Messi

by Luca Caioli

  ‘Why was Pepe sent off? Why weren’t Chelsea given four penalties they deserved? Why was van Persie sent off? Why was Motta sent off? Where does this power come from? Their power should be due to their footballing talent. That they do have. They should win because of that. It must taste very differently to win the way that they win. You have to be really rotten to enjoy that kind of win. Guardiola is a great manager, but he has won a Champions League that I would have been ashamed of winning. He won it thanks to a scandal at Stamford Bridge. And this year he’ll be winning his second thanks to a scandal at the Bernabéu. That’s why I hope that one day Guardiola has the opportunity to win a Champions League with integrity. Clean. He deserves it.’

  Mourinho has put on quite a show. He has launched into a tirade which will again cost him dearly. On 6 May, UEFA’s Commission for Control and Discipline fines him €50,000 and decides to suspend him for five matches. One has already passed, on 3 May – the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals at the Nou Camp – Mourinho is not even in the stands. He watches the match on TV from his hotel room. And he witnesses his team being more daring and ambitious than in the other derbies. They have Barça on the back foot and in the first quarter of an hour they manage to keep them firmly in their own half.

  But little by little Barça start to chip away at their usual game. Messi finally comes face to face with Casillas, who miraculously manages to block three attempts in five minutes, to keep his team out of danger. Messi doesn’t manage to score this time, but he is running all over the shop and keeping up the pressure. He provokes a warning against Carvalho and yellow cards on Xavi Alonso and Adebayor. He is fouled twelve times and he looks absolutely shattered. With or without the goal, he has been the definitive player in a match which ends in a 1-1 draw and sends Barça on their way to Wembley.

  While the Blaugrana are celebrating the end of an exhausting month, the Whites are complaining about referee bias and that network of hidden power which has once again favoured their rivals. They protest about Gonzalo Higuaín’s goal which was disallowed due to a supposed foul by Cristiano. Everyone, from Karanka to Iker Casillas, seems to have learned Mourinho’s tirade by heart. ‘This is Mission Impossible 4,’ asserts Cristiano Ronaldo. ‘Barça have a great team, but there is something else going on here. I don’t want to suggest any kind of corruption, but it bothers me.’

  Amid all the chaos, Messi is happy to be carried along by the atmosphere at the Nou Camp. And just when it seems like the excitement is about to become too overwhelming, Pep Guardiola comes over and envelops his star player in a bear hug.

  It’s time to celebrate once again on 11 May. At the Ciudad de Valencia stadium, Barcelona win their third consecutive league title with a 1-1 draw against Levante. ‘It has been a very tough year and we have worked extremely hard against Real Madrid, our biggest rival,’ comments Lionel. ‘We have experienced some very difficult circumstances but we always know how to come out on top.’

  But when he is handed the microphone at the Nou Camp celebrations on the Friday, he yells: ‘It is wonderful to celebrate another Liga title, but I’m saving my comments for the 29th, when we get back from London. Then I’ll tell you how I feel!’

  And he is true to his word, one day early. He is at Wembley with the ball at his feet. He cheers when, in a noble gesture, Carles Puyol offers his captain’s armband to defender Eric Abidal so that the Frenchman he can wear it as he lifts the trophy. It’s a fitting tribute to a man who has just overcome liver cancer. Diagnosed in March, he underwent surgery and has returned in order to play at the home of football. Messi is laughing as he hugs the cup, holding up three fingers­ for three European trophies. And he tells everyone that it has been a match they will never forget.

  ‘Today we were the best and we deserved to win. It is incredible what this team has achieved. Right now, I don’t think we know what’s hit us. We just want to keep winning things. Now it’s time for a holiday. Or rather, I’m going to the Copa América. But when we get back, we’ll pick up from where we left off.’

  Chapter 40

  Barcelona

  Conversation with Leo Messi

  Twenty-four years are very few. The past is just over the shoulder, the future still seems far away. It is soon, too soon, to weigh things up and it is difficult to look forwards to see what the coming days will bring. But you can always try. Leo Messi agrees.

  Sitting at a desk in a lounge in the bowels of the Nou Camp, he seems almost like a schoolboy who is about to do his homework in class. A mobile on the table is his only aide.

  Let’s begin.

  What are the most difficult moments you have endured in your life?

  ‘Moving country from Argentina to Spain. I left my hometown, my friends, my people. The first few years here were tough. There were times when my father and I were in Barcelona and the rest of the family was in Rosario. We were suffering. I missed Matías, Rodrigo, my little sister and my mother. I used to cry alone in my house so that my father wouldn’t see.’

  And the happiest moments?

  ‘The titles I won with Barcelona and with Argentina.’

  And the Ballon d’Or trophies?

  ‘The individual awards make the people I love happy, they make up for the sacrifices that my family has made. But the titles which make an entire town or country happy are worth much more. It’s incredible, incomparable.’

  But now you are the king of the world.

