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IN MEMORY OF JORGE "TOPO" LÓPEZ

"I'LL TELL THE STORIES THAT YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD,

TO SHOW AGUSTÍN AND LUCÍA THE WAY." VERÓNICA.

Leo is a genius. A genius.

Messi is a genius.

The world's top players, no doubt.

The love story between Barça and Messi is immortal.

-He is a diamond... -"A monster," I said.

He has everything.

The world's best player, I think.

He is a hero to us.

All time best players.

The world's top players in all history.

A unique talent.

The best I have seen.

The kid is unearthly.

He is the chosen one.

It would be nice to be him for five seconds.

To see how it feels.

My name is Lionel Messi and I'm 13 years old.

I play center-forward and...

-Hello. -Good evening. Welcome.

Come in, please.

Thank you.

-Look at that! -That's Cruyff!

He captained and was the best player for the Netherlands'

1974 Clockwork Orange World Cup team.

- Oh...

-If it's on the house... -Valdano...

World Champion, 1986.

[both laugh]

Cruyff was groundbreaking,

first as a player and then as coach.

When he got on the pitch, madness ensued.

-And there sits Menotti. -Really?

[woman] Our idol back in 1978.

He was coach in 1978.

When did you see Leo for the first time, Johan?

-He was just a kid, basically. -A kid?

-What's your first memory? -Kindergarten.

In a play.

He was dressed as a firefighter.

Look at this picture!

Too bad I don't have my glasses.

-This was in sixth grade. -He looks like a fourth grader.

That's what we said.

-Cintia is here. -And Walter also.

-It was a school play. -You look exactly the same.

Oh.

I love this picture of the four of us.

-We were babies. -Our mothers were so young.

They were our age.

-You brought lots of pictures. -What a small baby.

He was dressed as a firefighter and I was a teacher.

He was the snail.

That was in first grade. This was in kindergarten.

He played a snail in the school play in 1993?

Yes!

World's fastest player playing a snail.

I never thought about it like that.

It was hard to talk Lionel into doing the play,

so he had to hide in the suit, though his face was visible.

But he did it very well.

-I was a grasshopper, and you? -I was a butterfly.

And he was a red elf.

[Mónica] I overslept, so the kids were on their own,

but we had rehearsed a lot.

Lionel was really good.

That's from the teachers' day

when the kids gave us flowers and presents.

Leo destroyed all the plants in his grandma's garden

when he and Pablo played ball.

It's mostly good memories. We did everything together.

In kindergarten, in the schoolyard...

The kids could not take the ball from Leo.

The other children would ask for a different ball

so that they could also play.

How did you get into soccer?

I started playing in my neighborhood club.

I heard that it was his grandmother.

She took him to play.

His grandma took him to play. He started thanks to her.

Was she his mom's mother or was she his dad's mother?

She was his mom's mother, right?

I couldn't wait for you to turn four so you could play soccer.

You're going to want to go all the time.

When you see how much fun your brothers have,

you'll want to play.

But you have to wait a couple of years to play.

Like Rodri and Matías?

Yes, because you're so little right now and they're big,

but in two more years you'll be playing like your brothers.

-Rodrigo was a good player. -Yes.

Really?

Rodrigo was the first to play,

and Leo watched as he played.

You know what?

You will be even better than them.

Do you know why?

Because we never know what you're thinking.

Your little head is a mystery.

Mark my words, you will become the world's best soccer player.

Shall we?

-What's the name of the club? -Grandoli.

Rodrigo's coach discovered him.

-I don't know how it happened. -We have to look into that.

-What is happening? -A kid from Grandoli overslept.

I can't wait any longer. All right, we'll play.

Okay, sir.

This is nonsense.

-Can I play, Grandma? -Do you want to play?

Yes.

I don't really know what she said to the manager.

Excuse me. My grandson wants to play.

Those kids are too big for him.

-Who wants to play? -My grandson's great.

He was really short, so they didn't believe in him.

I don't know. He looks very small.

-How old are you?

-Almost six, and he's fast as lightning.

-What are you good at? -Everything.

Are you fast? You get to play outside.

Put on your shirt and go!

Go!

The youngest of the Messis?

If he's anything like his brothers, we might be lucky.

[man] Show them! Show them!

He has the ball!

Pass the ball!

[all] Goal!

Did you see what he did?

-He scored and people lost their minds.

-When he got control of the ball,

he left everyone in the dust.

[man] He played for Grandoli, I played for Nuevo Horizonte.

I'm a year older than him.

He played like a god and had us all outclassed.

[all] Goal!

Can you start bringing him afternoons

to practice with the other kids?

I want to see what we've got.

Rodrigo, Matías and the other big kids

wouldn't let us or Leo play.

But there came a point where Leo wanted to play so, so badly

that they finally let him.

They'd say, "Don't let Leo play.

He's too little and we might hurt him."

But then they'd say it because they didn't want

to get embarrassed by Leo.

[grandma] Leo!

-His grandmother. -The famous grandmother.

When the bell rang for break, he changed completely.

He would wait for a break to go out with the ball

and go compete with the other kids.

Everyone would run after him,

"He is with me. He is with me."

They would fight over him.

Otherwise, they wouldn't win.

Whoever chose Leo would win.

Sometimes they wouldn't give a ball during the break,

because fights would break out.

If he didn't have a ball, he would take a plastic bottle.

They would take bags, fill them with paper... he had to play.

In the end, he had a good fabric ball

that wouldn't fall apart when kicked.

He enjoyed himself elsewhere. The school didn't interest him.

-He liked other things. -He had other interests.

Don't talk to me about math or literature...

just let me play soccer.

I will defend him.

When he wanted to study, he succeeded.

Of course, no one said otherwise.

But we had to insist to make him study.

I remember that Celia would threaten him.

If he didn't do his homework, if he didn't shower,

he wouldn't play soccer.

Leo would bring his homework done,

and say that he had done it.

Thank you, Cintia.

He would sit in front of me and kick the chair.

And then I knew I had to convey something for him.

He would roll up a note and throw it at me.

-And we didn't know. -We didn't know back then.

Because they were neighbors.

-They were good friends. -Like brother and sister.

We were so close back in school, we used to say we were cousins.

She would organize everything for him.

He would ask her everything.

His classmate was like his interpreter

to talk to the teacher.

Yes, she was like a mother to him, like an older sister.

Once, Celia had to go out and she left him at my house.

And my mother nursed him. And it happened to me too.

They left me at her house, and Celia nursed me.

It has a name, it's called...

It's called milk siblings.

Milk siblings, yeah.

In the neighborhood, when the streets were flooded,

because the sewer openings in the corner were clogged,

the street would fill with water up to our knees.

We would play soccer in the middle of the sewer,

among all sorts of bacteria.

My brother is a year older than me.

I remember in our group, when we went out on the pitch,

we were the only team

that had pieces of paper thrown onto the field.

We wouldn't head straight to the center

when we got on the field.

We'd go sideline to sideline

on both sides of the center line,

and then Matías's father, Raúl,

would throw papers and whistle hard.

And we felt that we were playing in front of 50,000 people.

And we would stand like this, with our hands in the air.

What position did you play?

I was a center-forward like him.

Did he let you score goals? Or did he score all of them?

He wouldn't give me much, but...

I would take the ball from him sometimes and score too.

Sometimes he would come and take the ball off your feet.

Sometimes he would take it from me.

When you had a problem,

you would pass him the ball, and he would solve the problem.

-What is your name? -Diego Rovira.

-What's your favorite team? -Newell's.

Tell the camera all about your goal.

[Diego] On a free kick, Mariano Miro tapped it to Leo,

who fired a centering kick that I banged in.

[reporter] Who do you want to dedicate the championship to?

To everyone who knows me.

I always say I scored a lot of goals,

because he would draw the defenders to him,

and it was easier to get one-on-one that way.

He spoiled us, because we won a lot.

So afterwards it was difficult.

[chanting]

The problem was when we won 2-1, 3-1, 3-2.

Then we were really sad.

-What is your name? -Gerardo Grigini.

-What's your favorite team? -River.

With Leo we would have won 7-0, 8, 9. Without Leo, 1-2, 3-1.

There was a game we won 16-0, do you remember?

We all scored.

There came a moment when we scored so much

that they told us to compete against ourselves.

One team gets Leo the first half, the other the second.

We'll see who scores more.

He was very shy around new people,

but he was okay among us.

Within the small group, Leo was always fine.

He laughed and talked a lot. He was one of us.

-Name and last name. -Franco Casanova.

-Favorite team? -Newell's.

And who do you want to dedicate this goal to?

