Messi

by Luca Caioli

  ‘We have to wait and see. Leo is not yet Maradona. He has only just begun. He hasn’t forged a career path yet. He plays a similar game, but there’s no need to compare them because people will want him to play like Maradona now. He has all the right criteria to be one of the greats, but we have to wait, for now he just has to keep doing what he’s doing and enjoy playing.’

  When he talks about you, Messi says again and again that you put up with him from the beginning, that you always let him play and gave him a lot of freedom …

  ‘From three-quarters of the way up the pitch Messi has the freedom to go anywhere, freedom to be inventive, to play the way he knows best, to make challenges, to dribble up the pitch, to soar. The best players need to soar.’

  Chapter 32

  Bronze and silver

  17 December 2007

  Let’s try and get our heads around the numbers: one goal in eight matches in his first season with the first team; seven goals in 23 fixtures in the 2005–06 season; fifteen goals in 31 matches between the league and the Champions League in the 2006–07 season; eight goals in the first slew of fixtures at the beginning of the 2007–08 season; 21 goals in 22 matches since he scored the hat-trick against Real Madrid in March 2007. But the figures do not do justice to Leo’s progression. Instead let’s take a look at the headlines:

  ‘Messi is worth the whole team’ – El País, 20/09/07

  ‘Messi plays Messiah’ – Marca, 23/09/07

  ‘Messi dominates’ – El Mundo, 23/09/07

  ‘Messi’s got guts’ – El Periódico, 27/09/07

  ‘Messi was worth the entrance fee’ – La Vanguardia, 30/09/07

  ‘Messi is king of La Liga’ – Marca, 08/10/07

  ‘Messi’s irresistible rise’ – Sport, 09/10/07

  ‘Messi does the mambo’ – Mundo Deportivo, 09/10/07

  ‘Messi starts to do what Maradona did before him’ – As, 18/10/07

  And it’s not just the headlines on every page which celebrate the moment of glory, the divinely inspired play, ‘the brilliance and inspiration’ of the Argentine ‘who turns everything­ he touches to gold’. The comments of the coaches, the rival teams, the football experts, both Spanish and Argentine, and the studies also document his explosion. There is talk of a ‘footballer without limits’, and it is stated that, given his mindset, Messi is capable of ‘taking risks and directing the game’. There is talk of his extreme running speed: 4.5 strides per second, which beats the 4.4 of Asafa Powell, the speedy Jamaican who set a 100-metre world record of 9.74 seconds in Rieti (Italy) on 9 September 2007. There are discussions regarding his low centre of gravity, which allow him to control and drive the ball forward with characteristic ease. Comparisons with the number 10 are made continually.

  In an exclusive interview in Marca, Diego does not argue with any of this; he simply explains that ‘if Rijkaard puts Messi on the bench, Laporta will throw him out’. And after his team’s harsh defeat at the Nou Camp, Zaragoza coach Víctor Fernández says what everyone is thinking: ‘Messi could be the best in the world.’

  As though besieged by an avalanche, the compliments swirl around Messi from September to November. And since it’s not long before the nominations for France Football’s Ballon d’Or and the FIFA World Player, the hopes and the voting predictions become more and more outspoken. ‘Messi is close behind Kaká,’ writes La Vanguardia. ‘Messi is a candidate for the Ballon d’Or. His performance and goals for Barça and Argentina make him a favourite,’ announces Marca. It is a full-blown campaign in favour of the Flea, although everyone is conscious of the fact that Kaká is the favourite and probably already has the prestigious award in the bag. But either way, it is better to campaign, and give some impetus to the Argentine’s cause. In the meantime, while awaiting the verdict, Messi is awarded the Bravo, the prize given by Italian sports magazine Guerin Sportivo to the best Under 21 in the European championships. Leo is the first Argentine and third Barcelona player to win it, after Guardiola and Ronaldo. It is 25 November. Just one week later, Ricardo Izecson Dos Santos Leite, ‘Kaká’ (a nickname given to him by his brother), lifts the Ballon d’Or. Messi is in third place. Bronze, with 255 votes. Cristiano Ronaldo is just ahead of him with 22 more votes, while Kaká has received no fewer than 444 votes.

