View Poll Results: Who will score more goals in this season

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  • Christiano ronaldo

    3 33.33%
  • Lionel messi

    6 66.67%
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  1. #31
    mampilly
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    2011–12 season

    Messi started the season in the 2011 Spanish Supercup, scoring three goals and giving two assists for a 5–4 aggregate win against Real Madrid.[144] On his next official match he scored again after a weak back pass from Fredy Guarín and gave an assist to Cesc Fàbregas for a 2-0 win against Porto at the UEFA Super Cup.[145] This was the only official competition where he hadn't scored before.[146]
    International career

    In June 2004, he debuted for Argentina, playing in an under-20 friendly match against Paraguay.[147] In 2005 he was part of a team that won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. There, he won the Golden Ball and the Golden Shoe,[148] scoring in the last four of Argentina's matches and netting a total of six for the tournament.
    He made his full international debut on 17 August 2005 against Hungary at the age of 18. He was substituted on during the 63rd minute, but was sent off on the 65th minute because the referee, Markus Merk, found he had headbutted defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt. The decision was contentious and Maradona even claimed the decision was pre-meditated.[149][150] Messi returned to the team on 3 September in Argentina's 1–0 World Cup qualifier away defeat to Paraguay. Ahead of the match he had said "This is a re-debut. The first one was a bit short."[151] He then started his first game for Argentina against Peru; after the match Pekerman described Messi as "a jewel".[152]
    On 28 March 2009, in a World Cup Qualifier against Venezuela, Messi wore the number 10 jersey for the first time with Argentina. This match was the first official match for Diego Maradona as the Argentina manager. Argentina won the match 4–0 with Messi opening the scoring.[153]
    On 17 November 2010, Messi scored a last-minute goal against South American rivals Brazil after an individual effort to help his team to a 1–0 win in the friendly match, which was held in Doha. This was the first time that he had scored against Brazil at senior level.[154] Messi scored another last-minute goal on 9 February 2011 against Portugal in a penalty kick which he give his side a 2–1 victory in the friendly match, which was held in Geneva, Switzerland.

  2. #32
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    2006 World Cup

    The injury that kept Messi from playing for two months at the end of the 2005–06 season jeopardised his presence in the 2006 World Cup. Nevertheless, Messi was selected in the Argentina squad for the tournament on 15 May 2006. He also played in the final match before the World Cup against the Argentine U-20 team for 15 minutes and a friendly match against Angola from the 64th minute.[155][156] He witnessed Argentina's opening match victory against Ivory Coast from the substitute's bench.[157] In the next match against Serbia and Montenegro, Messi became the youngest player to represent Argentina at a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Maxi Rodríguez in the 74th minute. He assisted Hernán Crespo's goal within minutes of entering the game and also scored the final goal in the 6–0 victory, making him the youngest scorer in the tournament and the sixth youngest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup.[158] Messi started in Argentina's following 0–0 draw against the Netherlands.[159] In the following game against Mexico, Messi came on as a substitute in the 84th minute, with the score tied at 1–1. He appeared to score a goal, but it was ruled offside with Argentina needing a late goal in extra time to proceed.[160][161] Coach José Pekerman left Messi on the bench during the quarter-final match against Germany, which they lost 4–2 on a penalty shootout.[162]
    2007 Copa América


    Messi at the 2007 Copa América


    Messi played his first game in the 2007 Copa América on 29 June 2007, when Argentina defeated United States 4–1 in the first game. In this game, he showed his capabilities as a playmaker. He set up a goal for fellow striker Hernán Crespo and had numerous shots on target. Tevez came on as a substitute for Messi in the 79th minute and scored minutes later.[163]
    His second game was against Colombia, in which he won a penalty that Crespo converted to tie the game at 1–1. He also played a part in Argentina's second goal as he was fouled outside the box, which allowed Juan Roman Riquelme to score from a freekick, and increase Argentina's lead to 3–1. The final score of the game was 4–2 in Argentina's favor and guaranteed them a spot in the tournament's quarterfinals.[164]
    In the third game, against Paraguay the coach rested Messi having already qualified for the quarter-finals. He came off the bench in place of Esteban Cambiasso in the 64th minute, with the score at 0–0. In the 79th minute, he assisted a goal for Javier Mascherano.[165] In the quarter-finals, as Argentina faced Peru, Messi scored the second goal of the game, from a Riquelme pass in a 4–0 win.[166] During the semi-final match against Mexico, Messi scored a lob over Oswaldo Sánchez to see Argentina through to the final with a 3–0 win.[167] Argentina went on to lose 3–0 to Brazil in the final.[168]
    2008 Summer Olympics