  ‘I’m the same guy and I’m lucky to be part of a great team.’

  Could you possibly have imagined what the last few incredible years would bring?

  ‘I would never have predicted all this. Not in my wildest dreams did I think that things would turn out so well.’

  Let’s go back to the past: what is your first good footballing memory?

  ‘It was at the beginning, at Grandoli, we were playing in the Afi league against Amanecer. They said they were the best, the champions. My whole family was in the stands. And I scored four goals, one of which was very good.’

  Why do you love football so much?

  ‘I don’t know. I first took a liking to it as a child, like all children do, and I still enjoy it a lot.’

  How did you acquire such confidence with the ball, how did you learn all those tricks you know how to do?

  ‘By spending every moment with a football. When I was little I would stand all on my own on a corner and kick the ball around continuously. But I don’t study certain moves. I don’t invent feints, or anything like that. I just play the way it comes out. I don’t think about it.’

  Who was the one who determined your love of football?

  ‘My grandmother Celia took me to the ground the first time. She was a very important person, very special to all of us. She was such a good person. I remember Sundays at her house being something of a party. My brother Rodrigo and my cousin have been role models. And my father also supported me a lot.’

  Has it been difficult to get to where you are today?

  ‘All kids want to be footballers, but in order to make it you need to work hard and make a lot of sacrifices. And you have to go through some very tough times, like when I decided to stay in Barcelona … It was my decision. No one forced me to make it. My parents asked me many times what I wanted to do. I wanted to stay in the youth academy because I knew that that was my chance to be a footballer. I was very responsible from a very young age.’

  How have the growth problems and your height affected your development?

  ‘I was a child, I didn’t really have any idea of what was happening to me, apart from the injections in my legs every night. But, being smaller, I have learned to control the ball better on the ground, be more agile and faster than the bigger players in order to keep the ball.’

  Which games throughout your career conjure up the best memories?

  ‘That one against Chelsea in the Champions League, the derby against Real Madrid when I scored three goals and, of course, the final of the Under 20 World
Cup and the semi-final against Brazil in Beijing.’

  The most beautiful goals?

  ‘If I had to choose now, I would say the one in Rome and the one against Estudiantes.’

  And the one against Getafe?

  ‘True, that one was also great.’

  Is the one against Getafe the best goal you have scored in your life?

  ‘Yes, it could be, but there were a couple of others when I was little, when I was ten or eleven years old and played for Newell’s, which were similar. We have them on video at home.’

  At around that age, when they asked you who your favourite player was, you responded: ‘My brother Rodrigo and my cousin Maxi.’ Have you ever had a football idol?

  ‘No, I have never had a favourite player, or an idol. When I got a bit older I started to like Aimar, I admired his playing style. When I played against him at Valencia, I finally got to ask him for his shirt.’

  And Maradona?

  ‘He’s the greatest.’

  Did you see him play during his stint with Newell’s in Rosario?

  ‘I was very young, I was six years old. I went to a match the day that Maradona made his debut. But I don’t remember it.’

  Is it true that your father bought you a video of Maradona’s best moments?

  ‘I have seen Diego’s goals many times, but I don’t remember who gave me the video.’

  What do you make of it when everyone compares you with Maradona and maintains that you’re his successor?

  ‘It makes me very happy, because I still haven’t done anything, I need to keep growing and learning. Every day I try to improve, to become a better footballer. And besides, Diego is unique, there will never be another.’

  It’s the most obvious answer. Let’s move onto another topic.

  What advice did Maradona give you?

  ‘He told me to keep doing what I’m doing, always to enjoy football and to look after myself, because it’s a short career and if you want to improve throughout it and make it last as long as possible, you always have to be in good shape.’

  Let’s leave him aside and go back to the Getafe goal for a moment. Some people say that that goal changed you. Is that true?

  ‘It could be that previously I played more respectfully, I was more inhibited in front of my teammates, and bit by bit I was starting to go out there and play the way I like to play.’

  Everyone talks about the way you play … How would you define it? Try to answer, even though it’s a question you hate.

  ‘It’s complicated talking about oneself, it’s better to let others do the talking. What can I say? That I like to be behind the strikers, create opportunities, find the goal whenever I can.’

  What is your best skill?

  ‘Maybe my variation of pace.’

  Another tiresome question: about tension. It seems strange that you virtually don’t feel it.

  ‘When I go onto the pitch I am not interested in the opposition, nor in who’s marking me. I try to do well, enjoy myself and make a good contribution to my team.’

  FC Barcelona?

  ‘I have been here for eleven years. I feel happy here. They took a chance on me when I was thirteen, I wanted to make it into the first team and I did. I wanted to win many titles with this team and I did. But I never forget that I am just one person, without the help of my teammates I couldn’t do anything.’

  The Argentine team?

  ‘Wearing the national shirt is something really great. Although I live thousands of miles away, I would like to be at all the games and bring a lot of happiness to my people. What a shame that it wasn’t to be in South Africa.’

