Lionel Messi tries to control the ball at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium 5 The Flea CHAPTER 1 The Flea Lionel Messi weaved his way through defenders It looked like they were stick men He started at the halfway line He moved up the field past five players All of the FC Barcelona fans rose to their feet Something magical was happening Messi then went around the keeper to score a remarkable goal Messi was only 19 years old But he was already following in the footsteps of his hero
Messi is famous for wearing the No 10 jersey at Barcelona Messi wore No 30 and No 19 before No 10 became available for him Legends such as Ronaldo of Brazil and Diego Maradona wore the same No 10 before Messi 6Lionel Messi Diego Maradona Many believe Maradona scored the best goal ever It happened at the 1986 World Cup Messi’s goal happened in 2007 It was nearly identical Just like Maradona Messi was from Argentina And like Maradona he played professionally for Barcelona But now Messi was making his own mark As a young boy Lionel Messi’s friends called him Leo He had always been small He earned his nickname The Flea very early in life Like a flea Leo was small and pesky His opponents could not stop him no matter how hard they tried Leo often practiced with a tennis ball When he could not find one he rolled up plastic bags or gym socks Leo hated being without a ball
Argentina coach Diego Maradona left speaks to Messi during a World Cup game in 2010 7 The Flea Leo and his brothers spent a lot of time at their grandmother Celia’s house They ate pasta and then played soccer in the street The games often ended with all three boys in a bad mood No one in the family liked losing Leo was crazy about soccer But he was small and shy So he played with only his brothers He finally got a chance to play