    Messi in the semi-final against Brazil at the 2008 Olympics


    Having barred Messi from playing for Argentina in the 2008 Olympics,[169] Barcelona agreed to release him after he held talks with newly appointed coach Josep Guardiola.[170] He joined the Argentina squad and scored the first goal in a 2–1 victory over Ivory Coast.[170] He then scored the opening goal and assisted Ángel di María in the second to help his side to a 2–1 extra-time win against the Netherlands.[171] He also featured in Argentina's match against rivals Brazil, in which Argentina took a 3–0 victory, thus advancing to the final. In the gold medal match, Messi again assisted Di María for the only goal in a 1–0 victory over Nigeria.[172]
    2010 World Cup

    Messi played the entire game on Argentina's opening match in the 2010 World Cup, the 1–0 victory against Nigeria. He had several opportunities to score but was repeatedly denied by Vincent Enyeama.[173] Messi started in Argentina's following 4–1 win against Korea Republic; he participated in all of the goals of his team and helped Gonzalo Higuaín score a hat-trick.[174] On the third and last group stage match Messi captained during Argentina's 2–0 win over Greece, again being the centrepoint of Argentina's play and was voted man of the match.[175]
    At the Round of 16 he assisted Carlos Tévez for the first goal in a 3–1 win against Mexico. The referee awarded that goal even though it was a clear offside.[176] The World Cup ended for Argentina with a 4–0 loss against Germany in the quarter-finals.[177]
    Messi was nominated in ten player shortlist for Golden Ball award by FIFA Technical Study Group. The group identified Messi with words: "Outstanding in his pace and creativity for his team, dribbling, shooting, passing – spectacular and efficient".[178]
    2011 Copa América

    Messi took part in the Copa América in Argentina, where he failed to score a goal but notched three assists. He was selected man-of-the-match in matches against Bolivia (1–1) and Costa Rica (3–0). Argentina were eliminated in the quarter-finals in a penalty shoot-out against Uruguay (1–1 a.e.t.), with Messi scoring as the first penalty taker.

  3. #33
    mampilly
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    Outside football

    Personal life

    Messi was at one stage romantically linked to Macarena Lemos, also from his hometown of Rosario. He is said to have been introduced to her by the girl's father when he returned to Rosario to recover from his injury a few days before the start of the 2006 World Cup.[179][180] He has in the past also been linked to the Argentine glamour model Luciana Salazar.[181][182] In January 2009 he told "Hat Trick Barça", a programme on Canal 33: "I have a girlfriend and she is living in Argentina. I am relaxed and happy".[182] He was seen with the girl, Antonella Roccuzzo,[183] at a carnival in Sitges after the Barcelona-Espanyol derby. Roccuzzo is a fellow native of Rosario.[184]
    Messi has two cousins also involved in football: Maxi, a winger for Club Olimpia of Paraguay, and Emanuel Biancucchi, who plays as a midfielder for Spain's Girona FC.[185][186]
    Charity

    In 2007 Messi established the Leo Messi Foundation, a charity supporting access to education and health care for vulnerable children.[187][188] In an fansite interview, Messi said: “Being a bit famous now gives me the opportunity to help people who really need it, especially children."[189] In response to Messi’s own childhood medical difficulties, the Leo Messi Foundation supports Argentine children diagnosed with medical conditions by offering treatment in Spain and covering the transport, hospital and recuperation costs.[190] Messi’s foundation is supported by his own fundraising activity with additional assistance from Herbalife.
    On 11 March 2010 Messi was announced as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF.[191] Messi’s UNICEF ambassador activities are aimed at supporting children’s rights. Messi is supported in this by FC Barcelona, who also have a strong association with UNICEF.[192]
    Media