To everyone who knows me.

We all know he was our natural leader.

Right.

He would always take the ball,

and thanks to him we won all of the matches.

He was a kind of quiet leader.

He was with me until he was 11. Then he got him.

I'm not in the picture,

but this is the team with Domínguez.

Is he Domínguez? You know him.

-Franco, me, Leo, Lucas. -This is in '99.

And Diego...

I would go in with a red sweatshirt,

red pants and a red bag,

and when he would arrive, he would laugh and say,

"How are you, Santa Claus?"

-He would hide people's shoes. -He always did that to me.

He always started the pranks and jokes.

I suddenly realized that I had lost my car keys.

I couldn't find them anywhere,

and the match had to start already.

I entered the dressing room to get the children.

When I opened the door,

Leo goes [engine noises]

and says, "Are these the keys you lost?"

No way, he had them?

He was always so serious. Deep inside, he was a prankster.

I was never included in the group.

Somehow, I was always left out.

You would climb a loquat tree

and eat loquats and strawberries.

Those summer days in the trees...

-He was so small, so quiet. -But he was very naughty.

-It wasn't easy with him. -But I liked

that there was no evil in him. He wasn't malicious.

He was shy, or withdrawn.

Actually, I don't think he had any problems with his peers.

Maybe with other adults, but not with his peers.

In many tournaments,

the prize was a bicycle for the winners.

Do you remember, Franco? The tournament with the bike.

We were losing 2-0, and Lionel was nowhere to be found.

[man] Did you play for a bicycle?

[all] No, a bicycle for each player.

-[man] Eleven bicycles. -[all] Yes.

There were also prizes for second and third place,

but we wanted the bikes.

Dad, I'll be late for the game!

He locked himself in the bathroom.

[announcer] The players of Newell's Old Boys,

one, Juan Leguizamón,

two, Mariano Miró,

three, Bruno Milanese,

four, Héctor Correa,

five, Lucas Scaglia,

six, Federico Rosso,

eight, Franco Casanova,

nine, Diego Rovira,

ten, Gerardo Grigiri,

eleven, Lionel Messi.

[*]

[all applaud]

-Where have you been? -You're amazing, kid!

Stop, this is a final, and we're losing!

Shut up! It's your fault!

We're losing 2-0.

Picture, picture.

Pablito! You can't kick the ball like that!

-How much time left? -Twenty minutes.

Hey, ref! Substitution.

Do you mind?

Pablito, come, come.

The goalkeeper is bad at low kicks.

Come on, Leo, come on!

Jorge, his father, used to take him to the club,

and he would not socialize with the other parents.

He was a quiet man.

He would stand behind the goal and watch his son play.

Do you remember when he didn't manage to score a goal?

He would come with the ball right up to the goalkeeper,

and would dribble until he scored.

And if he didn't score, he would get angry.

He wasn't able to finish a game without scoring.

-He asked for all the balls. -He had to touch all balls.

That hasn't changed.

Yes, he gets angry, it's normal.

As if his toy was taken away from him.

It was like that even when he was little...

I never removed him because people would've rioted.

He's a nine-year-old boy who wants to play,

and you take him out of the game, of course he gets angry.

[all] Goal!

[blows the whistle]

He is a figure in our history.

Could someone like Messi be born in Korea?

No. Not even in Germany.

There are several such stories about him coming in late

and saving the game.

Do you remember how happy we were?

You are a champion.

Leo on and off the pitch was two different people.

When you scored for the third time, I couldn't believe it.

You came in with 20 minutes remaining

and completely turned the game around.

They put him on the pitch and it's...

Goal, goal, goal.

You're a star.

Why'd you get him this bike?

You couldn't find a bigger one?

Stop bothering him.

Every day the same joke?

How'd you get out of the house?

God, what happened here?

We were so successful that we were invited to Peru.

Remember when you returned from Peru?

Yeah, from Cantolao.

[Franco] We played a tournament in Peru when we were eight.

We stayed in family homes.

There were two, three children with each family.

Leo!

* Leo, Leo *

There is also a story about Rosario's playing style.

A lot of footwork, lots of nutmegs.

He motivates the players around him.

He brings out the best in everyone.

You feel confident.

When he gives you the ball, you feel you have to do it well.

There was a commitment.

There's the group.

Well, these moves are typical of Leo.

We won these games by a wide margin,

and in the end we were champions.

It was amazing.

-Everyone would go to see him. -He was wonderful.

When he was little,

he was very frail, thin...

He was so small.

But this little dwarf drove everyone crazy.

Off the pitch you wouldn't have given him a second glance.

We thought, "This kid can't make it."

Because one didn't know if he would grow up

or what would happen to him.

I know he was treated by an endocrinologist in Rosario.

Yes.

He was nine the first time I met him in '97.

Well, as we said in previous visits,

the tests confirm a growth hormone deficiency.

What does that mean, doctor?

He lacks a hormone he needs to grow normally.

So he won't grow any more?

If we don't fix that deficiency and start the treatment,

it'll be very difficult for him to grow to a normal height.

So what is the treatment?

There are injections in devices that resemble pens.

They are very easy to use.

You've probably seen them being used by diabetics.

He needs to be injected with the hormones every day.

Is this an aggressive treatment?

They're just injections.

The needle is very thin. It hardly hurts.

But the treatment is expensive.

We will do everything possible to make the insurance cover it.

Can I keep playing soccer?

Yes, of course, why not?

You've always been the shortest on the team, haven't you?

Don't worry, you'll grow up and become taller than Maradona.

I don't know if you will be better, but certainly taller.

When I went to pick him up,

he would say, "Wait a minute, I'm coming."

We'd go to my house after a game

and Leo would disappear.

If he went to a sleepover,

he would take the injection kit with him.

And he injected himself.

He was so brave. He was just ten or eleven.

[Cintia] I remember his mother saying

that he had learned to inject himself to go on a school trip.

To him, the treatment wasn't strange at all.

He took it as something normal.

Everyone knew about it.

[man] When you're offered a growth treatment for your son,

I imagine there are many doubts,

you consider all the risks...

They made the decision.

And obviously it worked.

[woman] Every mother wants her child to be healthy,

obviously she wanted that.

And Lionel probably wanted it the most.

Leo, tell me when you get the shot.

It's okay, Mom, I'm done.

Don't you want me to help you?

No, really. I'm fine.

Well, I'm going to take a shower.

When he came back, he would say,

"I had to inject myself for the treatment."

This is what he used.

Is that what made Messi into Messi?

-No. -Oh!

Some people say he received the treatment to be a star.

If that were true, I would've given it to my son!

If he hadn't received that treatment...

After all, he had talent,

but he wouldn't have gotten the same opportunities.

-No, he wouldn't. -I'm not sure.

In one of the last pictures I have,

he is half a head taller than me.

It's amazing how he grew.

He was quite aware that the treatment was helping him.

Everyone who has walked that alley

knows that cars hardly drive through there

because there are children playing soccer there.

These alleys are an integral part

of the children's stories.

He must have learned how to deal

with stressful situations

from the Newell/Central rivalry.

-Rosario is an extreme city. -Extreme in everything.

It's amazing in terms of soccer.

There are cities that are identified with culture.

Rosario is known for soccer.

The city of Rosario is all about soccer.

Because the field where he played is still inside him

and will stay with him for the rest of his life.

-That makes him different. -Exactly.

-That's the difference. -That's the difference.

If you give growth hormones to a child that grows normally,

you won't change anything.

He will grow according to his genetics.

The hormone only helps those who lack it.

Say, kid, do you know

you're not allowed to walk around here alone?

I'm talking to you.

What's up? Can't you hear?

That's a nice bike, buddy.

What's the matter? Can you lend it to me?

Leave him alone, Martín.

What's the matter?

Little baby gonna run home and cry to mommy?

I'd rather cry than be a fucking wimp like you.

[laughs] What did you say?

Oh, so you're a wimp and deaf?

[Varsky] Rosario.

Che Guevara was from Rosario.

He was terribly stubborn, stubborn as a mule.

-What time is it? -I don't know.

-He must be playing somewhere. -This boy is unbelievable.

I don't understand why he didn't come back.

What happened?

-Leo, what happened to you?

Some kids beat me up and stole my bike.

I can't believe it.

They stomped on my shots.

How did it happen?

-They laughed at me. -They laughed at you?

If children laugh at you,

you put your head down and keep walking.

They laughed at my size.

Lionel, this is what will help you grow.

Do you understand?

You can't lose your doses when someone laughs at you.

Do you know how much each shot costs?

Enough, stop.

Did they hurt you?

No, Mom, don't worry. They ended up running off.

