Born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina, soccer player
Lionel Messi moved to Spain at the age of 13, after the FC Barcelona club
agreed to pay for hormone-deficiency treatments. Messi became a star in his new
country, scoring at will while leading his club to championships. In 2012, he
set a record for most goals in a calendar
year, and afterward was named FIFA's "Player of the Year" a record
fourth time.
Early stages of football
Lionel Messi was born Luis Lionel Andres Messi on June 24, 1987,
in Rosario, Argentina. As a young boy, he tagged along when his two older
brothers played soccer with their friends, unintimidated by the bigger boys. At
the age of 8, he was recruited to join the youth system of Newell's Old Boys, a
Rosario-based club. Recognizably smaller than most of the kids in his age
group, Messi was eventually diagnosed by doctors as suffering from a hormone
deficiency that restricted his growth.
Messi's parents, Jorge and Ceclia,
decided on a regimen of nightly growth-hormone injections for their son, though
it soon proved impossible to pay several hundred dollars per month for the
medication. So, at the age of 13, when Messi was offered the chance to train at
soccer powerhouse FC Barcelona's youth academy, La Masia, and have his medical
bills covered by the team, Messi's family picked up and moved across the
Atlantic to make a new home in Spain.
Soccer
Career
Although
he was often homesick in his new country, Messi moved quickly through the
junior system ranks, and by the age of 16, he had made his first appearance for
Barcelona. Messi put himself in the record books on May 1, 2005, as the
youngest player to ever score a goal for the franchise. That same year, he led
Argentina to the title in the under-20 World Cup, scoring on a pair of penalty
kicks to propel the team over Nigeria.
Messi eventually
grew to 5 feet and 7 inches, and with his short stature, speed and relentless
attacking style, he drew comparisons to another famous Argentinean footballer: Diego Maradona. Messi steered
Barcelona to a wealth of success, most notably in 2009, when the left-footer's
team captured the Champions League, La Liga, and Spanish Super Cup titles. That
same year, after two consecutive runner-up finishes, he took home his first
FIFA "World Player of the Year" honor/Ballon d'Or award.
Even the great Maradona gushed about his fellow countryman.
"I see him as very similar to me," the retired player told the BBC.
"He's a leader and is offering lessons in beautiful football. He has
something different to any other player in the world."
Amazingly, the diminutive soccer wizard continued to improve,
discovering new ways to elude defenders while leading Barcelona to La Liga and
Spanish Super Cup championships in 2010 and 2011, as well as the '11 Champions
League title.
Messi embarked on an all-out assault on the record books in
2012. He became the first player to score five goals in a Champions League
match in early March, and a few weeks later he surpassed Cesar Rodriguez's
club-record 232 goals to become Barcelona's all-time leading scorer. By the end
of 2012, Messi had accumulated an astounding 91 goals in club and international
play, eclipsing the 85 netted in a single calendar year by Gerd Muller in 1972.
Fittingly, he broke one more record when he was named the FIFA Ballon d'Or
winner for the fourth time in January 2013.
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FIFA Club World Cup: 2 (2009-10, 2011-12)
Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey): 2
(2008–09,2011-12)
Spanish League (La Liga): 5
(2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2009-10, 2010-11)
Spanish Supercup (Supercopa de
España): 5 (2005-06, 2006-07, 2009-10, 2010- 11,2011-12)
UEFA Champions League: 3 (2005–06, 2008–09,2010-11)
UEFA Super Cup: 2 (2009-10,2011-12)
FIFA
U-20 World Cup: 1 (2005)
Olympic
Gold Medal: 1 (2008)
FIFA Ballon d'Or: 3 (2009, 2010,
2011, 2012)
FIFA World Player of the Year: 1
(2009)
FIFA Team of the Year: 5 (2007,2008,
2009, 2010,2011)
U-21 European Footballer of the
Year: 1 (2007)
La Liga Player of the Year: 3
(2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12)
La Liga top goalscorer: 2
(2009-10,2011-12)
Copa del Rey top goalscorer: 1
(2011-12)
La Liga Foreign Player of the Year:
3 (2007-08, 2009-10, 2010-11)
La Liga Ibero-American Player of the
Year: 4(2007, 2009, 2010, 2011)
European Golden Shoe: 2
(2009-10,2011-12)
Footballer of the Year of Argentina:
6 (2005, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
Copa América Young Player of the
Tournament: 1 (2007)
World Soccer Player of the Year: 2
(2009,2011)
World Soccer Young Player of the
Year: 3 (2006, 2007, 2008)
FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball: 2
(2009,2011)
ESM Team of the Year: 6 (2005–06,
2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10,2010-11,2011-12)
Onze d'Or: 1 (2009,2010,2011)
Bravo Award: 1 (2007)
Tuttosport Golden Boy: 1 (2005)
Marca Leyenda: 1 (2009)
UEFA best goal of the year: 1 (2007)
FIFPro World Young Player of the Year: 3 (2006, 2007, 2008)
FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year: 2 (2007, 2008)
FIFPro World XI: 5 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament: 1 (2005)
FIFA U-20 World Cup top goal scorer: 1 (2005)
FIFPro World XI: 5 (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011)
FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament: 1 (2005)
FIFA U-20 World Cup top goal scorer: 1 (2005)
Video Collection of Lionel Messi