    He is featured on the front covers of the video games Pro Evolution Soccer 2009 and Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 and is also involved in promotional campaigns for the games.[193][194] Messi, along with Fernando Torres,[195] is the face of Pro Evolution Soccer 2010, and was also involved in the motion capturing and the trailer.[196][197][198] Messi is sponsored by the German sportswear company Adidas and features in their television advertisements.[199] In June 2010, Messi also signed a three–year contract with Herbalife[200] which further supports the Leo Messi Foundation.
    On April 2011, Messi was named in the 2011 TIME 100, the magazine's annual list of the most influential people in the world.[201]
    Also in April 2011, Messi launched a Facebook page and within just a few hours his page had attracted more than six million followers. His Facebook page now has over 24 million followers.[202]

  4. #34
    mampilly
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    Greatness Personified- Lionel Messi's March Into History




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    That we are in the midst of a golden era at the Camp Nou is undeniable. In the seven seasons prior to the one just started, FC Barcelona has captured three Champions League crowns, five La Liga titles, five Supercopas de España, a pair of UEFA Supercups, a Club World Cup and a Copa del Rey.
    Beyond the otherworldly run of team success, however, something special has been unfolding at the Camp Nou. Something once-in-a-lifetime special. While the current dynasty was sparked in the middle of the last decade by the brilliance of Ronaldinho, it was not until after the toothy Brazilian’s departure that it reached its pinnacle. Seldom does a club bid adieu to a two-time World Footballer of the Year and proven champion with both club and country- admittedly one that had become increasingly injury-prone and was clearly exhibiting signs of dramatic decline.
    Then again, seldom is a club afforded the luxury of celebrating the exit of one of the greatest players of a generation by simply handing the reigns to one of the greatest individual talents the game has ever seen. It’s impossible to credit any one man for a period of such sustained greatness, particularly given Barcelona’s incredible stockpile of attacking talent, but Lionel Messi is building as strong a case for such an honor as you’re ever going to see in club football.
    One of the game’s all-time great prodigies, Messi has not only cemented his name atop the list of today’s superstars, he is poised to enter football lore as this generation’s transcendent star. To watch him make the incredible seem mundane is to know that you are watching greatness. Messi’s game does not feature the step-overs and theatrics that we’ve come to expect from the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo. Rather, his greatness is defined by a ridiculous combination of speed, agility, maneuverability and ball control, with little in the way of wasted effort.
    Going back to the middle of the last century, every decade has featured a phenomenal talent whose star outshone those of his contemporaries. In the 1940s and 50s it was another Argentine, Alfredo Di Stéfano; the 1960s belonged to Pelé; Johan Cruyff dominated the 1970s for Ajax and Barcelona; the 1980s brought the brilliance of Messi’s countryman, Diego Maradona; the 1990s and early-21st Century brought the duel of greatness between Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldinho. Messi is not only a lock to enter the pantheon as the face of his era, but barring catastrophic injury, is poised to trump the accomplishments (for club, not yet for country- elephant acknowledged) of the legends that preceded him.