The treatment continues throughout the growth period.

When he started it, his height was 1.24m, 1.25m.

-He's under 1.70m now. -He's close to that...

-Let's say 1.68 m. -Surely less than 1.70m.

-Now his height is 1.69m. -He grew about 40 cm.

Let's see how tall you are.

Stand up straight and don't cheat.

Move.

Well, well done, you're growing nicely.

You've grown a little more.

Yes, I want to be a soccer player.

That would be cool.

-Did you play last Sunday? -Yes, we won.

Really? How many goals did you score?

Three.

So you want to be a soccer player?

-Like who? -Like Tata.

-Tata? -And Aimar.

Awesome. You gonna play for Newell's?

Yes.

-Score a goal for me. -Yes, I'll dedicate it to you.

Excellent. You owe me that.

-Yes. -Okay.

-He dedicated a goal to you? -No, he still owes me.

But I want him to do it on Newell's pitch.

Let him score as many goals as he wants now.

When he comes back, he can dedicate it to me

on Newell's pitch.

[announcer] Rosso is looking for the ball,

Rosso to Messi.

Messi runs, leaving a player behind,

trying to score! He shoots... goal!

[man] I lived three blocks from the building.

He'd come over for milk; Leo, Lucas Scaglia, Geri.

And we'd play PlayStation.

Leo wasn't so good at it.

-No no. -Because he said on TV...

He wasn't that good at Playstation.

Now I don't know.

He wasn't so good when he was younger.

I remember we played FIFA 94 and 95.

-Family. -No, Sega.

He would turn it off.

-You remember, right? -When he was losing,

he would go over and turn it off.

He was a sore loser.

He didn't know how to lose at PlayStation and Sega.

At Lucas's, it was the same.

How are you, Lucas?

Hi, Leo.

Where are your parents?

They'll be gone all afternoon. Let's play World Cup.

No, not the World Cup, let's play Champions.

Let's have a tournament.

Okay, if you want to lose.

But with shirts.

No, my mother will get mad.

-Why? -Because you destroy them.

You know it's better with shirts.

Yes, well...

-I want Madrid. -No, Madrid's mine.

[all] Goal!

This is the only shirt Leo would wear.

He'd get there and put it on

and would'n't take it off till he left.

He was crazy about Barcelona. He really loved it.

Kluivert was playing at that time.

-Rivaldo. -All these players.

-He's alone, take the ball! -Go ahead!

Pep Guardiola with the bicycle kick!

Goal.

-Hello. -Hi, what's up?

This is Antonella, my cousin. She lives upstairs.

Do you want something from the kitchen?

We ordered pizza.

-[kid] Goal! -[kid 2] What a stupid goal.

How did Leo's face look when he saw Antonella?

-Imitate him. -[laughs]

-Who fell in love with whom? -He did.

-So he fought for her. -He worked hard.

He met her when he was 11.

And in the end, he married his girlfriend from Rosario.

This also says something about his character.

He could travel the world, appear in gossip columns...

He will return to Newell's, because he is a loyal man.

And here is a picture

from the annual trip in seventh grade.

We have a DVD from this trip.

Go Lepra!

Oh...

I heard he's a great player.

Go Lepra!

Look at me there!

There's Walter.

There's Leo.

Cintia.

-[man] Where are you, Cintia? -[Cintia] We saw it already.

[man] I remember when Walter trying to drive...

[Walter] I crashed into everything.

[man] He would collide, break free,

crash, break free, crash!

Well, come on. Up until then, I had only ridden a tricycle.

They did a report on him when he was with me,

when he was about 12.

-First and last name. -Lionel Messi.

Did you know that we chose you as the best player on the pitch?

No.

He talked about the goal.

The second one.

Well, tell me about the second goal.

Federico Rosso throws it in,

Grigini passes it to Lucas.

Lucas sends it back to me, and I knock it in.

[reporter] You scored two goals, right, Messi?

To whom do you dedicate this championship?

To my father, my uncle, my whole family,

and everyone who knows me.

-To his whole family. -I know his parents,

I don't think they ever asked him to say that.

No, it comes naturally to him.

Jorge is like that.

[announcer] Corner kick, Messi passes it to Giménez,

Giménez to Messi... he fires!

And it's off the post.

That was close.

[all boo]

In October 1999, Jorge approached the fence

behind field two where we practiced.

I said hello to him, and he said,

"Enjoy these last two months."

Yeah, you told me that.

I asked him why,

and he said, "Enjoy them, because I'm taking him away."

And I looked at him and said, "Where are you taking him?"

After all, Leo was untouchable.

"As long as you don't take him to Central, it's okay."

He was lucky.

Yes, and why did he leave?

He told me... I don't remember if he had lost his insurance

or if he had had a problem at work.

We need to call Messi and ask him what happened exactly.

My father was about to be fired. So we had a problem.

He said he didn't have money for the medicine,

which was necessary for him.

Otherwise, he would remain that size.

Two clubs couldn't give him the treatment.

Newell's and River.

He tried out for River too.

I think so.

-He tried out for River. -Yes, in Buenos Aires.

The family said that Newell's

wouldn't agree to finance the treatment.

López must want to die now.

And River were willing to finance half of it.

-Right. -So small...

maybe the managers thought, "This kid has no future."

And there was a political and economic crisis in Argentina.

The country had gone to shit.

Devaluation, pesofication...

And the insurance had problems to pay for the treatment.

Leo's father appealed to many people,

he looked for clubs in Argentina

that would finance the treatment.

Jorge felt he was abandoned,

and he wanted to take him out to show his anger.

I mean, we had a star in the club,

because he had a bright future,

and they couldn't help him.

No one took the chance.

Only Barcelona agreed to bet on him.

Celia talked about it at school,

and said that neither they nor the club

could finance the treatment.

There were many factors that,

upon the arrival of the Barcelona representative,

led to his father saying, "Yes, we are going."

If Leo had stayed in Argentina,

I'm not sure that he would have gotten this far.

No.

Only the two of them traveled.

-Yes. -Leo and his father.

-He was so young. -The family stayed here.

He left at the age of 13.

I still remember the day he left.

You threw him a farewell party. I was late.

We threw him a farewell party, and we had five power outages.

And then we had five days without electricity.

Right, but it was very moving,

because he was so connected to us, to the neighborhood.

It was terrible.

Yes, I remember that the next day everyone cried.

-He cried too. -[Walter] Obviously.

I am very sad, but also very happy.

because of the place where I'm going to play.

Do you like it, Leo?

Smile, come on.

Leo, smile.

Well, hurry up.

We need to go out, we'll take a walk.

Comb your hair for your mom. Well done.

You missed a spot. There.

You're so slow. And you want to play soccer?

[reporter] After you came from Newell's,

where you had friends, were you nervous?

How did you feel at the beginning,

during the first practices?

Yes, during the first days, I was a little stressed,

but then I adapted and...

When he arrived at La Masía, he was 13 years old,

and it was a bit strange.

In the first days, in the dressing room,

Leo always sat off to the side.

[reporter] So did you talk to anyone?

No.

Well, one person, but not much.

What is this boy doing here?

I don't know, he must have run away from home.

The tryouts for ballboys are tomorrow.

He would come to the dressing room and sit in the corner,

looking at everyone around.

A corner from which you can see everything.

Panoramic.

After that, he felt comfortable.

What did they ask you to do in practice?

We worked with the ball, shots on goal,

we had exercises with cones, one-on-one.

And at the end we finally had a match.

[*]

[*]

-What's your name? -Messi.

Messi.

He was very fragile. He was a kid, just a kid.

He was extremely small, but also extremely good.

I remember the coach would tell us,

"Don't go hard at him because he's small.

He's fragile, don't kill him."

But you couldn't catch him.

We would say, "No, don't worry."

But because we couldn't catch him!

[Piqué] When I met 13-year-old Leo,

I wondered if he would be able to play professional soccer.

That was the big question.

There are many talented kids

who can dribble and score 20 goals.

I have seen many great soccerers who disappeared.

This is very good.

Yes, that's it. Header, header.

[phone rings]

-Hello. -I love your boy.

He's phenomenal.

Good. So?

Right now I'm meeting with the board.

Thank you, bye.

Excellent.

Shall we go out and celebrate?

-Listen to me, the kid's a star. -Right now.

But what'll happen when everybody's three heads

taller than him?

Then we'll pay for his treatment.

Do you know how much that costs?

What if we pay and then it doesn't work?

You have to see him, really.

He's one of the best I've ever seen.

If we reject him,

we'll regret it for the rest of our lives.

There were people who objected,

and there were people who were impressed by him.