  The Brazilian, who is a member of the Reborn in Christ Church and a fervent evangelist, gives thanks to God ‘for being lucky enough to be able to dedicate myself to this profession’. He believes that Milan’s Champions League victory and his position as highest goal scorer are what helped him triumph over his opponents. Of Leo, he says: ‘He represents ability and control of the ball. He is young and full of talent, I think he is very good.’ The difference between them? It’s simple, explains Kaká, ‘Messi hasn’t won any important titles this season, not La Liga, nor the Champions League, and I think that has counted against him.’

  It is the same story fifteen days later at the FIFA World Player Gala 2007. With just one difference, which makes one of the top players extremely nervous. Kaká takes gold again with 1,047 votes, best player of 2007 according to his colleagues; but Leo moves up to silver (504 votes), overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo who, with 426 votes, has to make do with the bronze.

  It is amusing seeing what happens in the room. The presenter announces Messi in second place and Ronaldo in third. The two of them stand up at the same time in the front row of the stalls in order to go up on stage. Messi buttons his jacket. It is the first time he has ever worn a suit and he looks decidedly unaccustomed to such attire. FIFA president Joseph Blatter and Pelé do the honours on the Zurich Opera House stage. Cristiano Ronaldo is the first to shake hands all round. He nods to O Rei and, without hesitation, picks up the second place silver trophy. Blatter has to motion to him and insist: ‘Messi, it’s for Messi.’ The presenter repeats the result of the votes and asks them to switch trophies. An uncomfortable moment smoothed over by the presenter with a ‘you did very well but you just missed it’, to Cristiano Ronaldo.

  The two of them change places for the photo and the ceremony continues without any problem.

  ‘Blatter said that that one was for me; then, when I went to pick it up, it turned out that the other one was for Cristiano and this one was for me,’ Leo comments at a press conference later. When asked how he feels, he replies: ‘The truth is that I feel happy, all those people who voted, they gave me this prize … Before it all happened I said that it was already wonderful just to be in the top three, so I’m very happy. It was all new to me, so I was just taking it in and enjoying it.’

  Leo Messi shouldn’t even have been there. The injury he picked up the previous Saturday at Mestalla had threatened his attendance at the gala. Then, at the last minute, the doctors give him a good report, so the Blaugrana expedition leaves for Zurich, headed up by Joan Laporta, who receives the FIFA Fair Play Award on behalf of FC Barcelona. Jorge and Rodrigo go along to keep Leo company.

  Two days later in Barcelona, the father and brother find time to talk about their trip to Switzerland, the prizes, and various other things related to the champion they know so well. Is there disappointment that he missed out on the gold? ‘Just the fact that he is second and third in the world at twenty years of age, means Leo is already a footballing icon. He still has time to make it to number one if he continues like this,’ says Jorge, sipping a cup of tea. ‘In all honesty, did you ever imagine that your son would get to this level?’ ‘No, I never imagined he would go so far. I was betting on Rodrigo, who was a good striker. He grew up at Newell’s, he played with Central Córdoba, he played as a reserve in the first division, he had a motorbike accident that kept him out for a year, he trialled in Chile, and then I brought him here to see if he could find a Spanish or another European team.’

  ‘The difference,’ comments his older brother Rodrigo, ‘is that Leo has an attribute that I didn’t have: he has a lot of willpower, he has made a huge number of sacrifices to get to where he is. I didn’t have as much willpower. I’m a lo
t more lazy.’ But who instilled Leo with such a passion for football? ‘I was never one of those frustrated footballers who wants their kids to be champions at all costs. I never aspired to that. It was my mother-in-law who used to take Rodrigo and Leo to play, not me,’ declares Jorge. ‘Yes, it’s true that I coached him for a year at Grandoli, but I wasn’t his teacher. I enjoyed watching him play.’

  So then where does his passion come from? ‘Back when I used to play, I loved football,’ says Jorge. ‘I woke up in the morning and went to bed at night thinking about football, maybe that has been passed down to Leo.’

