FC Goa's Marc Valiente recalls the unique brilliance of a young Lionel Messi

It is just past the hour mark on the clock. The two American neighbors are still level-pegging, exchanging blows for blows to live for another day in the FIFA World Cup 2022. But then a moment of magic ushered in maddening jubilation for millions.

The mercurial Lionel Messi, setting off fireworks from Lusail to Buenos Aires, caressed the ball into the bottom right corner to give Argentina a goal lead against Mexico in the group-stage encounter. The Little Magician's heroics once again freed an entire nation from the clutches of despair. It had to be him. It has always been him.

Ever since he left the streets of Rosario to dribble around the hurdles of making a footballing career in Barcelona, Lionel Messi has always been a little unique, a little special.

At La Masia, Barca's youth academy, Marc Valiente captained the now modern-day great during his formative years. In an interaction with the ISL media, the FC Goa defender recalled the moment Messi walked through the doors at La Masia.

"When he came to our team, I think he was 13-14. It wasn't easy for him because he came all the way from Argentina," said Valiente.

At the time, FC Barcelona were still working on perfecting the tiki-taka, the fast-paced touch football that has become synonymous with the club. Valiente revealed that although it was a stiff climb for the Argentine to get used to the style of football initially, Messi's quality still stood out immediately.

"He couldn’t play the first season. It was not easy for him to get used to our play, but after that, he was not shy anymore, and you could see from the first minute that he was so different."

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"It was something different" - FC Goa's Marc Valiente reveals what set Lionel Messi apart during the La Masia training sessions

"It's like the ball is glued to his feet." Many have for years cracked down on this cliche to define the utterly majestic moves that Lionel Messi pulls off every time he sets foot on the pitch. It would be a perfectly logical explanation if one day we found out the ball was indeed glued to his feet, but it isn't!

Messi creates a false sense of continuity with his wave of intricate touches, almost like poetry in motion. He has been a symbol of immaculate first touch for nearly two decades now. But Marc Valiente said, right from the La Masia days, the footballing genius showed glimpses of this greatness.

"What I remember from that time was we used to play two touches – it was our style of game. We played one side to another as fast as we could, using one or two touches," said Valiente.

"He touched the ball maybe six or eight times [in the same time] that we did two touches. It was something different that we never experienced. You could see that he was someone different. We never knew that he would become the best player ever but Leo, as a 14-year-old, was like that."

"Different" is a neat word to describe Lionel Messi. Every time he steps on the pitch, the euphoria surrounding him is different. Every time he dons the Argentinian colors, the weight of expectations on his shoulder is different compared to the other ten players on the pitch.

La Pulga has strived his entire life to become just a little different. Greatness is something that he draped along the way.