We are a soccer club, not a charity.

"We can't do it now with a child his age.

We'll think about him when he's 17 or 18."

In a few years, it could be too late.

This boy will be on one of the five best clubs in Europe.

What did you do in your first days in Barcelona?

We walked around the city.

[man] He arrived, and Rexach had to see and examine him,

but Rexach wasn't there. He was somewhere else.

[man 2] Charlie had to return from the Olympics.

It was difficult for the kid,

because he had to wait to be tested.

[man 3] They sat in the hotel and waited for Barcelona

to invite them for a tryout. And they didn't call them.

They sat all day in the hotel, looking out the window.

We've been waiting for two weeks.

That's a long time.

You must understand that it's not easy for the club

to take chances.

What else do you need?

I left my job in Rosario to come here.

The kid is far from his family.

Exactly, there are many things to consider.

The contract is complex and requires time to draft,

and the treatment...

It's more expensive than we thought.

And to bring the whole family here...

If it's that complicated, then we'll just leave.

Bye-bye.

Look, if it were up to me, I swear I'd sign him tomorrow.

Let me talk to the vicepresident,

and I'll get back to you in a few days.

The Olympics delayed us a bit, but he just kept playing.

-What surprised you? -Barcelona's field.

Maybe the father, Jorge, suffered more.

I didn't see that Leo suffered because of that.

The only time Leo admitted to be stressed

was during the Barcelona tryouts,

with kids who were two years older than him.

Rexach caught him when he returned.

-A former Barcelona player. -Yes.

He was the manager of the group.

What is that boy doing here?

-Which one? -That one.

Shouldn't he be in the kids' group?

Well, that's the kid.

It says here he just celebrated his 13th birthday,

but he has some hormone issue.

They want us to pay for the treatment,

but we can't promise anything. -Shut up already.

[*]

Call the club.

Tell them we need this kid at any cost.

Only an idiot would see Messi playing

and not realize how good he is.

[man] What Leo did there...

It was clear that he should be signed.

When they asked for my report,

I wrote in the comments "Little Maradona,"

because he resembled him very much.

Left-footed, head bowed, in excellent shape, strong.

Speed, performance, he had it all.

He was a little Maradona. I had no doubt.

[reporter] Tell me about Barcelona.

First, when you heard that you might have an opportunity

and then how you felt when you were there,

when you trained at the club.

It's really fun to be there, to play in Barcelona,

in the biggest club in the world. It's cool.

Because Lionel went first, and then Matías.

They left gradually.

I remember that, when Matías left,

his grandfather took him in a van,

and he suddenly hits the windshield.

"Stop, Grandpa, stop!"

Then he gets down and kisses the street corner,

says bye, and leaves.

I think there is something special in that neighborhood.

I don't know what. You leave, but you always come back.

It has us.

It's really special.

He was in a somewhat unusual situation for a while.

He was in Barcelona, his family was here.

And the documents still hadn't arrived.

Only Leo and Jorge received a resident certificate.

He told me that it was hard for the whole family.

He also suffered because of the language,

he was learning Catalán.

My name is María.

I'm nine years old

and I'm from Argentina.

Nice. Now in Catalán.

[speak Catalan]

I don't know, and I don't care.

Yes, yes, I know.

But what is FIFA saying?

I don't know, insist.

You have to fix this,

you have to talk to them, push them.

Okay. We'll talk tomorrow, okay.

They haven't talked to Newell's yet.

Can you believe it?

We've been here for four months now,

and Leo still hasn't signed.

You know what it's like to train every day with the team

when you can't participate in the championship?

Come.

Do you think it makes sense to stay here?

What? What are you trying to say?

Are you seeing us?

We are lost.

We're far from our family, from our home and friends.

María can't learn Catalan. She will lose a school year.

And Matías is depressed. He misses his girlfriend.

Fuck.

You know this business. This is a difficult business,

and no matter how good Leo is,

there are things we can't control.

Maybe you should stay with him.

I don't know, I'm just saying.

Think about the children, they are his siblings.

I'll talk to Leo, okay?

We'll see what he says.

So you're here, Leo.

Look, I talked to your mother.

I want to play for Barcelona.

Okay.

I'll stay here with you.

[Messi] And now I'm back, and I feel good.

I haven't found my rhythm yet.

His goal was to play for Barcelona,

and he went with it to the end.

He had balls.

"I'm going to succeed in Barcelona, so I'm staying."

Then his mother returned to Argentina.

Celia returned while he stayed with Jorge.

And that destroyed him.

And yet, he was convinced that he would succeed.

He would look at you and say, "I will reach the A club,

I'll be the best player."

[man] I think if you asked Leo

what was the hardest moment in his amazing story...

Be it the shots,

being criticized on the national team...

If when Pekerman didn't play him in the match against Germany...

The most difficult moment for him was this moment,

when his family split up.

He felt a little guilty because he was there with Jorge

while Celia was here.

No one could guarantee him that it would work.

After a year, they may say, "Thank you, go home."

I think his mother would go to visit him and return.

But at least his father was always with him in Barcelona,

because...

I went through it, I went to England when I was 17.

And I traveled completely alone,

and even though I was 17, it was hard for me too.

But when you look at where we are now, it was for the better.

He didn't live in La Masía.

He lived with his father in a big apartment.

A whole year passed before Jorge found out

if he was staying or not. Why?

The process of signing the contract was complex and slow.

Any of us, after six months,

would return to their homeland.

He didn't have a transfer permit

from Newell's, he was injured.

He injured his ankle while going down the stairs.

A home accident.

He was going to Argentina, and on the way back to Spain,

when he was sitting on the plane,

he fastened his belt next to Jorge

and burst into tears.

We met for the second time

and drafted a contract that forecast a trajectory

of seven or eight years, and I thought,

"We're signing for hundreds of thousands of pesetas."

It was scandalous for a 13-year-old boy.

Come on, champ.

Is he okay?

His family returned to Argentina.

There were managers who said, "We've gone completely crazy."

The truth is that we probably went a little crazy,

because otherwise we would not have approved this project.

He was so small that he went to another category.

He started with us, his peers,

and then they dropped him to the B club with younger kids.

In his debut match at Barça, that day Barça won 14-1.

And he scored three or four goals, as if to say,

"You've been waiting for me for so long.

I went for it, I stayed here. And look, here I am."

And in the second official match, he got injured.

They broke his leg.

They hit him hard,

and he left in an ambulance.

I would go to an internet cafe, and it would disconnect

and cut out in the middle of a sentence.

It wasn't nice, the distance.

He lost contact with many people.

He left everything here and went somewhere else.

[Cintia] Yes, and he was a teenager.

Leaving his friends was hard for him.

He started the treatment at the age of nine

and finish it in Spain.

[Piqué] There were days that he didn't practice

because he got an injection.

The doctor would say,

"Leo is not training today, because yesterday

he got an injection, and it's better to rest."

[*]

His progression was meteoric.

I lack endurance and speed.

I get tired sometimes.

Yes, a lot,

because getting above Español's youth team is a dream.

Well, I scored five goals.

I hope to keep scoring, and that's it.

In the beginning, because of the injury,

it was a little difficult, but now I'm fine.

And he came back from Spain, and we saw Leo,

he was much more muscular and taller.

Colliding with him

is like colliding with a 1.85m-tall guy.

Today, if you run into him, he doesn't move.

He has amazing fitness.

You see all the muscles.

Muscular, fibrous.

So you understand where the power, the speed,

the change of pace comes from.

Not everybody has that explosion.

He developed this physical ability over time, with help.

He got to be strong through working out hard.

-So manly. -Yes.

"You look so manly," I said to him.

Yes, he is a man.

I once saw him at a match in Cantera

when Leo was on the youth team and got his cheekbone broken.

He got elbowed.

[man] He cried, not because of the fracture,

but because he thought he wouldn't be able to play

the following week, in the Catalonia Championship final.

In the end he ended up playing wearing Puyol's mask.

I remember he told him,

"If the mask bothers you, if it hurts you,

I'll take you out." "Sure, sure, sure."

He started playing, and the mask moved because of the sweat.

He threw the mask away and played without it.

His father almost had a heart attack.

He won the game and went out.

First of all, Messi is a diamond, one of the best.

He found the way to keep shining

so that idiots couldn't overshadow his brilliance.

Some players remain in the shadows

because of stupid managers.

It says good things about whoever put him there.

It's an act of faith, the vision of someone to say,

"Let's talk about it,

even if it goes against what is accepted."

I think this is what happened with Rexach and Cruyff,

who ignored the prejudice

and created the Philosopher's Stone.