  Unfulfilled goal: would you like to play football in Argentina?

  ‘I would enjoy playing for a club in my country. But that’s a while away …’

  The telephone rings.

  Pause.

  It is a glorious day outside. Clear skies and an almost summery temperature, although according to the calendar it is winter. The grass gleams a shiny green. At the edge of the pitch, the tourists are taking a break in their tour of the stadium in order to pose for photos with life-size cardboard cutouts of their idols. A Japanese couple arrive. They choose Messi and she is delighted because she is the same height as him, she can put her arm around his neck.

  Inside, the phone call has finished. We can return to our conversation.

  How do you find living with fame?

  ‘I don’t think about that. I think about being able to keep on playing, that’s what I like the most. I live the same life as always. The only thing is that if I want to go out with my family in Rosario, I can’t.’

  Doesn’t it bother you when people stop you in the street, asking for autographs, photos, kisses?

  ‘No. There are people who spend hours waiting just to have a photo with me. It’s only fair to give them some time.’

  Is it true, as those who know you well say, that the fame has not gone to your head?

  ‘It’s true. I have my feet firmly on the ground and I never forget where I came from.’

  And the money hasn’t changed your life?

  ‘It’s the same as always. We’re not people who waste money on luxury items.’

  Do you like the advertising?

  ‘I enjoy it, I like doing it.’

  Changing the subject, let’s talk about your first mentors.

  ‘I learnt a lot from Guillermo Hoyos [his coach with the youth B team], he was very important to me. I did everything I could to move up the ranks.’

  And your life mentors?

  ‘My father, my family, my brother Rodrigo have always advised me and helped me in every way possible.’

  You made a special dedication – ‘I love you, Dad’ – the day you scored your first goal on Argentine soil, at the Monumental stadium with the national team.

  ‘I had promised, and he deserved it.’

  What is your relationship like?

  ‘Very good. We have spent a lot of time together here. We’re mates, we’re friends, although we have our ups and downs. Sometimes, he gets worried over little things, he starts to bother me and it annoys me …’

  Do you argue over contracts and investments?

  ‘He always consults me, but he handles everything. I play the football.’

  And what does your father think of the football?

  ‘Ever since I was little, after a match, he tells me, “you played well” or “you played badly”, but he doesn’t get involved in the rest …’

  Aside from forging a brilliant career, your mother hopes that sooner or later you’ll have a family.

  ‘She’s always telling me that. What matters to her is that I’m happy, but I’m still too young to think about having a family.’

  But you have a girlfriend now?

  ‘Yes.’

  He blushes tomato-red.

  And what about the shyness?

  ‘It’s better, I’ve changed …’

  From whom do you get your bashfulness?

  ‘Matías is like me, my dad also used to be like that … My mother and Rodrigo are different …’

  What do you enjoy most in life aside from football?

  ‘Being with my family and friends.’

  Try to picture yourself in fifteen or twenty years’ time. How do you see yourself?

  ‘Living in Rosario with my family … always close to my family.’

  Family means everything to you, doesn’t it?

  ‘I owe a lot to my parents and my siblings. If they are OK, so am I.’

  Let’s take a test: here are some of the questions La Capital asked you when you were thirteen years old. Let’s see how you’ve changed. Favourite book?

  ‘Maradona’s book (Yo soy el Diego [I am the Diego]), I started it but I never finished it. I’m not much of a reader …’

  Eight years ago you said the Bible. Are you religious?

  ‘I don’t practise, but I believe in God.’

  Are you superstitious?

  �
��No.’

  Favourite CD?

  ‘Argentine cumbia style music, but I don’t know which group to choose.’

  Favourite film?

  ‘El hijo de la novia [Son of the Bride] and Nueve reinas [Nine Queens]. Ricardo Darín is my favourite actor. My grandmother looked a lot like the protagonist in El hijo de la novia, she used to do things that she also does and she also had Alzheimer’s.’

  Aims?

  ‘To win many more titles.’

  You really like winning.

  ‘When you win it makes you happy, when you lose you always feel bad and you spend your time thinking about where and how you went wrong. Ever since I was really little I have never liked to lose.’

  A dream?

  ‘To be world champion with Argentina.’

  The phone rings again: it’s Jorge, his father.

  They are expecting him home for dinner. The whole family has come from Rosario: Celia, María Sol and his uncle and aunt, Claudio and Marcela.

  In tracksuit trousers and a white hoodie with trainers, Leo Messi walks through the stadium hallway to the lift which leads to the car park. One last goodbye before he heads home, to his family.

  I wonder what delicious things Celia and aunt Marcela have made today?

  Career record

  Personal summary

  Full name: Lionel Andrés Messi

  Place and Date of Birth: Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina, 24 June 1987

  Parents: Jorge and Celia

  Sister: María Sol

  Brothers: Matías and Rodrigo

  Height: 169 cm

  Weight: 67 kg

  Early career

  As a junior, played for Grandoli and Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario