You do not need to know much about soccer to know who Lionel Messi is, but you do need to be a fan to know just how awesome Messi actually is.
This is a soccer player who has influenced the sports betting lines for soccer time and time again, his skill with the ball, fancy footwork, and can-do attitude has him a high favorite for many soccer enthusiasts.
But, he does have many of us asking, how did he get so good, and what exactly makes him so legendary as a player? Not all of us can be as great as Messi, and chances are there will never be anyone else quite like him in the sport.
But, that does not mean that we cannot learn from him, know his story, and what makes him such a great player. Learn from the greats, as they say. So, today, we will go over what we know about Messi, and also some fun facts that maybe even a hardcore fan may not know!
The Basics Of Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi is an Argentine-born soccer player. He has been name as being the FIFA World Player of the Year on 6 separate occasions, in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and in 2019.
He started off his soccer career as a boy, when in 1995 he joined the youth team of Newell’s Old Boys. His skills were enough to get the attention of some rather prestigious soccer clubs on either side of the Atlantic.
Then, when he turned 13, Messi and his family moved to Barcelona, and he started to play for Barcelona’s under-14’s team.
For that junior team, he managed to score 21 goals in 14 games, and he quickly started to graduate through the higher-level teams until when he was 16 years old, he was given an informal debut with FC Barcelona in a friendly game.
Achievements In His Youth
He continued to be great in the coming years. In the season from 2004 to 2005, at 17 years old, he became the youngest official player and goal scorer in the Spanish La Liga, which is the highest division of Soccer in that country.
Even though he was only 5ft 7 and weighed a measly 148lbs, he was well-balanced, very strong, and extremely versatile when he was on the field.
He had a natural left foot, which he used for quick precision ball control work.
He was always a keen pass distributor, and he was easily able to weave his way through very tightly packed defensive lines.
Then in 2005, he gained a Spanish citizenship, which was an honor that came with some mixed feelings by the Catalan supporters on Barcelona’s team.
The following year, Barcelona and Messi won the Champions League title, and showed them just how worth it was.
Rapid Improvement
He didn’t stop there, though. He continued. Rapidly getting better and better every year, but in 2008 he was well known for being one of the most dominant soccer players worldwide.
He finished in 2nd place to Cristiano Ronaldo in the vote for the ‘08 FIFA World Player of the Year. But, then, in 2009 he ended an incredible 2008-2009 season when he helped Barcelona capture their first treble.
They won three major European titles in just one season. They won the Copa del Rey, the La Liga, and the Champions League.
In 51 matches of that season, he scored 38 goals, and he even bested Ronaldo when it came to the votes for Player of the Year.
The following season he scored 34 goals in domestic play as the team repeated as La Liga champs, and he later gained the ‘Golden Shoe’ reward being titled as Europe’s leading scorer.
He was once again named as player of the year in that season too!
Messi’s Landmark Season
Later on in 2012, Messi scored his 233rd goal for Barcelona, and he became the all-time top scorer in La Liga play at only 24 years of age.
He finished the 2011-2012 season with 73 goals over all competitions, which broke a 29-year-old record for single-season goals in a European major soccer league!
This was his landmark season, and it led to him being name as the World Player of the Year once more. Making him the first to bear this honor 4 times over.
He continued to lead the league in goals following years as well, and it became painfully clear to other teams, there was no stopping Messi’s super feet!
Fun Facts
Here are some facts you may not know about Lionel Messi!
- Messi actually suffered from a growth hormone deficiency, and he was infused with a growth hormone for his legs for 3 years.
- Messi is an introvert who much prefers texting to phone calls. (Same, Messi, Same.)
- He was delegate as a UNICEF Children’s Ambassador in 2010.
- Messi has legacies from a wide variety of societies, his mother is Lebanese, but his father is Italian, and they were in Argentina when he was born, with family in England, he is something of a man of the world
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