Touch the ball, control the pitch, attack when possible.

Slow down when you need to recover.

All those things.

It starts with Cruyff.

He found conditions in Barça

that didn't exist in most clubs in the world,

and he undoubtedly became the best player in the world.

Come on, come on, the first practice of the year.

I want to see you focused.

You had free time, you're rested.

Now you have to start working

and get in shape as soon as possible.

Come on, come on.

You are moving up a level,

which means that the demands are also higher.

Stop the clapping and nonsense, let's play.

Leo was playing there for Barça B,

and Frank Rijkaard asked if he could borrow some players

because they had a friendly at Das Antas in Oporto.

He was really polite.

So he said, "No, you pick the players."

"Well, then you have these." And I tell him, "Messi too."

So he looks at me and says, "Who is Messi?"

[laughs]

-Hello. -Hello.

This is the guy.

It's good to have a coach like Rijkaard,

who trusted the youngsters,

who put them in the game,

whether it was Messi or Iniesta, or somebody else...

He lets them play.

It was amazing when he put on the Barcelona shirt and played,

at the age of 16, right?

Mati, come on, it's Leo.

-Is that Leo? -Yes.

[Messi] I'm debuting this Wednesday with the A team, Mom.

What's going on, Mom? What did he say?

Sounds like he's debuting with the A team.

-Debut game? Tell me. -Give it to me.

Stop.

Yes, of course we're going. This is your debut.

Organize everything for me, we're going.

Don't bother.

Don't worry. Yes, we're going.

When I saw his debut match against Porto I think it was...

-They wore a gray shirt, right? -Gray shirt.

-A brown shirt. -Brown.

-Number 30, number 30. -My mother shouted,

"Diego, Leo is coming in."

[Messi] Today it appeared in all the newspapers.

I hope this will help me make it to the national team.

I would really like that.

The question is, is it a myth? Or is it real?

Vivas kept him from signing with Spain?

Did Grondona save him?

He said, "Organize a match and make sure he participates.

Otherwise, he will play for a different team."

It was in the semi-final match with Spain in 2003.

When we arrived, we found out that we were in the same hotel

as the Spanish team.

And they always took their own chef with them.

I'm walking, and suddenly...

someone approaches me and asks me,

-Are you Hugo Tocalli? -I'm busy, sorry.

Excuse me, Mr. Tocalli,

I want to talk to you about a young man.

Leo Messi from Rosario, you know him.

I don't talk about work with strangers.

Call the union, please.

He is 15, and they are trying to entice him to play

for the Spanish national team,

but he wants to play for Argentina.

What 15-year-old boy doesn't want to play for Argentina?

No, you don't understand, he's a phenom, a genius.

If you don't call him now and add him to the U-17 team,

we will lose him forever.

If they had paid me every time someone said that,

today I would be a millionaire. Sorry.

Sir, wait.

His father asked me to give this to you.

If you're not interested, it's fine,

but if you are, feel free to call him.

It's urgent, please.

And most importantly,

the Spaniards can't hear about this.

Okay. Anything else?

Yes, thank you, Mr. Tocalli. Thank you very much.

Bye.

I took it and turned away. I didn't even thank him.

So in the final of the youth championship,

a cook came and said he had a player that would save you?

I didn't believe him.

No, Pedrito, we're talking about the national team.

Those who train seriously play here.

Those who came to have fun should go home. Okay?

Of course, but I told you this morning, Pedro.

You didn't listen.

In the end, I am on my own,

and they're making fun of us.

They're making fun of us.

[cheering]

That disc had five of Leo's plays on it.

He took the ball, went with it, stopped.

He'd go from 0 to 100km in three meters!

That shocked me.

José and I always said

that on every youth team we needed a fast player,

a player that knows how to change pace.

I thought, "He's the one."

Before that you had no contact with him.

I didn't know anything.

Wait a minute, please.

I immediately called Omar Souto,

who was the administrative employee who was with us.

Listen to me, listen carefully.

I need you to get me a boy who lives in Barcelona.

His name is Lionel Messi.

Do you understand? Lionel Messi.

I asked him to call Spain

and check if we could contact him through Javier,

who was on the A team, or through someone else.

Thank you.

I think it took him about 40 minutes.

I'm calling from the Argentine Soccer Association.

I can't believe it.

"I spoke with the boy's father, and he is thrilled.

If a match is scheduled,

he will ask Barcelona for permission and go."

When he was 16,

they took him to the U-20 or U-18 national team.

We organized a game against Paraguay.

A game they invented on the spot.

So Leo became part of the national team.

It bounded him to the Argentina team.

If Messi had played on the Spanish team

of the most recent World Cup...

That won the European Super Cup twice...

It would've been impossible to beat them.

At this point we should have a toast

for the video, for the game you managed in the Argentine field,

because Julio approved buying a plane ticket for him.

Would Messi have been debuted at Real Madrid at 17?

I hope that in the future

I'll be able to keep playing on the A team.

In the end, he arrived at the A team

and that's the last we heard of him.

It was the right time, both in soccer, in general,

to make the A team with this particular coach

and particular lineup.

Ronaldinho adopted him as if he were his son.

The players asked the coach to call Leo.

[Messi] It's not easy to arrive at 16

and enter the dressing room,

especially with my character...

But Ronaldinho, Deco, Silvinho, Mota...

They immediately adopted me, especially Ronaldinho.

On the first day, he sat me next to him

and made everything easy for me.

The way his teammates in Barcelona received him

is a testament to Leo's character,

because everyone adopted him.

That's my Leo!

It was a very complex game...

We managed to score the first goal...

Yes, the truth is, it worked out for us...

They adopted him and helped him grow up.

Frank had a lot of patience.

[Messi] Rijkaard led me step by step, without rushing.

Sometimes I said

I didn't understand why he didn't call me to play.

[man] He really protected him.

Another coach might not have bet on him.

[Messi] Today, with a cold and examining look,

I understand that he guided me right.

And I thank him very much, because he knew

at every moment what was best for me...

Because sometimes you run too much, and you lose your way.

Then the damage is irreversible.

In Barcelona, Messi got a coach who, in my eyes,

represents the Dutch school.

Everything about Rijkaard is simply successful.

And he leads Messi to the top-class team.

Even after his debut in Barcelona,

no one imagined that he would be the best player in the world.

No.

The first goal he scored in the Barcelona stadium...

He came in that day and scored a huge goal.

Ronaldinho made the pass.

He put it over the goalie's head.

The first one to hug Messi was Ronaldinho.

[Messi] I didn't notice what he was doing,

or how we were celebrating.

I was so happy when I scored my first goal.

Then, when I watched it calmly, in detail, how we celebrated.

It proves how he feels about me, what kind of person he is.

It was as if he scored himself.

He hugged him like a father.

It was really special to see them on the field.

-It was amazing. -To see both of them...

They seemed to have fun.

Ronaldinho is a great guy.

He didn't keep it to himself, like others,

those who thought Messi would become too important.

[Messi] In the dressing room, he would come up with an idea,

and he would practice until it was successful,

and the next day he would come and show you what he learned.

Marías once said, "Ronaldinho is a beach player,

and Messi is a neighborhood player."

For Messi, every game is a neighborhood game.

Even in the stupidest game, his honor was at stake.

He continues to play as if the prize is a bicycle.

[Messi] Ronaldinho is the best player in the world,

and to play with him is impressive.

[reporter] What is your dream?

To play for the Argentine national team.

Messi's start on the Argentine national team wasn't easy.

The rst game in the World Cup, in Germany against Hungary.

When he played on the national team?

Yes, the first game.

The ball reached him,

and the defender caught him by the shirt.

And he waves his hand to escape from him.

And the referee gives him a red card for assault.

[all boo]

-That was madness. -The referee was insane.

Yes, of course.

And they removed him from the field after 30 seconds.

Leo cried in the dressing room. It was so hard for him.

It was a shame, we expected a lot from him in this game.

When did you realize that he was a different player,

that he was one of those players who define an era?

In the game against Juve,

it was the game that opened the eyes of the world.

-And there they met him. -They started talking about him.

[*]

It was amazing to see what he did on the field.

I think he was 17 years old.

He did something very impressive tonight.

He proved his talent, against a team like Juve

that expected to win.

And they committed many fouls to stop him.

He helped Andres Iniesta a lot.

He caused Juve a lot of trouble,

it's a team with high level players.

Even Capello, the coach, said, "Okay."

I have never seen a player of such quality at that age.

He has personality, speed, everything. I loved him.

There was a conversation

between Rijkaard and Fabio Capello on the field.

Fabio tells him, "Say, give him to me."

