ARGENTINA: SOCCER/FOOTBALL - All eyes are on young Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi as he trains ahead of the World Cup.

Record ID: 447904

  • Title: ARGENTINA: SOCCER/FOOTBALL - All eyes are on young Argentine soccer star Lionel Messi as he trains ahead of the World Cup.
  • Date: 23rd April 2006
  • Summary: MESSI GRAFFITI ON WALL
  • Embargoed: 8th May 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Argentina
  • Country: Argentina
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA6MDLVM8KF0FFWVWMGDW9I7MUH
  • Story Text: It has become almost a cliche in Latin America: the young boy from humble origins who goes on to rule the sporting world with his incredible soccer talents. And yet there is still something fresh about Lionel Messi, the current rising star of Argentine football who is already being compared to legendary compatriot Diego Maradona. At just 18 years of age, this remarkable young talent has already wowed European football fans with his performances for Barcelona. Now all eyes are on him as the World Cup steadily approaches, with many Argentines looking to him for soccer salvation. His country hopes that his talent can ensure Argentina's poor performance in Japan in 2002 is not repeated.
    With this in mind, Messi's training sessions in the village of Pueblo Ester, not far from his home city of Rosario, are being closely monitored, as much by representatives from the Argentine Football Association as by journalists eager to gather footage of the astounding player.
    The young star returned to Buenos Aires last week to recover from a torn muscle on his right leg, which he suffered during a Barcelona game against Chelsea. He was accompanied by FC Barcelona's kinesiologist, who has been overseeing the player's training sessions and attempting to get him back into shape in time for the last few club games.
    As soon as he touched down on home soil, Messi already had the forthcoming games in mind.
    "The game is coming, it may be the championship final, that I'm going to be in if we get through. And I could get to be at a World Cup too which is everybody's dream," he said.
    This determined Argentine teenager currently living in the sporting spotlight, was born in a humble neighbourhood in Rosario, around 240 kilometres northwest of Buenos Aires. The boy who would go on to carry the sporting dreams of his country joined his first football club in the working class district at only five years of age.
    His next door neighbour from his youth, Adelina Aciani, recalls a charming, smart kid with a passion for football. "He spent his time playing football, but always with his companions, always surrounded by friends. He was always a kind of leader, his group was always there. Well, they went to play in all the games. But he was a charming kid, and intelligent, but always shy, always humble, that humility that you see now, he has from birth," she said. Messi, who lived in Rosario until the age of 13, attended the local primary school where he is still remembered fondly.
    Monica Domina, who taught him for several years, recalls a young man who lived for the bell which would allow him to leave the classroom to pursue his great love, football.
    "He was a football ace from very young, because the only thing that interested him was the bell, the bell that we had here in the patio, so that he could leave for the makeshift football pitch and play football. And everyone else behind him, because they all realized that he played very well and they all wanted to be on his team, because they knew he would win," remembered Domina. In 1995, at the tender age of eight, Messi joined Newell's Old Boys, playing with the local club for five years. But the striker suffered from an illness that affected his growth and the Messi family decided to leave Argentina for Spain in order to obtain the necessary treatment. With FC Barcelona agreeing to pay some of the cost in exchange for Messi playing for its junior teams, the young footballer left Argentina and his beloved Rosario.
    Since then, the remarkable player has gone from strength to strength, breaking records and making his debut for the senior team in 2003 at the age of 16. He went on to become the youngest ever player in the club's history to score a goal in a league match on May 1, 2005, when he was still only 17. He was the leading goal scorer and voted best player in the Under 20 World Cup in Holland, promising great things for future World Cup performances.
    2006 may be his chance to shine, as Argentina gets ready for the Germany World Cup, hoping to repeat past glories under football legend Diego Maradona, who led the country to victory in 1986. Argentina's first game will be played against the Ivory Coast on June 10.
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