Q3 Blog 3

Would you let Lionel Messi take the penalty kick that would mean the victory in the FIFA World Cup final soccer match?
Lionel Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina, 1987. He began to play soccer at five years. He always liked soccer; he would always play at school, at home, and in the streets. Soon people started noticing his talent, and at 8 years of age he was recruited by the Newell’s Old Boys, one of the most prestige youth soccer teams in the country. There he started to show even more his talent, his ability to dribble at very great speed and his innate gift as a striker. He spent several years with that team and his prestige and reputation spread out throughout Rosario as a little “phenomenon” of soccer due to his short height.
For more years he kept fascinating his coaches, friends, and family or anyone who saw him play. However his parents noticed that he was not growing anymore, but he still was too young at the age of 11 to stop growing. Eventually Lionel was diagnosed a growth hormone deficiency, some Argentinean clubs showed interest in Messi but they were not willing to pay the $900 dollars that his family hardly could pay for the treatment. Messi’s dreams almost vanished when suddenly a talent search recruiter from FC Barcelona, the most prestigious soccer team in the world, became aware of Messi’s unique abilities and offered to pay Messi’s treatment if he and his family were willing to move to Spain. At the age of 13, Lio and his family flied to Spain. Messi joined the youth team and soon progress was being made. In 2004, barely at the age of 17, Lionel became the youngest player ever to play and score for the major team at league match. The following years he kept receiving awards and breaking records, as he was the top scorer in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship, and became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup in 2006. In 2007 still 19 years of age, he scored a goal which mimicked Diego Armando Maradonas’s, best Argentina’s player ever, goal of the century which is considered the best goal in World Cup in the history of soccer. Soon the press and the rest of the world started comparing Messi to Maradona, as he demonstrated his gift with the ball whenever he was on the field.
Messi at the age of 21 was nominated for the FIFA World Player of The Year award, but it was not until his 22 years of age when he obtained it, and the next year in 2010 he won it again converting him in the best player of the planet for two years in a row and also at very young age, and currently he still is the best player on the planet. At a very young age Messi is the best in the world, and plays for the world’s best team, and yet, he has a long way to go.