    As of June 2008, he’d won two La Liga medals, a Champions’ League medal and the 2005 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, in which he was the top scorer and Most Outstanding Player. He’d become the youngest player to appear (and score) in a World Cup for Argentina, and had netted 42 goals in 110 games with Barcelona, becoming the youngest goal scorer in the club’s history as well.
    On top of all that, he was named 2005’s Argentine Player of the Year (at age 1, 2006’s Young Player of the Year by both World Soccer magazine and FIFPro and Europe’s U-21 Footballer of the Year in 2007. That year, he also won La Liga’s Foreign Player of the Year and the EFE Trophy, awarded to the top Ibero-American (Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Central and South America) player in Spain.
    This was all, y’know, prior to his 21st birthday.
    In the years since, he’s continued building a resume that compares favorably to any player of comparable age in history not named Pelé. He’s made a mockery of the difficulty associated with finding the back of the net against top-flight competition. Messi has suited up in 276 official appearances across all competitions for FC Barcelona senior squad at just 24 years of age, scoring 189 goals, netting multiple goals a staggering 61 times (22.1% of the time), with at least three in a game on ten occasions. He’s certainly not lacked for efficiency in racking up his gaudy numbers, scoring on ~22% of roughly 860 shots and tickling the twine with an awesome 44% of his shots on goal. And lest you think "La Pugla" is nothing more than a monomaniacal gunner, he’s assisted on another 80 Barcelona goals over the past 6+ seasons, including a career-best 24 last season and seven in seven games this season.
    The aforementioned goal tally places Messi third in history for goals scored in all competitions as a member of FC Barcelona. The man currently heading the list is César Rodríguez Álvarez, who scored 235 times for the club between 1939 and 1955, the last of his goals coming at age 35. Next up is Laszlo Kubala, a Hungarian transplant who struck 196 times in 11 seasons with Barcelona, also doing so into his mid-30s. If Messi is able to maintain his current, obscene scoring pace (100 goals in 108 games the past two seasons, and nine in seven games in 2011-12), he will occupy the top spot on this list before his 25th birthday. To put this in perspective, in 741 games over 16 seasons Real Madrid legend Raúl, one of the great goal scorers in La Liga history, managed 323 goals.
    Similarly, in league play, his 124 goals, again, trail only the totals for Rodríguez (195) and Kubala (131). Messi should lay claim to #2 some time in the coming weeks, and is unlikely to have to wait past his 26th birthday to overtake Rodríguez.
    In terms of Champions League scoring, in 58 appearances Messi has tallied 37 goals, 11 shy of Andriy Shevchenko’s record total of 48. If he is able to replicate last season’s 12-goal performance in the competition- which itself tied Ruud van Nistelrooy’s single-season record- he’d lay claim to the top spot there as well.
    Finally, looking at overall goal totals, a figure that takes into account friendlies and exhibitions (a sketchy figure, as it’s believed that totals for players whose careers predated widespread media coverage are somewhat inflated), Messi ranks seventh in club history with 206, just over halfway to Paulino Alcântara’s record of 357. Messi is a virtual lock to vault to #1 before age 30, and has a decent shot at doing so by 27 or 28. Incredible.
    Now, the true magic of Lionel Messi’s game cannot be quantified. It’s even difficult to put into words. What makes him so special? Maybe it’s the size, or rather, lack of size. Due to a growth hormone deficiency, he stands just 5’7" tall and weighs less than 150 pounds, making his ability to command the attention of every defender on the field all the more amazing. His counterparts dwarf him and his own uniform often appears several sizes too large, but he is never overmatched. It’s as though the gods thought it unfair to couple that talent with an imposing physique.
    He’s drawn comparisons to Maradona, not the least of which came from Maradona himself, who has said, "Messi is my Maradona." This is hardly shocking given their shared heritage, as well as each man’s diminutive stature and penchant for singlehandedly mounting a devastating attack:
    Last edited by mampilly; 09-21-2011 at 09:38 PM.

  5. #35
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    Is it the way the ball sticks to his feet? The way he slithers through, and flies past, world-class defenders, making them look peg-legged and possibly inebriated? His apparent immunity to mental blunders? Yes… but there’s more.
    It’s the way in which he commands the attention of everyone watching. From opposing defenders to television viewers thousands of miles away, to his own teammates, Messi never fails to mesmerize, whether he’s playing for a championship or in a preseason exhibition (I know, I know, not for Argentina’s senior national team. Whatever.).
    Lionel Messi not only lives up to the hype, he exceeds it. From his hat trick in March 2007 against Real Madrid (the first of his career and the first in a Clásico since 1994-95), to his awe-inspiring, Maradona-like goal against Getafe in the 2007 Copa del Rey, to his four-goal annihilation of Arsenal in the second leg of last season’s Champions League quarterfinal, to an incredible flick and volley in 2007-08 that left Sevilla keeper Andres Palop frozen in his tracks, to Sunday’s hat trick in the 8-0 drubbing of Osasuna- on the heels of consecutive disappointing results- Messi seizes a moment in a way that only the truly special ones do.
    Now, just over a month into the 2011-12 season, it’s obvious that he’s picked up where he left off last season, when he scored 53 times in 55 games, frequently delivering plays that seem to take the game to its highest elevation. Despite my best efforts, however, one can only comprehend what separates Lionel Messi from his peers by watching him play. Only then is it apparent that the man that is often the smallest player in the game is in fact its biggest star, and perhaps already the greatest individual force in the history of Spanish football.

