Sports

Lionel Messi
MAGIC LEGS

Gp. Capt. Achchyut Kumar
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Never since Major Dhyanchand hung up his hockey sticks has such magic ever been witnessed in any field game as was seen during the whole of last year. The magic this time was not in field hockey but in the internationally more popular game of soccer. Twenty-two-year-old Luis Lionel Andres Messi has taken the football world by storm. 23 goals in 25 matches with another 11 assists to add to his distinction, puts Lionel far apart and ahead of the rest of the best in soccer.

Lionel Messi lifts the UEFA Champions League
trophy after Barcelona's victory over ManUtd in
the 2009 Rome final. In addition, Barcelona also
won the Copa del Rey and La Liga in one
season (2009), the first time a Spanish club
had ever won the treble.

The young man definitely has the speed of Diego Maradona but then there is far more to it, too. A look at any video clipping of Lionel Messi's seems to be a reel running at a fast forward pace. His moves are too quick to be true. He can beat two to three defenders with his dribbling; he can dribble between the legs of a challenger while on the run, he can find the corner of the nets almost perpetually and without fail, can head the ball into the net overcoming defenders several inches taller than his head to heel measurement of 5'7". He can beat the goalkeeper with his acute change of angles and he can chip the ball over the custodian if he is found ahead of the bar while the ball is still some distance from the goal post. What is marvellous is that this magician can do all this in a flash. However, what sets Lionel Messi apart from all the great football players of the past is his acute sense of balance and quick recovery. He seems to be totally immune to all obstructions and pulling of shirts by the opposition. Despite the opposition's unruly antics, Messi seems to be always yet balanced enough to beat the goal-keeper and find the net. It is one singular reason which has brought so many goals for the young master.

“No, please, I am not king of the world now, nor the number one, I don’t believe in those things. I am the same person as always and I have the good fortune to play in a great team. It was an historic year for Barca and for me but it’s thanks to the work of everyone”

At a time, when in the case of several other players, the referee's whistle would have gone up and put the game to a temporary halt, thereby giving the opposition the opportunity to regroup and defend themselves, Messi eliminates that slowing factor by continuing to be in possession of the ball and in full control to end up scoring for his team.

Winning the Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball)
Award in 2009 made Messi the first
player from Argentina to be crowned
European Footballer of the Year
and the youngest winner since
Michael Owen’s win as a 21-year-old
in 2001.

Born in Rosario, Argentina, on June 24, 1987, Lionel Messi took to football at the age of eleven. Today, while Lionel pumps so much adrenaline among his fans, ironically, it was the exorbitant price for his treatment for a hormonal deficiency from which he was suffering that took the child Messi from Argentina to Spain. It was on November 17, 2003 that Messi appeared for a match for Barcelona at the Dragao Stadium and on May 1, 2005, at the age of 17 years, 10 months and 7 days, he became the youngest-ever player to score a league goal for Barcelona.

The first offer that came to Messi to play for a national side was from Spain but young Lionel wanted to play only for Argentina. When the opportunity did come his way to play for Argentina's Under-20 team, he was at once the star at the Football World Youth Championship. He scored six goals and was the winner of the Golden Boot.

The world is already acknowledging the mettle of Lionel Messi and it could not have come in a better form than being declared as the FIFA World Player of the Year and then as the European Footballer of the Year 2009. Of the 96 persons voting for a maximum of 480 points for a player, Lionel scored an unprecedented 473 points and pushed last year's winner Cristiano Ronaldo to the second spot; the latter managing to get just 233 points to give Lionel the biggest-ever margin in winning the honour.

Clearly enough, Lionel Messi is no ordinary mortal. With age on his side, we have yet to see the best of Messi. While opposing teams would be drawing their strategies to contain him during the next season, I guess Messi will continue to toy with the opposition and tease them with his speed, as if to say, "Catch me if you can."

GP CAPT ACHCHYUT KUMAR is General Manager with Forbes & Company Ltd, a company operating from Mumbai since 1767. He has been associated with THE TEENAGER since 1966 as a reader. Achchyut started writing for the magazine in 1974 and has since written over 70 articles and 10 cover stories even when he was moving all around India during his tenure with the Indian Air Force.