And Rijkaard says, "No, no."

Such talent should be protected.

It was an amazing evening.

The crowd really enjoyed seeing him on the field.

We haven't seen this guy before, until Camp Nou.

It was the first time everyone shouted

"Messi, Messi, Messi."

[all cheering]

And they immediately renewed his contract.

They understood that Messi's contract situation

was precarious.

Messi's contract is always precarious.

-Always. -It's been revewed six times.

We mustn't forget his international performances,

and I'm referring to his match against Chelsea.

It was unbelievable.

He must've had nightmares for a week because of del Horno.

And Mourinho's performance.

The performance.

Excellent performance.

The game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

is a decisive point in his career.

Del Horno bullied him excessively.

It was the first time I saw Messi in a decisive match.

That game revealed a lot about Messi,

and especially about the terror

that he would inspire in his opponents.

I experienced it with you

when we went to a bar to watch the Real Madrid-Barcelona game.

He scored a hat trick, didn't he?

-It was a long time ago. -Yes, three goals.

He scored the three goals in the derby.

That was huge.

-That was huge. -Really good.

And then comes who I consider the best coach in the world.

Without a doubt.

The team that Guardiola receives

had Messi, Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Henry.

Awesome.

They had to do many things,

and they did them fast.

Ronaldinho is out.

Ronaldinho leaves, Messi gets the number ten.

And then you start to think that maybe...

Laporta says to Ronaldinho, "Our story is over."

They both cried and hugged each other.

After the tears, Laporta left the house,

took a phone and called Jorge Messi.

He said he had something to tell them.

"Leo, you're the leader."

He was 21 years old.

I guess his first reaction was,

"You're screwing my friends, my adopted brother."

And yet, the second thought was,

"How will the group be? How will we play?

Which players will come?"

I think that at that moment, Messi wasn't the leader.

I think that, at 21, Messi wasn't the leader of Barça.

That's just how it was presented to him.

The leader of Barcelona was Guardiola.

The leader who decides to give Messi center stage is Guardiola,

and he does it on a certain day,

against Real Madrid, when the score is 2-6,

when he actually removes Eto'o from the group,

giving him a side position as a right-wing striker.

He puts Messi as the center of the team,

as a center-forward.

This is a decision of symbolic importance.

That says, "We will build the team around you."

Because until then, the group wasn't built.

But it's not Messi's decision. It's Guardiola's decision.

Messi grew, partly because maybe Guardiola understood

that Eto'o was a tribal leader who didn't really help Messi,

because he overprotected him.

And Messi preferred not to have Eto'o around him.

Ronaldinho was taken out

because he believed Ronaldinho's aura

overshadowed Messi.

He figured that he inevitably had to adopt this role.

But Guardiola created this scenario.

When you knock on the door and say "Good afternoon,"

everyone knows who you are.

When Guardiola opens the door of the dressing room,

everyone knows what the game is.

That's the coach's goal.

And the Barcelona team is improving under his leadership.

A whole generation at Messi's service.

No one argued with Messi.

And those who argued with Messi ended their journey at Barça.

What would happen if Cristiano Ronaldo played in Barcelona,

and Messi played with Mourinho?

Good question.

[Menotti] Would it have been the same,

or maybe Cristiano Ronaldo would have left

as other great players did?

Leo likes to play in the neighborhood playground

with friends.

He likes to play with people

who feel the same way about soccer.

He mainly needs close partners, right?

Friends.

Eventually, they reach a certain connection,

give and take, give and take.

I remember that Zlatan came for a year,

and he was a much more anarchic player.

He was a great player,

but it was difficult for Leo to connect with him.

Does Messi have to play with the best players,

or with those he gets along best with?

With those he gets along with the best, who can be the best.

There were forwards who had to move

because they were in the diagonal line of Leo.

Villa, Eto'o, Bojan Krkic, Ibrahimovic.

This is how they play in Barcelona.

If you want to play differently, go to another team.

Ibra was an obstacle, just another defender.

Yes, yes, he was a barrier.

Messi needs perspective.

If Messi has the ball, and you want to help him,

you have to keep the opponent away from him

and let him play one-on-one.

What does it mean "to help"?

It's to give a teammate the best possible conditions.

-It's called helping. -Exactly.

In my opinion, first of all we need to define

why he is such an amazing player.

After all, soccer is not so mysterious,

you don't need to talk so much.

You don't need 4-3-4,

which sounds like telephone numbers.

In soccer, there are four actions.

And they are to define, develop, respond and protect.

These are the four actions.

Messi started by being an excellent setter.

First as a midfielder, from the side, but then...

We have found a new position in soccer.

-A false nine. -A false nine.

He invented this position to take advantage of his skill

in the best way.

Without a doubt, and all credit to Guardiola.

He plays outside, he plays inside,

he plays wherever he wants,

because he is a wonderful player.

He just needs to be a good defender.

What about his sprint the other day to take the ball from Kun?

His father, Jorge Messi, told me about the day

he realized that his son would be successful.

He told me that they made a circle, Messi was in the center.

He took the ball, and as soon as it reached the center,

he ran straight to the feet of whoever was holding the ball,

and took it from him.

He wanted the ball more than anything else.

-Messi needs the ball. -Exactly.

He is like a violinist

that's not allowed to play the violin.

Or they let him play every two minutes,

"Now it's your turn."

They've been playing for an hour,

and the idol, the genius who plays the violin,

has only two notes.

If Messi doesn't have the ball, he's just an ordinary player.

Because if you give Messi thirty balls or just five...

I've seen matches of our national team

where Messi got the ball only four times.

It takes a miracle to score four goals from four passes.

It's impossible.

The ball should always be with Messi,

because then you know that at least

he will always make sure he reaches a teammate.

And then you breathe a sigh of relief.

At one of the meetings, I asked Maradona to go outside,

and I asked everyone

how many balls will Maradona be given?

Everyone just looked at me, and I said, "All of them."

That's why Busquets, Xavi, or Iniesta

are so important for his way of playing,

for the ball to reach him.

Besides, he has the advantage that when they see each other,

they look straight in the eye, because they are the same size.

The same weight.

This is also important. You see everything.

You have no idea how important it is

for a soccer player's career

to have three or four serious players on the field.

We can give ourselves a medal and say it's true...

[all laugh]

But Leo is Leo regardless of who he plays with.

I once heard Cruyff say that it all started...

With Xavi.

He always keeps the pace. When Xavi takes the ball,

he quickly passes it to Messi

only when he is free and able to react.

He doesn't just pass him the ball to see what he'll do.

And recently, he also has Iniesta.

You understand each other very well.

You know when you should pass the ball to him

so that he breaks forward.

And sometimes he gives it back to you in a perfect way...

You are good players with a similar profile.

-They are... -Connected.

Connected, yes.

Even if I played with him all my life,

I wouldn't be able to return a good ball to him.

[announcer] Time is running out for Barça,

midfielder Dani Alves enters. Thierry releases the ball,

Samuel Eto'o comes forward, waiting.

He passes it to Leo Messi, he holds Messi in the box...

He leaves the ball to Andrés Iniesta!

Iniesta shoots... goal.

[all] Goal!

[announcer] Barça's goal!

Andrés Iniesta's goal in the 93rd minute!

What an awesome kick!

It's amazing for Barça to reach the final

of the Champions League in Rome.

Andrés Iniesta again!

Leo Messi again!

Barça is going to Rome!

That's why I say that for many, soccer is played with the feet.

For me, soccer is played with the head,

your feet are just interpreters.

What I like about him

is that he always turns a disadvantage into an advantage.

A short man that uses his body well can beat a big guy.

It's always under the control area.

Yes, he does not have the option to clean up.

He's down here, so if he's pushing,

if you're pushing here...

At that time in Barcelona, there were many short players,

and they all had this feature.

They took advantage of the tackle.

Because, if someone runs into you, you speed up.

You'd think he can't perform headers because he's short.

I wish I could hit like him. His head is like a hammer.

There's a picture from the final...

Was it the Champions League?

-Yes. -The goal he scored.

Crazy height.

It was a huge leap.

I heard Piqué talking about the practice.

I've seen this a lot during practices,

when I had to follow him as a defender.

You know the feeling,

when you know what he's going to do?

You know what he will do to you.

You know he will go there.

I know where he will come at me from.

But even when you know, you can't stop him.

-He goes out anyway and runs. -Right.

I have the feeling that if he wants to pass you, he just does.

Otherwise, he wouldn't do it.

He plays with you.

And you know he will touch the ball,

and it looks like two touches,

but it's only one touch.

He chooses whether to touch it or not,

because it doesn't matter if he touches it or not.

But when you take a step, he always does the opposite.

When I hear people praising Messi,

I think they should see this.

This is the most important, and much more beautiful.

He can score, yes. There are many who score beautiful goals.

When the ball reaches Messi, he never doubts.

[ovation]

They asked me what I thought about him.

I said he was a monster.

Few times have I seen a player run so fast

with the ball so close to his feet. Few times.

His big advantage is in driving the ball.

Instead of a defender taking a step, he takes two.

-So he can go right or left. -Right.

And again, it's...

-It's a big advantage. -It's a big advantage.

Every step he takes is an opportunity to change course.

Yes. That's why he needs so many touches.

That's why Barcelona is so good,

because they make a lot of touches.

The people around him know that he needs a lot of touches.

This part of Barcelona is wonderful.

Even in slow motion, it looks fast.

It looks at a different speed, it's not slow at all.

He controls the ball with dizzying speed.

When he is angry with someone,

he'll nutmeg them.

When you think about it, he can do it all the time,

but he doesn't.

He does what he wants, when he wants to do it.

He scored a goal the other day.

Iniesta passes the ball to Alexis Sánchez,

and Messi is pushed in the middle.

As if to say, "Excuse me, I can do this."

He takes control

and puts it in the only place the ball can go.

And that is why he is Messi.

It's magic.

In crowded places, he's sly

and pulls a rabbit out of the hat for you.

To score or pass the ball.

He makes a substitution within 30 meters.

In free kicks, for example.

He's left-footed, I know.

But he doesn't use his right leg just to walk.

Yes, he's scored many goals with his right foot.

And there are very few lefties

who play well with their right foot.

He's not a lefty like Maradona,

in the sense that Maradona,

when he had to kick from the right,

we would do a rabona, he would do anything...

-He would make up anything... -To avoid the right foot.

But Messi can use it when needed.

There is always one leg stronger than the other,

but if the ball comes from the right side,

you have to put it in.

And you have more possibilities if you are capable of that.

What position does he play for the national team?

He is...

Free position.

In any case, you have to keep up with Messi.

Yeah, sure. But no...

It's better not to leave him alone.

No, but you can follow him in all kinds of forms.

Yes, yes.

And with Messi, one-on-one isn't enough.

You need two-on-one.

It can only be done if rules are slightly flexible.

Yes. Or you can beat him.

I don't like him getting hit or falling, it's hard for me.

Here comes the great Messi...

He's so accurate that he doesn't need to kick hard.

He always puts the ball right on the corners of the goal.

He aims as far away from the goalkeeper as possible.

He broke all the records.

Scoring three goals is normal for him.

If he scores just one goal, it doesn't seem enough for us.

We got used to the extraordinary.

In training, people miss a lot of things.

I don't want to play against him, ever.

-Nobody wants to. -[laughs]

People expect that... I don't know,

that he will do two somersaults in the air before scoring.

And his advantage

is that he is not looking for a beautiful goal.

He just wants the ball to go in.

How? Who cares.

And therefore, he can pull any move.

That doesn't matter.

That's what I like.

And a double transfer between the legs. It's almost bragging.

Like a circus.

He does exactly what is needed.

-He spares his movements. -He respects his opponent.

But he probably swears every now and then.

Because otherwise, it's like we're talking

about a wax doll.

-Well, yes. -There must be something wrong.

When Leo is angry, when he loses, he is unbearable.

Because you also know how to annoy him.

You know how to annoy everybody, you can even drive me mad.

He is always a second ahead of the game.

You don't know who is behind you, but he always knows.

He has panoramic vision,

he knows where the opponent is coming from,

where his teammates are standing.

How much room he has for maneuvering. It's a gift.

I think a turning point in Spanish soccer was

the Madrid-Barça game.

It was Mourinho's first year,

a very complex game for Barça.

This was the game where Pepe was sent off. Do you remember?

The grass was high, there were many problems.

And I think that if Madrid had won this game

and had played the European League final,

maybe that would have changed the face of Spanish soccer.

Messi prevented that.

In an amazing, extraordinary move,

he caught the ball in the center of the field.

He eluded three players, and scored an impressive goal.

I think that's where he destroyed Mourinho's Madrid.

It's true that after that,

Madrid won the league the following year,

but Barça continued to create

a feeling that this was its era.

And I think it was Messi who tipped the scales,

as if he said, "Here, in this game,

we are still in control."

He won the game with a Maradonian move.

In my opinion,

it was a sort of historic moment in Spanish soccer.

A large part of the problems Madrid had against Barcelona

were psychological.

I think Messi had a noticeable impact on these games.

This feeling that everything starts and ends with Messi,

it was just too much for Madrid at some point.

[announcer] An opportunity to score a penalty goal

for Leo Messi.

He looks focused.

[*]

What are you good at?

Everything.

You will be the best player in the world.

[announcer] Messi shoots... goal!

Goal for Barcelona soccer club!

Barcelona is already tired of winning.

It almost bores them.

It's like saying the Mona Lisa is boring,

and to have fun, you'll draw a mustache on her.

You cannot touch the artwork.

[announcer] Ball to Messi.

The hat trick for Messi.

Goal, goal, goal!

The stop is much more important than the speed.

-Obviously. -And he stops.

Stops in place and then breaks out again.

Have you seen such speed?

-Yes, yes. -Who?

The Brazilian dude. Pelé.

I think Pelé is in another realm.

When talking about soccer, don't mention Pelé,

because Pelé is from another planet.

He has something from every great player throughout history.

He has the control of Zidane, the speed of Ronaldo.

One of the first times he won the Ballon d'Or award,

I was so excited.

As if I had won it.

Lionel Messi.

[applause]

Lionel Messi.

I thought, "This is so nice."

I was moved almost to tears.

Obviously.

Leo Messi, this is his fourth Ballon d'Or.

He is a great player, there is no doubt about that.

Yes, no doubt.

Do you already see him by your side in history?

Yes, without a doubt.

He is already sitting next to Maradona,

next to Di Stefano, next to Cruyff.

He's already sitting at the big table.

-Did you arrange this? -What?

You are making a play, a comedy,

and you want to include me as a character.

All of your comments are to compare him to someone else.

You see?

He already did that as a child.

-He was seven or eight. -Yes.

It was half time of a Newell match.

He dribbled 300 or 400 times without dropping the ball.

You see Maradona, and you see Lionel, and they are the same.

The difference is that Lionel was younger,

and Maradona was a grown up.

It doesn't happen often. For example, Diego.

He could do it with a can, with an orange,

with a lemon, with a cork.

Messi doesn't like doing that.

That's what I meant to say, he doesn't like to show off.

He was always modest.

This is what brought him to the place where he is.

-Who's your favorite player? -Maradona.

You have similar features. You are left-footed,

you can control the ball.

You look up to Diego.

-Do you want to imitate him? -No.

That's the move I always talk about.

[*]

It's similar to Maradona's goal against the English.

Yes, they run the same distance in meters.

They encounter the same obstacles.

Maradona makes more changes of pace,

he needs to deceive more

because he's not as fast as Messi.

In contrast, Messi simply accelerates.

When you think of the base, there are many differences.

Both are left-footed, yes.

One is faster than the other...

Maradona hides the ball and shows it.

These are different periods.

Different style, different opponents.

It's impossible to compare those English defenders

with current defenders.

It was 30 years ago. It's impossible.

Diego's story is mythical,

what he did in 1986 against England,

after the Falklands War...

Maradona leads the team.

Leo defines the game.

Maradona himself made a nice comparison, he said,

"I have better field vision.

Leo has better goal vision."

Messi also has it. Both things are common to both.

Maradona has an aura, he carries the team on his shoulders.

He shouts at the fans, he curses at those

that boo our national anthem.

Leo carries the team in the match.

-He leads the way. -He's a natural leader.

He leads people, his friends.

-Not out of tyranny. -Not out of tyranny.

He doesn't force anything.

Messi was Maradona.

But he wasn't Maradona every now and then,

as happened to Maradona.

Messi was Maradona, not every day, but every minute.

I remember Diego's matches with Napoli,

where Diego would disappear from the field sometimes.

I don't agree with that.

Why not?

Maradona invented Napoli.

-Messi didn't invent Barcelona. -Yes.

Messi added details to a work of art,

he added eyes, hair,

one last swipe of the brush.

But Napoli was just a bunch of people

running in all directions.

Napoli was a team of the Italian lower class.

And they beat the powerful Milan...

What Maradona did was epic.

The stars aligned well for them.

That's why the comparison is unfair.

Leo is Leo, Diego is Diego.