  6. #36
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    messi wall papers
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails messi-wallpaper-7small.jpg   messi-wallpaper-6small.jpg   messi-wallpaper-1small.jpg  
    Last edited by mampilly; 09-21-2011 at 09:37 PM. Reason: hai

  7. #37
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    Personal informationFull nameLionel Andrés Messi[1]Date of birth24 June 1987 (1987-06-24) (age 24)[2]Place of birthRosario[2], ArgentinaHeight1.69 m (5 ft 7 in)[2]Playing positionStriker / WingerClub informationCurrent clubBarcelonaNumber10Youth career1995–2000Newell's Old Boys2000–2004BarcelonaSenior career*YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†2004–2005Barcelona B22(6)2004–Barcelona180(124)National team‡2005Argentina U207(6)2008Argentina U235(2)2005–Argentina60(17)

  8. #38
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    Lionel Messi: Magic in his feet

    The best footballer in the world – some say the best ever – arrives on these shores next week, and the game is agog at what he might do
    AP

    Messi: 'Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits and get on with trying to win' The good news for Arsenal fans, whose team face Barcelona next week in the Champions League, is that Leo Messi is human. The bad news is that he isn't always.

    We've seen both, man and superman, in the past week. Against Zaragoza last Sunday, as against Stuttgart five days earlier and against Valencia three days before that, there seemed no force on earth capable of stopping him. It seemed unfair; it felt as if, for the good of the game, he should be handicapped, obliged to carry weights in his underpants, or something. Eight goals the Argentinian scored in those three games, half of them works of art that people will be gawping at in museums centuries from now. The upshot was a glut of global babble about whether Messi might now be considered the best player in history, above and beyond his compatriot Diego Maradona.
    The best thing about this debate is that it seems to have put to bed the silly question of whether Messi is the best player in the world right now. Anyone who imagines that Cristiano Ronaldo is better is either uninformed or tribally prejudiced. Or just plain football dumb. Ronaldo can make something out of something – a goal from a free kick, a long-distance shot when a gap opens, a towering header in the penalty box – with awesome regularity. Messi makes something out of nothing all the time.

