Lionel Messi: Soccer's Top Scorer

Lionel Messi: Soccer's Top Scorer — page 5 — LIONEL MESSI SOCCER S TOP SCORER Leo started playing soccer at the QUICK FACT age of five He would follow his brothers to the pitch where Grandoli the local His first big fan Leo s grand soccer club played At first Leo would mother later passed away when I kick soccer balls against a wall and he was only ten years old To this I imitate the moves of the older boys day every time Leo scores a goal I However eventually some of the coaches he points to the sky in a salute to noticed his flair and effectiveness They his grandmother asked him why he didn't join in with the I older boys despite his smaller size Leo didn t shy away from the chal lenge This was in part due to his grandmother s encouragement She would convince the coaches to play Leo who was small even for his young age against the biggest of the boys By age eight Leo had joined the youth team of Newell s Old Boys a Rosario based top division soccer club There he started to show the Estadio Marcelo A Bielsa in Rosario Argentina is the home of the Newell's Old Boys soccer club where Messi began playing in the youth division at age eight TENVENIDO ALA CASADEL CAMPEON CLUB ATLETICO NEWELLS OLD BOYS PLATEAS SECTOR A BC DEF G

Lionel Messi: Soccer's Top Scorer — page 6 — The Early years phenomenal skills that made him a handful for any opposing team The masterly way he worked the ball with either foot his strength and his playmaking all made him a key player Leo already showed many signs of the Messi that is well known today Finding His Way Off the Field While he excelled as a soccer player Messi recalls feeling at home and comfortable only on the soccer pitch He was shy to the point of being almost entirely silent At school he would have his friends raise their hands to ask questions for him He didn't show much interest in activities other than soccer For example he did not read much and as an adult he admits that he has read very few books cover to cover Family friends and fútbol soccer in Spanish seemed to be his main interests As well as food As an adult Messi says he is encouraged to excel at soccer out of his desire to challenge himself and improve at the sport However as a child sweet treats were leo's incentive especially his favorite alfajores Alfajores are a sugary Argentine cookie Once his coach promised him one alfajor for each QUICK FACT goal that he scored Leo remembers scoring five or six goals after that Messi s Newell s Old Boys youth promise team was nicknamed La Despite his quiet personality off Maquina del 87 or The the pitch Leo was dazzling his coun Machine of 87 This was try He was the best player on La because Leo and his teammates Máquina del 87 the youth section of I were born in 1987 and their Newell s Old Boys soccer club that athletic prowess made them won four championships in six years nothing less than a machine Big clubs nationwide were already starting to pay attention to him Leo's father managed his blooming

Lionel Messi: Soccer's Top Scorer — page 7 — LIONEL MESSI SOCCER S TOP SCORER Popularity Abroad Leo's popularity as a child wasn t limited to Argentina Prestigious clubs in other countries were noticing him too This would prove helpful when at age eleven Leo was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency a biological condition that leads to short height and dwarfism Leo's small size has always been apparent Once he was diag nosed his family knew that his condition could become debilitating and affect his strength and his stamina His parents started him on a growth hormone treatment that doctors recommended but after several months they could no longer afford the cost of treatment The FC Barcelona youth club in Barcelona Spain was one of the teams that had kept an eye on Leo They arranged a deal with the Messi family wherein the team would cover the costs of Leo's treatment if Leo committed to play for their team Thus at the age of twelve in 2000 Leo joined FC Barcelona's under 14 team La Masia Here Lionel Messi participates in a training session for La Masia in 2005 That same year Messi had become the youngest player on FC Barcelona's team to score a goal in a youth division game bringing him into the public spotlight IO

Lionel Messi: Soccer's Top Scorer — page 8 — The Early Years The Messi family uprooted to Spain settling in Barcelona The move QUICK FACT was hard for Leo He missed home and killed time off the field sleeping playing La Liga is the first division of the video games or hanging out with his National Professional Football family Nevertheless FC Barcelona kept League in Spain Founded in him busy as they fostered him through 1929 it consists of twenty teams their youth academy at a dizzying but it is without a doubt domi speed He scored 21 goals in 14 nated by Real Madrid and FC games for the junior team rising quickly I Barcelona through Barcelona's higher rank youth teams the junior Infantil B and Cadete B and A teams At age sixteen he made his informal debut with FC Barcelona in a friendly match against FC Porto a competing team from neighboring Portugal Moving forward Leo began gathering the milestones that would characterize him as a player He became the youngest player ever to score in a La Liga division game for Barcelona on May 1 2005 He was just seventeen years old As a teenager Leo accomplished his early success with a calmness and sense of purpose that would be the envy of anyone in his profession Furthermore Leo's rise to success didn't bring him to bad habits or a sense of entitlement He remained focused as he continued his climb to the top of the world of soccer 11

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