There are no more words to describe the genius of Lionel Messi. The Argentine talisman’s magic on the pitch has exhausted every word in the dictionary. Superlatives no longer do justice to the man who has defined this era in football.
Memorable goals have been scored across Europe and the world. Records have tumbled since his arrival. An entire generation of fans is indebted to him for making football what it is today.
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As Messi celebrates his birthday on 24 June, we decided to go down memory lane and look back at the most iconic moments that shaped his career. There are so many, but 10 is a fitting tribute to his shirt number for both Barcelona and Argentina.
1) International glory with Argentina
Messi celebrated his 18th birthday in 2005 with the Argentina national team as they travelled to the Netherlands to take part in the FIFA World Youth Championship (or the U-20 World Cup). Having beaten the likes of Germany, Colombia, Spain and Brazil in previous rounds, Argentina met Nigeria in the final in Utrecht.
It was Messi’s penalties that gave Argentina a 2-1 win in the final. The second was a 75th-minute winner that sealed the title for La Albiceleste where Messi won the Golden Boot (6 goals) and Best Player award.
The triumph remains his only international title apart from the Olympic Gold. Unfortunately, Messi and Argentina lost three consecutive finals from 2014 to 2016 (a World Cup final to Germany and two Copa America finals to Chile).
2) The first contract on a paper napkin
Back in 2000, Barcelona technical director Charly Rexach had been told about this new kid who was supposed to be the next Diego Maradona. He managed to convince Messi’s father that Barcelona was the place to be for the youngster to grow up – literally, as he needed growth hormones injected into his legs on a daily basis.
After a few trials, Rexach met Messi’s father at a restaurant and was told that even Real Madrid were interested. At that moment, Rexach took a table napkin from the plastic holder and wrote: “I, Charly Rexach, in my capacity as technical secretary for FC Barcelona, and despite the existence of some opinions against it, commit to signing Lionel Messi as long as the conditions agreed are met.”
He worded it so as there were arguments at the boardroom level on whether they should sign Messi – a young foreign player who required treatment and one who would not be able to play in all competitions except Catalan tourneys. But Rexach knew Messi would turn out alright.
#3 Partido de la Máscara – Final of the Mask
When Lionel Messi arrived at La Masia, the other players couldn’t believe how small he was. The little Argentine kid was also a shy one and was nicknamed El Mudo (the mute one). But they soon came to realise that although he was quiet in the dressing room, Messi’s feet did the talking on the pitch.
Although he joined the academy in late 2000, he couldn’t play in Spanish competitions until he was registered in early 2002. That was when he befriended Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas at La Masia and they were integral members of what came to be known as the Baby Dream Team.
With the Cadetes A, Messi scored 36 goals in a season as they won the youth version of the treble. The reason he’s wearing a mask in this picture? He had suffered a broken cheekbone and was only allowed to play if he wore the plastic protector.
But it didn’t allow him to play freely and he soon threw it aside. The result? Messi scored twice in 10 minutes to seal the title for Barcelona.
4) Messi’s competitive debut
Most people will look at this picture and claim that this was the moment that changed football. On 16 October 2004, Barcelona played a Catalan derby against Espanyol. He had barely turned 17 and there he was – becoming Barcelona’s youngest-ever player in an official game since 1912.
He played only eight minutes and that record was the only notable thing about that landmark appearance. Those familiar with ‘Player Ratings’ articles would know that an ‘N/A’ was justified for his contributions in a match that will be remembered for nothing else.
But not Messi. “I will remember those 10 minutes my whole life,” he said about his debut. He would soon have a lot more moments to remember over the next decade or so.
5) The passing of the torch – Messi’s first senior goal
While the rest of the country celebrated May day on 1 May 2005, Lionel Messi was working hard on the flank with Barcelona legend Ronaldinho against Albacete in La Liga. As they marched to the league title, it was Ronaldinho who supplied the all-important assist for Messi’s first goal for the senior team.
Receiving the ball near the final third, Messi passed it back to Ronaldinho in the centre before timing his run to beat the offside trap. The Brazilian spotted the run and chipped the ball over the defence into space. The goalkeeper came off his line but hesitated in no man’s land, allowing Messi all the time in the world to pick his spot and chip the ball over the ‘keeper and into the back of the net.
“It was a special moment because there his career started as a professional and I had the chance to be part of the start of his history.” – Ronaldinho
The Camp Nou roared its approval, not just because of the ingenuity of the move but because a star was born. Ronaldinho, who had realised Messi’s potential and taken him under his wing, was only too happy to give him a piggyback ride as the fans rose to their feet.