    Well, not all the time. In a league game against Osasuna on Wednesday night he was, by his standards, pedestrian. Barcelona won but the headlines in the Spanish newspapers next morning were "Messi didn't score!". Yet the fact that this was the sporting day's news was only further testament to his genius. Yes, genius. That is what Fabio Capello, the England manager, has called him, noting that by contrast Ronaldo (a bit of a lump on the ball, frankly, alongside Messi's watery naturalness) was merely a player "of an extremely high level".
    Messi is a creature as biologically adapted to play football as a shark is to smell blood, a salmon to swim upstream, a squirrel to gather nuts. Yet even a shark, a salmon or a squirrel can have a bad day. Einstein had days when the sums didn't add up, Mozart when the tune wouldn't spring to his head. Arsenal may get lucky in one of their two Champions League quarter-finals, but in both – difficult. Look at the statistics: Messi is the top scorer in Spain, with 34 goals in all competitions; he has made the most passes for goal (way more than Ronaldo); and he has the cleanest record of completed passes in the Spanish league.
    Talking of squirrels, that is how he moves with the ball at his feet. Startling acceleration from a still position, but tremendous breaking power too. The secret of the embarrassment he causes defenders when he is on a run, performing the classic footballing art of the dribble like no one ever has done before, comes from a combination of blind speed off the mark with the ability to stop dead in his tracks, then turn and accelerate again. He also has the fastest feet in the game and, quite possibly, the fastest brain. For, in a Barcelona team that retains possession far longer than any other team in Europe and that last season won every title they went in for, he is the master of the killer pass.
    Messi can be on the ball with three defenders crowded round him (it is a rash manager who puts fewer than three on him) but have the speed of vision to see the team-mate who is free, and then the sheer talent to place the ball with a marksman's accuracy and perfect weight at his feet.
    He is best known as a goalscorer now, though when he began in the Barcelona first team aged 16 he was regarded chiefly as a winger. But when eventually he slows down (the Zaragoza coach said the other day that he was "like Maradona, but far faster") he will most likely become the best midfield orchestra conductor in the business.
    As if all that were not enough, he is, as his coach Pep Guardiola never tires of reminding people, a team player too. No prima donna, he does not act as Ronaldo or his Barcelona team-mate Thierry Henry do when they lose the ball; he does not sulk, or berate the referee, implying that the only possible way that the ball could have been taken away from him was by foul play, or glance up at the heavens as if to say how, God, could you commit the divine injustice of allowing a player as great as me to be dispossesed. He just gets on with it, tracks back and battles as hard as the doughtiest midfielder to regain possession. Which he does again and again. There must be few out-and-out forwards, if any, who win as many tackles as he does. And he is brave in his willingness always to receive the ball, to help out a team-mate in tough straits. Messi does not hide.
    The surprising thing is that there is so little of him. Ronaldo is a born athlete. A tall Greek god with good looks to boot (an accusation never levelled at Messi) who had he been born in New Zealand might today be rugby's finest fly-half. Messi could only have made it in football, the most democratic of games. With him "something out of nothing" is the key thought. Both concerning what he does on the field of play – conjuring goals that ordinarily brilliant players would not dare to imagine – and his life.
    A large part of the reason why he fetched up in Barcelona aged 13 was that, in contrast to the Argentinian club he came from, the Catalans were prepared to cough up the money required to pay for years of growth hormone treatment. He stands 5ft 6in and weighs barely 10 stone – one wonders what he would have looked like without the daily injections in the thigh that punctuated his early adolescence.
    History is full of people who more than compensated for their small size with big personalities. Messi does not have that either. He comes exuberantly alive when he has a ball nearby (a former Argentinian national manager, Carlos Bilardo, once said that if you did an X-ray of Messi you'd find a round object attached to the end of his left foot), but otherwise he is timid, he slouches, he does not catch the eye. Even those closest to him report that he is shy, and as for journalists who do interviews with him (this one has done it twice), pulling teeth does not begin to explain how excruciatingly frustrating the exercise is.
    Yet there is an inner steel there. And he showed it as a young boy on arrival in Barcelona. He had been brought up in Rosario, an unglamorous industrial city 250 miles north of Buenos Aires where he lived with his father, a factory worker, mother, two brothers and a grandmother to whom he was devoted. It was she who took him to play organised football for the first time, aged barely four, convincing the coach to take him though he was far smaller and two years younger than the rest of the boys.
    It was tough for him to leave his warm family environment, and the only town he had known, at the age of 13 for a city a day's flight away. But when his parents left it to him to decide whether to take up the Barcelona offer ("Christ, who's that?" exclaimed Charlie Rexach, the club's youth chief, on first seeing him play), he opted to do so, though he knew he'd have to battle his shyness, homesickness and the challenge of being a young little stranger in a strange land. There he revealed a drive and a desire that have never left him, for each season he improves on his last. No discipline is more competitive than that of the football player.
    There might be thousands who aspire to be great opera singers or prima ballerinas; hundreds of thousands who would wish to play tennis like Roger Federer or swim like Michael Phelps or write like V S Naipaul. But there are millions upon millions of children and adults who play football and dream of being professional players. And Messi, scrutinised every week by those very same millions with the eye of a scientist studying an insect, is at the very top of the heap, the best player there is.
    And when the pressure is on, as in the Champions League final last year in which Barcelona dizzied Manchester United like a matador a bull, he stands up to be counted. Even Real Madrid acknowledge his worth. Had Messi been willing, they would have splashed out far more cash last summer for him than they did in breaking the world transfer record for Ronaldo.
    Will he end up being judged alongside Maradona, and the other footballing deity, Pelé? Might he surpass them both? He has a road ahead. But he already has one foot on the pantheon. Which is quite remarkable enough, given that he is only 22.
    A life in brief
    Born: 24 June 1987, Rosario, Argentina.
    Family: His father, Jorge Horacio Messi, was a factory worker, and mother, Celia Maria Messi, a part-time cleaner. Lionel has two older brothers, Rodrigo and Matias, and a sister, Maria Sol.
    Early Life: Introduced to football at an early age by his family. His father was a coach at the local club, Grandoli. Diagnosed with a growth deficiency at 11, his treatment was paid for by Barcelona FC after he impressed them at a trial. They facilitated his move to Spain to join the club's youth team.
    Career: Made his La Liga debut for Barcelona against Espanyol when he was 17 years old. His breakthrough season came in 2006/07, when he established himself as a first team regular, scoring 14 times in 26 matches. Voted Fifa World Player of the Year in 2009, he made his 200th appearance for Barcelona in a league match against Osasuna last weekend. He will also be a key feature in the Argentinian team for this summer's Fifa World Cup.
    He says: "Something deep in my character allows me to take the hits and get on with trying to win."
    They say: "I have seen the player who will inherit my place in Argentine football and his name is Messi. Messi is a genius and he can become an even better player." Diego Maradona, former player and Argentina manager
    Last edited by mampilly; 09-21-2011 at 09:45 PM.

