Messi
Page 73
Rozín, Nestor: quoted in Messi, la historia Argentina, Canal 13, 2013
Valdano, Jorge: interview with Enric Gonzàlez, JotDown, www.jotdown.es
Vecchio, Ernesto: quoted in Canchaallena, Argentina, www.canchaallena.lanacion.com.ar/www.rosariofutbol.com
Bibliography
(including books, magazines, articles and DVDs/videos consulted)
Books:
Aguinis, Marcos. The Terrible Charm of Being Argentinian. Planeta, 2001
Amez de Paz, Eduardo. Life Through Football. Rosario: published by the author, 2002
Archetti, Eduardo. The Paddock, the Track and the Ring. Cultural Economic Foundation, Buenos Aires, 2001
Calzada, Esteve. Show Me the Money. Cabecera Books, 2012
Cubeiro, J. C. and Gallardo, Leonor. Messi, Falcao and Cristiano Ronaldo. Alienta Ed., 2013
Diario Sport. Stars of the Masía. Diario Sport, 2010
Frieros, Toni. Leo Messi: The Treasure of Barcelona. Diario Sport, 2006
García-Otero, J. M. Dreams of a Little Prince. Madrid: Al Poste Editions, 2013
Gil, Jordi. Discovering Cesc Fàbregas. Diario Sport, 2012
Hunter, Graham. Barça: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World. Back-Page Press, 2012
Ibrahimovi´c, Zlatan. I am Zlatan Ibrahimovi´c. Albert Bonniers Förlag, 2011
Jackson, Phil and Delehanty, Hugh. Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success. Penguin Books, 2013
Martín, Ramiro. Messi: A Genius in the School of Football. Lectio Editions, 2013
Martínez, Roberto. Barçargentinos. De Vecchi Ediciones, 2013
Mateo, Juan and Lillo, Juan Manuel. Leading in Difficult Times. McGraw Hill/Interamericana de España, SA, 2003
Minguella, J. M. Almost the Whole Truth. Base Ed., 2008
Perarnau, Martí. The Road of Champions. Columna Editions, 2011
— Pep’s Long Journey. Madrid, first published, 2012
Pereira, L. M. and Bandeira, J. P. Messi’s Bible. Prime Books, 2012
Puig, Albert. The Strength of a Dream. The Roads to Success. Plataforma, 2010
Rodríguez Gairí, Sique. Taught to Win. Now Books, 2011
Syed, Matthew. Bounce: The Myth of Talent and the Power of Practice. HarperCollins, 2010
Torquemada, Ricard. Fórmula Barça. Lectio Editions, 2012
Torres, Diego. Preparing to Lose. Ediciones B, 2013
Udenio, Enrico. The Argentinian Hypocrisy. Books on the net, 2007
Villoro, Juan. When We Never Lost. Alfaguara Editions, 2011
DVDs/Videos:
Audemars Piguet spot ‘Defining Moment’
Baabour, Gustavo. Messi, The Argentina Story. Special programme by TN Sports transmitted on 13/01/2013, TN Argentina News Channel
Gok, Guney. Lionel Messi, World’s Greatest Player [documentary]. ITV 4, 2012
Lax, Lisa and Stern, Nancy. Unmatched [DVD]. Hanna Storm, ESPN films, 2010
Leo Messi: The Flea File, the Beginnings [Programa TV]. Expediente Fútbol, Fox Sports, 2012
López, G., Serrat, J. and Represa, R. Porta 104: Messi, ADN blaugrana [DVD]. Barça TV, 2009
McDowall, Mike. Ronaldo, Tested to the Limit [documentary]. Castrol Edge, 2011
Oliversa, Luciano. Leo’s World [TV programme]. DeporTV, 2013
Robinson, Michael. Informe Robinson: Messi. Canal +, December 2007
— Informe Robinson: The Legend of Trinche. Canal +, November 2011
Souto, Martín. The Private Messi. Especial Líbero [TV programme]. Líbero, TyC Sports, 2013
Various videos from Punto Pelota, Intereconomía
Varsky, Juan Pablo. Kun Agüero. Interview on Direct TV Sports
Articles (specifically ordered for this book or borrowed from other authors):
Gómez Piqueras, Pedro. ‘Will Leo’s fire at Barcelona be extinguished?’; ‘Leo Messi, the X factor of a genius in full flow’; ‘The Ten Emotional Strengths of Leo Messi’; ‘Messi and “piggy-in-the-middle”’; ‘If you reach the finishing line, onward, onward, onward!’; ‘Emotional Intelligence and Football’; ‘FCB, Quantum Football for a Future Age’
Levinsky, Sergio. ‘The Professional Boys’ Syndrome’
Artícles consulted:
Altman, Daniel. ‘Economy and Football. Shared Hardships’. Published on Brando (www.conexionbrando.com)
Asch, Hugo. ‘The Fathers of Patriotism’. Published on Perfil.com Candance, Piette. ‘Argentine home city’s pride in football star Messi’. Published on BBC News
Caparros, Martín. ‘Diatribe against Messi’. Published on SoHo.com.co.
Carlin, John. ‘Pep Guardiola: Football’s Most Wanted’. Published in the Financial Times Magazine (www.ft.com)
Casas, Gabriel. ‘Messi, the idol without epic’. Published on Marcha.org.ar
Casciari, Hernan. ‘Messi is a dog’. Published in Orsai
Daskal, Ouriel. ‘Talent is not a gift. It’s a skill’. Published on Soccerissue.com
Padilla Castro, Nelson. ‘The Capital Sins of Messi’. Published in El Espectador (www.elespectador.com)
Saviano, Roberto. ‘Little Big Man’. Published in the culture supplement of El Clarín, Argentina
Thompson, Wright. ‘The idol without a city’. Published on ESPN Sports
Viel, Ricardo. ‘Neymar and the Monster’. Published in El Puercoespín. (www.elpuercoespin.com.ar)
Magazines:
AuGol, sports magazine, Argentina (www.augol.com)
Canchallena, daily digital sports magazine La Nación, Argentina (www.canchallena.lanacion.com.ar)
Digital Cable Magazine (www.revistacabal.coop), Argentina
Don Julio, Eleven Stories of Football, Argentina (www.revistadonjulio.com)
L’Équipe Sport Style, France (www.sportetstyle.fr)
ESPN Sports (http://espndeportes.espn.go.com/la-revista/)
Gente, weekly Argentinian magazine (www.gente.com.ar)
El Gráfico, sports magazine, Argentina (www.elgrafico.com.ar)
JotDown, cultural magazine, Spain (www.jotdown.es)
Kicker, sports magazine, Germany
Negro & White, Argentina (www.negrowhite.net)
Orsai, Argentina (www.editorialorsai.com)
Panenka, football magazine, Spain (www.panenka.org)
Worldsport 360 (www.worldsport360.com)
XL Semanal, Sunday supplement of the Vocento Group, Spain
Newspapers:
AS, Madrid, Spain (www.as.com)
La Capital de Rosario, Argentina (www.lacapital.com.ar)
El Clarín, Argentina (www.clarin.com)
El Comercio de Perú, Peru (www.elcomercio.pe)
Corriere della Sera, Italy (www.corriere.it)
La Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy (www.gazzetta.it)
Marca, Madrid, Spain (www.marca.com)
Mundo D, sports supplement of La Voz, Argentina (www.lavoz.com.ar)
El Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona, Spain (www.mundodeportivo.com)
Noticias Hoy, Mexico (www.noticiashoy.com.mx)
El País, Madrid, Spain (www.elpais.com)
Panorama, Venezuela (www.panorama.com.ve)
Perfil, Buenos Aires, Argentina (www.perfil.com)
El Periódico de Catalunya, Spain (www.elperiodico.com)
La Razón, Buenos Aires, Argentina (www.larazon.com.ar)
El Sol, Mendoza, Argentina (www.elsolonline.com)
Sport, Barcelona, Spain, (www.sport.es)
La Vanguardia, Barcelona, Spain (www.lavanguardia.com)
La Voz, independent newspaper from Castelldefels, Barcelona, Spain (www.lavoz.cat)
Blogs:
Alejandro Carnero blog: The Ball Does Not Bend: http://la-pelota-no-dobla.blogspot.com
Roberto Martínez blog: Touch and Dribble: http://toqueygambeta.com
Humberto Perozo blog: From My Arcade http://desdemiarqueriapanorama.blogspot.com.es/
Acknowledgements
Having just finished writing a biography of Pep Guardiola, Alan Samson and David Luxton suggested doing a book on
Messi. ‘Why not?’ I said, not looking at the calendar. It has been a very rewarding and demanding few months, with plenty of trips, reading and conversations to try to get to understand what moves and motivates someone as special as Lionel Messi.
But none of this would have made sense if I had not spoken to the people that love him most. You know who you are and how grateful I am.
Talking of special. This book would not have passed the finish line without the time, effort and love put in it by Maribel Herruzo. Thank you is not enough, so we will have to go to Morocco. And thanks so much to Kike Dulce for looking after (and cooking for) Maribel!
