitions, he started making friends most especially Cesc Fabregas and
Gerard Pique.
With
the help of Barca, Messi was able to complete his hormone treatment at age 14
and later became a very important part of the ‘Baby Dream Team’, the
Barcelona’s greatest ever youth side (now you know why Messi is loyal to Barca;
they also worship him there).
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Get
Hungry for Success
In
his first season (2002-03), he was the top scorer with 36 goals out of 30 games
in the Cadetes A where they won the treble. He was injured before a final match
against Espanyol and was allowed to play if only he would wear a plastic
protector. At the middle of the game, he became uncomfortable with the mask and
had to take it off.
Just after he did, he scored two goals in 10 minutes before
he was substituted.
At
the end of the season, Arsenal came with an offer for him which was his first
from a foreign club. At that time, Pique and Fabregas left for England but
Messi chose to stay in Barcelona.......continue at The Great Men's Cross: Lionel Messi 2
You can read this: It couldn't have been my Fault
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