  ‘When my brother was five or six years old,’ explains Rodrigo, ‘there was no other present that could make him as happy as a football could. He was crazy about football like all the kids. But he knew how to be faithful to his childhood passion and he’s pursued his dream. Because his happiness was, and still is, tied up with football.’ And what does the job involve for a factory-worker-turned-football-agent father? ‘For his own benefit I have to protect him from the expectations of interested parties who could harm him. There are people who seem trustworthy but actually they’re criminals. The world is full of them. It’s not easy, I have had to learn, I have made mistakes, and bit by bit I have straightened out any issues along the way.’ How is the father-son relationship? ‘Good, apart from the generational difference, which creates a barrier. I try not to smother him too much, that’s what he needs. I prefer him to be surrounded by youngsters his own age, his brothers, his friends. I don’t want my son to think: he’s always around. If he needs advice I give it to him, if not … I try not to get involved in anything. I tell him things and I can see that he often takes it on board. Money? Contracts? We almost never talk about those things, we chat more about football, the football here and the Argentine teams, like a get-together between friends.’

  And how are things going with the older brother? ‘I was by Leo’s side during the first few years here, in Barcelona. They weren’t easy years, we used to get very bored,’ explains Rodrigo. ‘They were sad times, we would spend them watching films or playing PlayStation. Then, bit by bit, his life changed, and so did mine. Every so often he likes to get off the pitch and go out to eat. In terms of nightlife? He doesn’t like going out that much. I used to like going out, he would rather get a drink and have a chat. He spends a lot of time with us. He looks after Agustín a lot, my oldest child, who is turning five, and he loves my little girl, who was born in 2006. He also likes the meals that my wife Florencia makes – her roast chicken and empanadas could rival my mother’s.’

  A question for the head of the family: does all that money change a player and his family? ‘We don’t have luxuries, we still haven’t finished the house in Rosario. Leo has a chalet here in Castelldefels: two floors, four bedrooms, a garden and a small pool. We live just as we did before, but people look at us and think we’ve changed; on the contrary, they are the ones who have changed. They look at us differently … they envy a boy who has done well. The money that Leo earns is put away safely so that he and his family shouldn’t have any problems in the future.’

  The last question, that has to be asked, is about his son’s future. ‘I think it will be good. He’ll keep developing, he’ll be even better.’ Better than Maradona? ‘Diego was one of a kind. Leo is different, these are different times; I hope he comes close to the number 10’s level, in terms of the technical qualities he displayed and the results he achieved.’

  Chapter 33

  Physical thinking

  Conversation with Roberto Perfumo, ‘El Mariscal’

  The La Biela waiters and clientele know him well. Some of them stop and greet him and ask for his perspective on the issues of the day. Once he has dished out his opinions to all and sundry, the Mariscal – ex-defender for River, Racing and Cruzeiro, one of Argentine football’s best defenders, who is also a commentator and a social psychologist – finally sits down to have a cup of coffee. The walls are covered with photos of motor racing champions like Juan Manuel Fangio, Friolán González and Manuel Gálvez, who in the 50s and 60s used to frequent this café-bar, situated opposite the famous Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires. Those were different times. Today, the talk is about football.

  What do you think of Lionel Messi?

  ‘Technically speaking he’s one of the few players in the world who can drive the ball forward without looking at it, and that allows him to watch the opposition and his teammates, and make an unprecedented pass. He can do it because he sees the whole pitch. He has a lot of precision while at the highest possible speed. He plays imaginatively, he’s creative and every time he gets the ball, every time he challenges the opposition, it’s an experience … everyone­ is waiting­ for something to happen. And it does. In addition, for me Messi has physical thinking.’

  What does that mean?

  ‘He is mind and body. All at the same time. He has the same gift that Pelé, Maradona and Di Stéfano had. It’s the speed with which his brain tells his legs what to do. Messi gets an idea and, bam! it’s already happened. Do you know what I mean? Seeing the position of the goalie and shooting between the posts is done through intuition, not through thinking.’

  Since you’ve mentioned Maradona, the obvious thing is to ask you about the comparisons that have been made and are still made continually …

  ‘After Pelé retired, it took Brazil another 24 years to become world champions again. We are still in mourning for Maradona. We’re all hoping a Saviour will appear, the new Messiah, who will take us to the top once again. Messi could reach that position, but he still needs time, he needs to develop his gifts and prepare himself for the opposition, he needs to reach his footballing maturity.’

