Another off the Argentine “New Maradonas” assembly line, Lionel Messi may be the first to live up to that unfair comparison. While Javier Saviola, Juan Román Riquelme and Pablo Aimar unsurprisingly failed to match HIS high standards despite early promise, Messi has shown that, even at a young age, he is capable of carrying the weight of his futures. companions and a nation on his shoulders.

Credit must also be given to his Barcelona manager, Frank Rijkaard, for not rushing him into a Barcelona starting job that he is more than ready to fill.

“It is clear that Messi is a talent, a player for the future, but I ask that everyone continue to support him when he is out of the team because he is still very young.” Rijkaard said in a recent interview. He continued:

“I am convinced of him because I know he is not paying attention to all the media speculation. He prefers to speak on the pitch.”

Indeed, his three goals and an assist in nine league games for Barcelona this season to go along with his goal-and-assist in the UEFA Champions League back up his manager’s claims, and at 18 we are only just beginning to see glimpses of his enormous potential. Messi states:

“I want to continue learning and I hope it goes well for me. The thing is to help the team as much as possible”.

These are the words of a young man with a focused head on his shoulders and, more importantly, good advisors around him. How many times have we seen vultures pounce on young prodigies sweet-talking them and their parents into sulking career suicide and demanding more playing time only to become nothing more than a trivia question five years later?

With the World Cup in Germany fast approaching, Lionel Messi will definitely be one to watch if he is selected for national duty.

Enrique Domínguez, Messi’s former manager, said: “He could do things with the ball that defied the laws of physics. The only other person I’ve ever seen do that was Diego Maradona.”

Let us all remember that Maradona himself did not come to prominence until the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, despite being singled out for great things in Spain four years earlier. That World Cup was a general disappointment for both Maradona and Argentina. Messi will be three years younger than Maradona at his first World Cup appearance and it is important that we all allow Lionel to continue to develop at his current rate without putting too much pressure on him to be managed by a teenager. For his part, Messi must maintain the enthusiasm and work ethic that has so far impressed his coaches and teammates. If he can do that, then the sky is indeed the limit for him.

Outstanding careers
June 24, 1987 Born in Rosario, Argentina
2000 Lionel and his family move to Spain to help treat his growth hormone deficiency Signing for Barcelona at age 13
October 16, 2004 He debuted in the first half with Barcelona against RCD Espanyol
May 1, 2005 He becomes the youngest league scorer in the history of Barcelona against Albacete by scoring his first goal at the age of 17 years, ten months and seven days
June 2005 Help the Argentina Under 20 team win the FIFA World Youth Championship by scoring twice against Nigeria in the final
June 27, 2005 He renews his contract with Barcelona until 2010 with a termination clause of 150 million euros
August 4, 2005 He receives his first call-up to the Argentine national team
September 25, 2005 He gains Spanish citizenship which allows him to play more games for Barcelona as he is not restricted by the non-EU player quota.