Having the manuscript read by Luis Miguel García, my best friend and the most privileged brain I know, is one of the biggest luxuries of this project.
A thousand thanks to Orion and Alan for having giving me the opportunity again to use my time wisely writing, instead of wasting it; I don’t know, relaxing or something. Honestly, it is an honour and a privilege to have your confidence. Thanks, David, for listening to me at any time and any day; as you are aware, the concept of time disappeared in my mind. Lucinda McNeile has got the most subtle and charming way to put pressure and give encouragement.
The hard work of Peter Lockyer all summer has helped the book take shape. The injection of enthusiasm of Marc Joss at the end gave me a new push and all that was overseen by the greatest motivator of all, William Glasswell.
Sergio Levinsky was always available and cheerful, and was a needed source of good news in Argentina. He provided contacts and/or interviews with Alejandro Sabella, Professor Salorio, Fernando Signorini, Pancho Ferraro, Liliana Grabín, Carlos Bilardo, Gustavo Oberman, Eduardo Sacheri and Gerardo Grighini. Brent Wilks gave us all support so the whole house didn’t collapse.
I have to be eternally grateful again to Pep Guardiola who gave me time to talk about a very unique time in his life. The same has to be said of Esteve Calzada who laid the first brick of this building; I owe you lots, Esteve.
Santi Solari was the perfect guide in Rosario and we started a conversation that continues even when he is not around. Pedro Gómez gave me new angles on this simple but complex world of football. The knowledge and encouragement of Pep Segura, Pako Ayestarán and of Youknowwhoyouare run throughout this book.
While I wrote and travelled, Stevie Rowe and Scott Minto dealt wonderfully with my moods and tiredness. Thanks for being so understanding. Damien O’Brien, James Wheeler (thank you for your stats!) and the rest of the Revista crew (Luke Arthur, George Lansdale, Adam Chenery, Graham Hunter) have always had a word of support which was a bigger boost than they think.
Thank you so much to President Sandro Rosell for taking time from his busy agenda to add his personal touch to this book. And I owe a few meals to Iñigo Juárez – choose the restaurant.
I learned so much about Messi and football (and life) talking and listening to Sir Alex Ferguson, Edwin van der Sar, Míchel Salgado, Steve Clarke, Fabio Capello, Rafa Benítez, Henrik Larsson, Asier del Horno, Patrick Vieira, Claudio Vivas, Pere Gratacós, Henk ten Cate, Xavi Llorenç, Alex García, Quique Domínguez, Juan Carlos Garrido, Rodolfo Borrell, Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino, Xavi Hernández, Andrés Iniesta, Pancho Ferraro, Carlos Marconi, Carlos Bilardo, Alejandro Sabella, Fernando Signorini, Gerardo Salorio, Juanjo Brau, Diego Schwarsztein, Liliana Grabín, Cesc Fàbregas, Eiður Guðjohnsen, Javier Mascherano, Pedro Rodríguez, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Fernando Navarro, Gerardo Ruben Grighini, Guillermo Amor, Gustavo Oberman, Gerard Piqué, Sylvio Mendes Campos ‘Silvinho’, Oscar Ustari, Víctor Vázquez, Pablo Zabaleta, Roberto Martínez, Ramón Besa, Ferran Soriano, Txiqui Begiristain, Joan Gaspart, Joan Laporta, Carles Reixach, José María Cuartetas, Josep Maria Minguella and Professors Andreas Sosa, Diana Torreto, Mónica Domine, Silvana Suárez, Cristina Castañeira.
I needed the help of these friends who always gave me a hand and returned calls straight away: Chemi Teres, Gerard Autet, Nathan Smith, Pedro Pinto, Xavi Alegría, Sergio Alegre, Gabrielle Marcotti, Raphael Honigstein, Hernán Amez, Cristina Cubero, my teacher and friend Moisés Alvarez, Peter Bennett, Gaizka Mendieta, Joey Barton and of course Mark Wright.
Special thanks to the time and work put in by Oscar Elías, Eugenia Vega, my cousin Elena Cruz, Oliver Trust, Mariajo Fernández (for helping Maribel), Magda Gascón (for her help about the politics of the Catalan language), Federico Bassahún and Nacho Fusco (editors of Don Julio), Gerard Nus (with a clever transcription of the Guardiola speech in Buenos Aires), Luis Calvano, Coco Ventura, Diego Torres, Javier Sánchez Napal (author of the song ‘Mundo Redondo’), Martín Souto (who did the fantastic interview with Leo for TyC Sports) and Brian Zwaschka (with his suggestions about Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan).
My brother Gustavo knows how hard it is to work on deadlines and was always very supportive. My sister Yolanda even transcribed interviews – everybody gave a hand! My mother looked after me even when she struggled to fight off her own headaches, and seeing my dad reading the Pep book, after decades not opening one, and then looking for new ones to read is the biggest reward I got for writing it.
So thank you all.
Index
Abelairas, Matías ref1
Abidal, Eric ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Abraham, David ref1
Abrahamian, Eduardo ref1
AC Milan ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Adidas ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
Agüero, Sergio ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8, ref9, ref10, ref11, ref12, ref13, ref14, ref15, ref16, ref17
Aguinis, Marcos ref1, ref2
Aimar, Carlos ref1
Aimar, Pablo ref1
Alba, Jordi ref1
Albacete ref1
Alcantara, Paulino ref1
Alexis ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Alfi league ref1
Alfonsín, Raul ref1
Algar, Carlos ref1
Almirón, Sergio ref1, ref2
Alvarez, Robert ref1
Alvés, Dani ref1, ref2, ref3
Amez de Paz, Eduardo ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Antic´, Radomir ref1
Antonella ref1
Aparicio, Salvador Ricardo ref1, ref2
Archetti, Eduardo ref1, ref2
Archubi, Rodrigo ref1, ref2
Arellano, Alberto ref1
Arellano, Cintia ref1, ref2, ref3
Argentina ref1
coup d’état ref1
economic crisis ref1, ref2, ref3
economic migration ref1
exiles ref1
expulsions ref1
football in ref1
footballer exports ref1, ref2
masculinity ref1
Night of the Long Truncheons ref1
population ref1
social framework ref1
style of football ref1
Argentina national team ref1, ref2, ref3
achievements ref1
Copa América, 2007 ref1
Copa América, 2011 ref1, ref2
crisis debate ref1
decline ref1
failure ref1
LM as captain ref1, ref2, ref3
LM thinks of quitting ref1
LM’s debut ref1
Maradona as coach ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Olympic Games, Beijing, 2008 ref1, ref2
successes ref1
World Cup, 2006 ref1
World Cup, 2010 ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
World Cup, 2014 ref1, ref2
Argentina national youth team
LM’s call-up ref1
Sudamericano Championships, 2005 ref1
Under 20s World Championship ref1
Under 20s World Championship Group stage ref1
Under 20s World Championship Last 16 ref1
Under 20s World Championship Quarter-final ref1
Under 20s World Championship Semi-final ref1
Under 20s World Championship Final ref1
Under 20s World Championship victory celebrations ref1
Argentinian Federation (AFA) ref1
Argentinian footballers, backgrounds ref1
Argentinos Juniors ref1
Armenteros, Emiliano ref1, ref2
Arsenal ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Arteaga tournament ref1
Asch, Hugo ref1
assimilated players ref1
Athletic de Bilbao ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Atlético de Madrid ref1, ref2, ref3
Autet, Gerard ref1
autographs ref1, ref2
Babangdida, Haruna ref1, ref2
Baiges, Marc ref1
Ballon d’Or ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
Baptista, Júlio ref1
Barcelona
arrival in ref1
Castelldefels ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
Gran Via Carles III ref1
Hotel Rally ref1
Las Cuartetas ref1, ref2
Little Argentina ref1
Lleó XIII school ref1, ref2, ref3
Barcelona FC
agrees to the Messis’ requests ref1
B Team ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7
C Team ref1, ref2, ref3
Cadetes ref1
and Catalan nationalism ref1
coaches ref1
cost of LM ref1, ref2
decision to sign LM ref1
decline ref1
doldrums ref1
doubt about signing LM ref1
Guardiola appointed coach ref1
Guardiola leaves ref1
Guardiola takes over ref1
Junior A team ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6
Junior B team ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
junior football academy budget ref1
Korea, China and Japan tour, 2005 ref1
lack of leadership ref1
league title, 2009-10 ref1
LM contract, 2007 ref1
LM’s A team debut ref1, ref2
LM’s contracts ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5, ref6, ref7, ref8
LM’s early weeks at ref1
and LM’s growth hormone treatment ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4, ref5
LM’s official debut ref1
and LM’s talent ref1
LM’s trial ref1, ref2
and Martino ref1
Messidependence ref1, ref2, ref3, ref4
and Neymar ref1
overhaul ref1
period of historic urgency ref1
restructuring ref1
Rijkaard sacked ref1
Ronaldinho leaves ref1