  What are his weaknesses?

  ‘He still has a youthful sin: he doesn’t always know how to make the best choices. Sometimes you have to make a run, sometimes you have to pass, it’s useless to persist when a play is not going your way, it’s better to choose the most simple and effective solution. He himself will realise that it’s the ball that has to keep on running … these are things you learn with experience and with age.’

  Is Messi already an icon?

  ‘He is a simple guy, very humble, and kids admire him enormously.’

  Why is that?

  ‘Because of his look, because of his face. He reminds me of the cuis (a type of squirrel, one of the most common Argentine mammals). Add to that his natural magnetism when the ball is between his feet. I hope he never loses his passion for playing ball. That’s the only way he will be the best in the world.’

  Since you are so sure of your prediction … let’s move on to talking about the future and, in particular, the risks.

  ‘I hope that the money doesn’t soften him. With millions of euros in the bank he still needs to run, train, play in the cold, the rain, the snow. I hope he doesn’t become an advertising icon like Beckham; the risk is that you lose the passion for the game. I hope he never loses that “amateurism”, that love of being on the pitch that guys like Pelé and Maradona preserved. Being Messi won’t be easy, it will definitely be a headache. In any case, he is still climbing uphill to reach the top. The most difficult part will be once he is up there and has to maintain that level. Look at Ronaldinho.’

  Meaning?

  ‘Juan Manuel Fangio used to say, “When the bad times come, no one can endure them.” That is what’s happening to Ronaldinho. When things start to go wrong … you say to yourself, it’s fine, I’ll get back to form. But you don’t look after yourself, you don’t concentrate, they start to question you every blessed day, the environment doesn’t help because friends of a champion are the worst kind, family is a disaster, and you keep careering downhill without being able to apply the brakes. You don’t realise it and time passes. It’s a lesson Messi needs to remember when he’s at the top.’

  Chapter 34

  The long journey towards gold

  22 May 2008

  ‘I’m excited because it’s the Argentine na
tional team. And I always said that I want to play for my country. It’s the Olympics … it’s an opportunity a player gets once in his career, if he gets it, right? It’s possible that I might get the chance to be there and I would love to go. What if there’s a conflict with the club? I don’t think there will be. I think the club understands how I feel and … there won’t be any problems.’

  It is just after 1.30pm on a grey Thursday. There is quite a buzz in the Hesperia Tower hotel in Barcelona, close to El Prat airport. Today sees the first gathering of the Argentine Under 23 squad. It is the beginning of an Olympic adventure for Sergio ‘el Checho’ Batista’s boys. There is an atmosphere of reunion and re-acquaintance, between players, between players and coaches, between footballers and journalists – who have been positioned in the foyer for a while now in order to get an interview.

  An exhausting initial training session is followed by a procession of white shirts towards the dining room; after the meal there is a press conference in the enormous auditorium. In theory it is only an introduction to the Catalunya-Argentina friendly, which will be played two days later at the Nou Camp, on Saturday 24 May. The adverts are promoting it as a challenge between two extremely young Barça stars – Lionel Messi on the one hand, and Bojan Krki´c on the other. But the sixteen-year-old from Linyola will not be on the pitch. Catalan selector Pere Gratacós would prefer not to play him to avoid a headache, since Bojan turned down Luis Aragonés’ call for him to play for the Spanish national team in the European championship, claiming tiredness. Leo is there, however, and becomes the main protagonist before a crammed audience of Catalan and Argentine journalists. Checho is sitting beside him and observes the reporters pestering him with questions about all the issues currently facing Barcelona: the new coach, the possible departures of Ronaldinho and Deco – two teammates with whom he is very close – before finally arriving at the topic of the Olympics. Messi speaks openly. He wants to go to Beijing. He doesn’t think that missing Barça’s Champions League qualifier will be too much of a strain on the team (the first leg is on 12 or 13 August, the return leg is on the 26th or 27th, against an unknown team). On the contrary he maintains that ‘Barcelona do not depend solely on me to win matches. They want to form a team that aspires to win all the titles, if a player is absent on one particular day I don’t think anything will come of it.’ He is convinced that the club as much as the Barça fans will understand his decision.