It is a no-brainer to name two of the biggest stars who ruled world football for the last decade: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. While the Portuguese striker is known for his poise, flair and showmanship, it is Messi who has unassumingly led from the front at FC Barcelona — winning 32 trophies so far with the Catalans.
Along the way, the 5.7 feet genius has a string of records against his name. With the nine La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League crowns and six Copa del Rey trophies, the prolific and creative genius called Messi holds records for most official goals scored in La Liga (382 so far), in a club football season in Europe (73), in a calendar year (91) and at the Copa America (11).
It is due to his short stature that Messi tends to have a lower centre of gravity than taller players. This gives him greater agility, while allowing him to change direction more quickly and evade opposing tackles. Over a period of time, media from across the globe have adulated the tiny man into being something special to the sport, including ‘La Pulga Atomica’ (The Atomic Flea) — a near-perfect description of the genius from Argentina.
Over a period of time, Messi has perfected the art of the game. Though physically unimposing, he has ensured to tap his significant upper-body strength, which, when combined with his low centre of gravity and better balance, helps him tremendously while withstanding physical challenges from opponents.
Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagonised with a growth hormone deficiency as a child. When he was merely 13 years, Messi relocated to Spain to join the FC Barcelona junior programme, and the club agreed to foot the medical expenses of the player. The gamble paid off and Messi made quick time through the youth academy ranks to make his professional debut in the main team when he was just 17 years old.
Messi endured a spate of injuries in his early career, but he went on to establish himself as an integral player for Barcelona within the next three years while finishing as a finalist for both the Ballon d’Or and Fifa Player of the Year Award. However, 2009 was a much more rewarding season during which he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football. And at just 22 years, Messi went on to win the Ballon d’Or and the Fifa World Player of the Year awards by record voting margins.
Now, after a series of failures on the biggest stage for his country, much is being expected of the little genius from Argentina at the 2018 Fifa World Cup Russia.