Leo will always be Leo.

And if you asked me today who is better, Leo or Diego,

I'd say Leo.

That's my humble opinion.

We Argentinians often compare them in everything,

in the number of similar goals he scored in his career.

And the one with the hand, did you see?

-No. -The one with the hand.

Look at the handball that Leo does.

Exactly the same as Maradona's.

Amazing.

If Maradona had scored the hand goal,

and hadn't scored the second goal,

no one would remember "the hand of God."

He is remembered because it was against the English.

Because in addition to this goal,

he was the best player in the entire championship.

Look, it's exactly the same. Right.

It's a miracle. It seems to be pre-ordained.

The extremism,

the exaggeration that surrounds Diego off the pitch.

Leo doesn't have that.

Diego Maradona has to be shut up.

It's bad for the public figure,

but great for the soccer player.

Diego suffered more in his life.

And maybe he's better than Maradona

precisely because of the mistakes he doesn't make.

Messi is the Argentinian we would like to be.

Maybe.

Yes, the educated Argentine who goes out into the world

and succeeds.

And Diego is the Argentine we are today.

We're more aggressive, more exaggerated.

It provokes people.

Leo was never sent off the field for such an offense

in the World Cup.

And that's my only comparison.

That's why you're sitting like that.

You don't want to listen or say anything.

I sit with folded hands, it means my lips are sealed.

Because now you are only dealing with comparisons.

I am not comparing.

I repeat, I don't want to get into comparisons.

I repeat, both of them are exceptional players,

the best players in the world.

Among the best players in history.

I just don't want to make comparisons.

When asked, he asks not to be compared.

I think Maradona was better. I don't know.

I have no way to know if he is better.

I already said who was the greatest in my eyes.

After him, everyone is great.

Thank God that Messi exists, imagine he didn't.

Then we would still be talking about Maradona.

And that's ridiculous.

Therefore, there is no room for comparison.

You just have to enjoy.

-Who is your idol? -Maradona.

Leo, I just wanted to say that I love you.

You're so great.

Let everyone talk.

You will be the best in history.

We will decide that when you reach the end of your career.

Enjoy today, and be happy with your family.

I love you very much, Leo. I mean it.

I have never seen a bad match from Messi.

Out of 100 games, I might have seen him play bad three times.

He's not a robot, he's a kid.

I only saw two matches where Messi was booed,

in Copa América in Santa Fe,

and in Monumental Stadium against Bolivia.

In the preliminary game to...

But I think that this was the crowd's reaction to the team.

When the team plays poorly,

they don't attack the right striker,

they attack the main character.

The free kick? Do you remember the free kick?

He kicked it into the fourth row.

Everyone booed him.

And it's okay to be booed. I would boo him too.

If I had been his coach, I would've told him,

"I can't allow that." But that's all.

[all boo]

Why do you emphasize the fact that he was booed?

They booed the team.

Well, he was booed.

Obviously he was booed.

That was another Messi.

Many times, people repeat things they heard.

There were journalists who made an issue of it,

people joined them,

and they started talking about the fact

that he is not devoted to the team.

There were jokes about Messi.

I'm talking about the people on the street.

They say...

He is a failure, he has no balls.

He has no soul.

I've always supported him, all my life, but that's it.

Enough, stop it. He is a lie.

He is a lie.

I was so upset when they criticized him.

It hurts you too.

All this kid ever wanted to do was play for the national team

and they criticized him.

He has no soul. He walks the field.

He should never be compared to Maradona.

Don't be mean.

They slapped him in the face for not singing the anthem.

His music teacher...

I'm sure I taught him the national anthem.

I went to Santa Fe,

where there was Leo's story with the anthem.

[Argentine national anthem plays]

Everyone, including him, knew it wasn't fair.

You feel great excitement at this moment.

You think about many things.

You don't have to sing the anthem to be a proud Argentine.

I left five minutes before the end,

because it was hard for me to hear

what the people next to me were saying about Leo.

When you deal with these things, it's so mediocre.

I don't sing the anthem, ever.

[laughs]

I don't care.

Shouldn't we appreciate the fact

that he didn't want to play

for the Spanish national team?

He wanted to play for Argentina's national team.

I remember what La Volpe said.

"Stop criticizing him. Leave him alone."

He considered leaving the team.

"One day he'll get fed up and won't come back."

Nevertheless, he kept coming.

Leo's more Argentinian than I am.

Argentina is always on his mind.

And Rosario.

He will return to play there.

He must want to enjoy things he didn't have

in his childhood, right?

Messi has lived in Spain since he was 13.

And he still speaks in a Rosarian dialect.

He doesn't speak Argentine. He speaks Rosarian.

Someone in Barcelona told me that Leo is a player

who wakes up in Rosario,

trains in Barcelona,

and returns to Rosario at the end of training.

That's him.

He is more Argentinian than dulce de leche.

I think there was some kind of transformation

for the Argentine team.

It was in the game in Barranquilla.

Yes, it was in Sabella's time.

Is Sabella here?

-On the right. -There he is.

From that day, it was Messi's team.

And Messi was the leader of the team.

There was a change.

I think the team started to play more like Messi wanted,

and not the way you thought.

Look, it happens many times.

There are games that are a turning point.

[announcer] Yes, Argentina has won.

You have to try and understand each player,

and when you have the best player in the world,

he also needs to be understood.

Messi came out, I was in the dressing room...

and he told me...

This is how the team should play today.

"This is how I like to play, to get side passes."

-He had Kun Aguero. -He had more options.

He got used to it in Barcelona.

The interesting thing is that even when he is not well,

he is there.

You think he's not there, but he is.

He's not there, but suddenly takes the ball and makes a mess.

Alejandro, you will be remembered

as the coach of the team

that let Messi play like he did in Barcelona.

We didn't admit it then, but we can admit it here.

He was the world champion in the youth group.

He was also an Olympic champion.

To win the three championships and be the best in the world

is to reach the peak.

Many say he doesn't have a World Cup,

but he has four Ballon d'Or awards.

-No one else has that many. -Exactly.

In my eyes, he is the best,

even if he doesn't win the World Cup.

But I say it would be ideal for his career

if he could also win a World Cup.

One day we will get the Falklands back,

Messi will be the general,

and we will scold him for not wearing the rosette.

When you interview Messi...

To say it's boring is an understatement.

He is a pure soul.

He throws clichés at you, one after another.

There is nothing dark in him, nothing dubious.

And it was at the time

that Leo's tax problem became public.

"Send me the questions. I will answer them."

And he answered them via email.

He knows how to dodge, even better than in the field.

It was the only interview I did by email, and I work in radio.

It's a really new experience.

There are always people who want to meddle.

If Iniesta and Xavi have a massage therapist they trust,

the board can't fire them, only they can.

And he is the man to stop it.

Can Messi say what is good for the team,

what is useful for the club?

Should he help or not?

-The answer, Ramón, is yes. -Yes.

And then he disconnected when he changed his phone number,

because he was really being hounded.

I haven't talked to Leo since the World Cup in Germany.

Really?

I can't believe it.

-I didn't want to bother him. -Exactly.

We were in constant communication

and then he broke it off, because...

Because of your phone.

Because I lost my cell phone.

Everyone who met him, when we see him running,

we say, "A drop of his sweat is mine."

For us, he is already a hero.

He doesn't have to prove anything.

Let's toast.

To Messi.

[*]

[ovation]

[all] Goal!

[*]

I have an important memory for both of us.

We were 11 or 12, and his grandmother passed away.

He said to me, "Come with me to the cemetery.

Come visit my grandma with me."

I told him, "Okay, we'll go, but it's far."

We were young, we had no idea

of what happened beyond our neighborhood.

It was terrible.

We traveled through slums.

People looked at us,

because they saw two children, dressed quite nicely.

After walking around up to there,

we finally arrived at the cemetery.

She was an important figure in his life,

because she instilled in him optimism

regarding his decision to play soccer.

He suffered so much when she died.

It took us a long time to get back.

"Where have you been?"

We said, "We went to visit Leo's grandmother."

It describes how close he was to his grandmother

that he felt a strong need to visit her,

even though he knew

how dangerous it was to leave his neighborhood.

[*]

[announcer] Giménez has the ball.

Good pass to number seven, two players left behind.

Pass to Messi, nice move by the lefty.

It might be their second goal.

Goal!

Goal!

Goal!

She really liked soccer.

She loved soccer.

Foul, foul!

[cheers]

[*]

He loved his grandmother very much.

She didn't see his success.

In every goal he scores,

he thanks his grandmother.

This move.

[*]

[*]

[*]

[*]

[*]