Ronaldinho would end up passing on his no.10 shirt to Messi when he left Barcelona in 2008.
6) The eerie similarities with Diego Maradona
Messi has scored over 600 goals for club and country ever since he made his debut more than a decade ago. But one goal that stands out is the one he scored against Getafe in the semi-final of the Copa del Rey back in 2007.
Picking up the ball in his own half near the touchline, Messi then accelerated into Getafe’s half, beating one, two, three, four, five defenders with a mazy run that saw the ball magically stick to his feet the entire team before beating the goalkeeper and firing it into an empty net.
The crowd roared every time he beat a player. They brought the roof down when he scored. His teammates, available for a pass the entire time, just stared in disbelief as he twisted and turned past every Getafe player who ended up tackling their own teammates rather than get the ball off Messi.
It was a goal similar to Diego Maradona’s ‘Goal of the Century’ scored against England at the 1986 World Cup (in the same game he had scored the ‘Hand of God’ goal). It was enough to prove that Messi was indeed the real deal and had the potential to step into Maradona’s boots.
7) The birth of the False 9
In May 2009, Pep Guardiola worked day and night to find a chink in Real Madrid’s armour ahead of El Clasico and one night he found his answer. That flash of inspiration saw Guardiola pick up the phone and ask Messi to come meet him, showing him the area between Real’s defence and midfield that he dubbed the Messi Zone.
When the match began, Messi would start on the wing while Samuel Eto’o led the line. But 10 minutes in, Eto’o would drift to the wing while Messi would drift into the space Guardiola had shown him.
Real’s defenders had no idea what to do next. Step up and desert Iker Casillas or sit deep? Messi ran riot and Barcelona won 6-2 – a humiliating annihilation for Los Blancos at the Bernabeu.
It was this game that gave birth to the False Nine role perfected by Guardiola and Messi.
Also read: How Pep Guardiola transformed Lionel Messi into a destroyer overnight
8) Best in the world – Five times
Messi’s rise to the top of the footballing pyramid has also coincided with the rise of social media and today’s discussions about the best player in the world inevitably centre around the number of Ballon d’Or wins. Messi, as we all know, has won it five times.
The timeline of football ever since it became a sport in the late 1800s can be divided into two parts – Before Messi and After Messi. That is how much of an impact he has had on the sport.
Cristiano Ronaldo may be cursing his luck that the pair were born just two years apart but this generation of football fans have loved the rivalry between the pair and the die-hard fans have even been consumed by it.
That Messi won four in a row between 2009 and 2012 stamped his authority on the sport during Barcelona’s dream run under Pep Guardiola to go down in history as one of the greatest teams in club football. The Ballon d’Or wins were simply the icing on the cake for Messi.
9) MSN reign supreme
Although Messi thrived on an individual level following Pep Guardiola’s exit, he simply couldn’t carry the Barcelona team on his own to win titles. Neymar’s arrival in 2013 was supposed to help them overcome the Messi-dependence but the Brazilian took his time to adapt to Spanish and European football.
It wasn’t until the arrival of Luis Suarez in 2014 that Barcelona became a dominant force in Europe once again. In the past, Messi had been unaccustomed to playing with another centre-forward in the team (thus consigning Zlatan Ibrahimovic to the list of ‘failed transfers’). But when he played alongside Suarez, he saw the opportunity to score and assist goals at will as the trio ran amok in the opponents’ half.
The 2014/15 treble (Barcelona’s second in six years) was largely down to their exploits in front of goal. In all, MSN scored 122 goals and provided 66 assists in the 2014/15 season in all competitions. Messi was the key player (58 goals and 31 assists) thanks to the contributions of Neymar (39 goals and 11 assists) and Suarez (25 goals and 24 assists).
10) Messi’s 500th goal – the perfect script
Messi’s 500th goal for Barcelona came via an injury-time winner in El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu. Scripts cannot be written any better that this.
With the scoreline reading 2-2, Sergi Roberto’s run and Messi’s pin-point finish to beat Keylor Navas was a goal that shook La Liga. The Bernabeu was silenced once again as Messi wheeled away in celebration.
We then saw an uncharacteristic side to the Argentine forward as he took off his shirt and held it up to the fans. He had been elbowed, kicked around and thrown to the ground, even spitting out blood during that game. But he did not complain, he did not let if affect him.
As always, he let his feet do the talking. The celebration was his fitting reply to the jeers and unwarranted criticism directed at him; as if to say: “This is Lionel Messi. Remember my name.”
How can we ever forget?
Also read: Lionel Messi – a dog, bronca, and the loneliness of lost innocence