  9. #39
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    Lionel Andrés Messi - Goals in International Matches


    The outstanding Argentinian player scored 16 international goals in 56 matches for his National Team. All matches are friendlies unless stated otherwise.
    Born: 24- 6-1987Country: ArgentinaCaps: 56 (W32-D8-L16 – GF93-GA57 – %64.29)Goals: 16 (% 0.29 per match)Age First Cap: 18 yr 54 d 17- 8-2005 vs. Hungary 2-1Age Last Cap: 23 yr 275 d 26- 3-2011 vs. United States 1-1National Team Career: 5 yr 221 dCap Goals Date Venue Opponent Score Competition 1 17- 8-05 Budapest Hungary 2-1 2 3- 9-05 Asunción Paraguay 0-1 World Cup Qualifier 3 9-10-05 Buenos Aires Peru 2-0 World Cup Qualifier 4 12-10-05 Montevideo Uruguay 0-1 World Cup Qualifier 5 16-11-05 Doha Qatar 3-0 6 1 1 1- 3-06 Basel Croatia 2-3 7 1 30- 5-06 Salerno Angola 2-0 8 1 2 16- 6-06 Gelsenkirchen Serbia-Monten. 6-0 World Cup 9 2 21- 6-06 Frankfurt Netherlands 0-0 World Cup 10 2 24- 6-06 Leipzig Mexico 2-1 World Cup 11 2 3- 9-06 London Brazil 0-3 12 2 11-10-06 Murcia Spain 1-2 13 2 2- 6-07 Basel Switzerland 1-1 14 2 4 5- 6-07 Barcelona Algeria 4-3 15 4 28- 6-07 Maracaibo United States 4-1 Copa América 16 4 2- 7-07 Maracaibo Colombia 4-2 Copa América 17 4 5- 7-07 Barquisimeto Paraguay 1-0 Copa América 18 1 5 8- 7-07 Barquisimeto Peru 4-0 Copa América 19 1 6 11- 7-07 Puerto Ordaz Mexico 3-0 Copa América 20 6 15- 7-07 Maracaibo Brazil 0-3 Copa América 21 6 22- 8-07 Oslo Norway 1-2 22 6 11- 9-07 Melbourne Australia 1-0 23 6 13-10-07 Buenos Aires Chile 2-0 World Cup Qualifier 24 1 7 16-10-07 Maracaibo Venezuela 2-0 World Cup Qualifier 25 7 17-11-07 Buenos Aires Bolivia 3-0 World Cup Qualifier 26 1 8 20-11-07 Bogotá Colombia 1-2 World Cup Qualifier 27 1 9 4- 6-08 San Diego Mexico 4-1 28 9 8- 6-08 East Rutherford United States 0-0 29 9 15- 6-08 Buenos Aires Ecuador 1-1 World Cup Qualifier 30 9 18- 6-08 Belo Horizonte Brazil 0-0 World Cup Qualifier 31 9 6- 9-08 Buenos Aires Paraguay 1-1 World Cup Qualifier 32 9 10- 9-08 Lima Peru 1-1 World Cup Qualifier 33 1 10 11-10-08 Buenos Aires Uruguay 2-1 World Cup Qualifier 34 10 15-10-08 Santiago Chile 0-1 World Cup Qualifier 35 1 11 11- 2-09 Marseille France 2-0 36 1 12 28- 3-09 Buenos Aires Venezuela 4-0 World Cup Qualifier 37 12 1- 4-09 La Paz Bolivia 1-6 World Cup Qualifier 38 12 6- 6-09 Buenos Aires Colombia 1-0 World Cup Qualifier 39 12 10- 6-09 Quito Ecuador 0-2 World Cup Qualifier 40 12 5- 9-09 Rosario Brazil 1-3 World Cup Qualifier 41 12 9- 9-09 Asunción Paraguay 0-1 World Cup Qualifier 42 12 10-10-09 Buenos Aires Peru 2-1 World Cup Qualifier 43 12 14-10-09 Montevideo Uruguay 1-0 World Cup Qualifier 44 1 13 14-11-09 Madrid Spain 1-2 45 13 3- 3-10 München Germany 1-0 46 13 12- 6-10 Johannesburg Nigeria 1-0 World Cup 47 13 17- 6-10 Johannesburg South Korea 4-1 World Cup 48 13 22- 6-10 Polokwane Greece 2-0 World Cup 49 13 27- 6-10 Johannesburg Mexico 3-1 World Cup 50 13 3- 7-10 Cape Town Germany 0-4 World Cup 51 13 11- 8-10 Dublin Ireland 1-0 52 1 14 7- 9-10 Buenos Aires Spain 4-1 53 14 8-10-10 Saitama Japan 0-1 54 1 15 17-11-10 Doha Brazil 1-0 55 1 16 9- 2-11 Genève Portugal 2-1 56 16 26- 3-11 East Rutherford United States 1-1Total RecordMatches Won Draw Lost For Against Points Percentage 56 32 8 16 93- 57 72 64.2916 Goals in 56 Matches (% 0.29 per match)Types of Matches GoalsFriendlies 21 9World Cup 8 1World Cup Qualifier 21 4Copa América 6 2Total caps / goals: 56 16

  10. #40
    mampilly
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    Lionel Messi among Time's 100 most influential people


    New York based Time Magazine has named Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi in the 2011 TIME 100, the magazine's annual list of the most influential people in the world.

    Lionel Messi named one of Time's 100 most influential people


    "He reminds me of Diego Maradona, the way he dribbles past people, the way you can kick him and he'll just bounce up and carry on running with the ball, then score a goal — it's ridiculous," former Barça star Thierry Henry wrote in a profile for Time.

    The Time 100 list, now in its eighth year, recognizes the innovation, activism and achievement of the world's most influential individuals.

    This year list includes pop culture giants such as Justin Bieber and Oprah Winfrey plus the lesser known Wael Ghonim, an Egyptian Internet activist who helped topple President Hosni Mubarak, and Takeshi Kanno, a Japanese doctor who refused to leave behind victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

    "We've always, always tried to tell stories through people. We discovered it was a fantastic way to get people to think about what's going on all over the world," said Time Deputy Managing Editor Michael Elliott.

    World leaders such as US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff populate the list for how they have wielded power.

    Also included in the 100 people this year are Myanmar's pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, Britain's Prince William and his fiancee Kate Middleton, and Kim Jong-Un, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il's third son and heir apparent

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