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Words can’t do justice to the genius that is Lionel Messi. The diminutive Argentine has been on the football scene 2003 – a lifetime in footballing terms – and is showing no signs of slowing down.
After honing his talent at hometown club Newell’s Old Boys, whom he joined as a six-year-old and scored almost 500 goals for, the Rosario-born youngster’s prodigious talent soon attracted the attention of Barcelona. The Catalan club not only signed Messi, offering him his first contract on a now iconic paper napkin, but also agreed to pay for his growth hormone treatment.
Despite a few hiccups along the way in the form of homesickness, Lionel Messi went on to produce some scintillating displays for Barcelona’s youth teams before making his first-team debut on November 16th, 2003. And from then, there was no looking back for him.
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The 33-year-old matured into one of the best players the world has ever seen, scoring over 750 goals for club and country while winning a host of titles, including 10 La Ligas, four UEFA Champions League titles, six Copa del Reys, seven Spanish Super Cups and three FIFA Club World Cups as well as individual accolades that are far too many to list.
Not even his current predicament with Barcelona’s board, resulting in a transfer saga that’s far from over, will dent his Nou Camp legacy. However, despite his individual greatness, Lionel Messi has received plenty of help in his quest to reach the top of the world from some fabulous coaches, who have been instrumental in bringing the best out of him.
Who are they? We’re going to name them in this list of the top five managers Lionel Messi has played under.
#5 Alejandro Sabella
Lionel Messi hasn’t exactly had a fairytale career with his country, enduring heartache after heartache since his debut back in 2005. However, the closest he came to greatness with the Argentina national team was under the stewardship of late coach Alejandro Sabella, who selected Messi as his captain.
He went into the 2014 World Cup on the back of a disappointing season with Barcelona and came under serious scrutiny from all sides. Despite that, he silenced all his doubters with some dazzling performances under Sabella – including four Man of the Match wins in his first four games while having a hand in or scoring all the goals leading up to Argentina’s first semi-final since 1990.
Sabella’s Argentina achieved the remarkable record of never trailing in the tournament with the exception of the final against Germany. Although Sabella’s tactics – most notably his substitutions – in the final came under heavy scrutiny, he remains the only coach to guide Messi within touching distance of a World Cup.
#4 Frank Rijkaard
Frank Rijkaard’s time at the helm got off to a rocky start, but the Dutchman went on to carve a golden legacy for himself as he was the one who kickstarted Barcelona’s resurgence and eventual dominance in world football. Besides bringing in signings like Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto’o as well as La Masia graduates Victor Valdes and Andres Iniesta, Rijkaard was also the manager who gave Lionel Messi his first-team debut.
It was under Rijkaard that Lionel Messi emerged as one of the best players in the world, winning his first two La Liga and Spanish Super Cup titles as well as his very first Champions League title. Messi also won a host of individual awards under Rijkaard’s tutelage, including the prestigious Golden Boy award, the Don Balon Award as well as two FIFPRO Young Player of the Year titles. All in all, an emerging Messi scored 42 goals in 110 games under Rijkaard, making him a key figure in the Argentine’s development.
#3 Ernesto Valverde
Lionel Messi and Ernesto Valverde enjoyed a great working relationship. Despite the latter’s spell beginning in defeat – in the form of consecutive Spanish Super Cup losses to arch-rivals Real Madrid – Messi & co. proceeded to go on a 29-match unbeaten run in all competitions under Valverde.
Messi won his fourth domestic double as well as the Spanish Super Cup during Valverde’s debut season followed by a second consecutive La Liga title helped by a 23-match unbeaten run during the manager’s second year in charge. Lionel Messi – who scored 112 goals in 124 appearances under Valverde - also won a host of individual titles under the manager, including a record sixth Ballon d’Or, two consecutive La Liga Golden Boots and two European Golden Shoes, to name a few.
#2 Luis Enrique
Undoubtedly one of the greatest Barcelona managers in recent times, Lucho is the genius who helped Barcelona evolve from their famed tiki-taka style of play to a more ruthless counter-attacking team. Enrique’s side also notched up some impressive statistics, including scoring 359 goals while conceding just 91, winning 80 matches by the time he reached his 100th game in charge as well as going on a 39-match unbeaten streak.
The last feat broke the record of another certain Spaniard, who will also go down as one of the club’s greatest ever managers. Lionel Messi himself stated that Enrique was one of the best two coaches he worked with, alongside the other Spaniard who we’ll come to soon, with the player noting how lucky he was to have them both as mentors.
Of course, Enrique’s biggest achievement will always be leading Lionel Messi and Barcelona to a historic second treble in 2015. Other trophies Messi lifted under Enrique include one more La Liga title, two more Spanish Super Cups and Copa del Reys, one UEFA Super Cup and one FIFA Club World Cup.
Lionel Messi also enjoyed his second-most prolific period under the Spaniard, scoring 153 goals in 158 games while picking up individual awards in the form of his fifth Ballon d’Or, one UEFA Champions League top scorer award and one La Liga Golden Boot, among others.
#1 Pep Guardiola
Did you really expect anyone else to be at the top of this list? Besides being one of Barcelona’s most important and successful coaches in the modern era, Guardiola is also the coach who unleashed Lionel Messi from his shackles. The Spaniard helped him become the goal machine that he is today by shifting him into the iconic false nine position at the time.
For these reasons alone, Guardiola will go down as one of the greatest managers of all time. The current Manchester City manager led Lionel Messi and co. to a historic treble in his first season, making him the youngest man to coach a UEFA Champions League winning team.
Barcelona, now firmly built around Messi, ended Guardiola’s debut season with the FIFA Club World Cup and went on to achieve another La Liga title as well as the Spanish Super Cup in Guardiola’s second season, followed by the double in 2011 and a Copa del Rey in the Spaniard’s final season – one that saw Messi score a ridiculous 73 goals.
Lionel Messi – who was at his prolific best under Guardiola, scored 211 goals in 219 appearances and went on to win three of his six Ballon d’Or awards, four Champions League top scorer awards and two La Liga Golden Boots, among other personal honors with the Spaniard at the helm.
Guardiola departed Barcelona after winning an astonishing 14 honors in four seasons, making him their most successful coach ever. Lionel Messi paid tribute to Guardiola’s role in his development, as he lavished praise on the Spaniard's ability as a coach.
“Pep has something special, he makes you see things in a different way. How he prepared the matches, defensively, how to attack, he told you exactly where the game was, how you had to attack to win. I was lucky that I had a lot of time with Guardiola and Luis Enrique, the two best.”
Now it remains to be seen if Messi reunites with his mentor in the colors of Manchester City.
