SPORT / SPORTS
J ohan Cruyff returned to Barcelona in 1988. Even though Leo was then just a one-year-old baby living in the distant Rosario, it was as if an invisible connection was then created between the Cat- alan club and the son of a clean- er and a worker in a factory pro- ducing barbed wire. That’s because Cruyff was the one who ordered the removal of that shameful message about banning the hiring of play- ers shorter than 1.8 metres. “Tal- ent is important, not height,” said the Dutchman. And Messi had tal- ent for three. The third child in the family, his older brothers, Rodrigo and Mat- ias, were already training football, while he has a younger sister, Maria Sol. His love for football was obvi- ous from the start, with him start- ing to kick a ball as soon as he could walk. His ball would follow wherev- er he went. His first “manager” was his grandmother Celia, who nagged Leo’s parents to buy him his first sports shoes. According to neigh- bours, she later went to the pitch of the local football club every day to ask the coach to put little Mes- si in the team. Grandma’s wish was granted – after he’d played for the first time, no one could remove him from the pitch. Unfortunately, Celia passed away when Leo was just ten years old and never got to see her grand- son performing on the big stage. That’s why he today raises his arms to the heavens every time he scores a goal to thank his guardian angel, his grandmother. However, the lit- tle Messi still had a long way to go to achieve worldwide fame. The first warning light flashed while he was in the youth categories of Newells, when coaches noticed that Leo was much shorter than his peers. They recommended consultations with endocrinologist Diego Schwarzstein. “He had a growth hormone deficiency. The treatments weren’t meant to make him tall, rather just to make up for the shortfall. Leo is 1.7 metres tall, but if he hadn’t been treated he’d be 10-15 centimetres
U njega je od starta najviše vere imala baka Selija, koja je, nažalost, preminula kada je Leo imao deset godina i nikada unuka nije videla na velikoj sceni. Zato on sada svaki put kada postigne nebu i zahvali se anđelu čuvaru, svojoj baki / His Grandma Celia had the greatest faith in him from the start, though she unfortunately passed away when Leo was just ten years old and never got to see her grandson on the big stage. That's why he today raises gol podigne ruke prema his arms to the heavens every time he scores a goal to thank his guardian angel, his grandmother.
LEO MESSI'S LIFE STORY If it wasn't for one granny, there'd be no wizard in football boots If you came to offer us a kid shorter than 1.8 metres, you can freely turn around. The sign that in the 1980s hung above the door of the room of Barcelona coaches was a destroyer of hope. If it had remained that way, we wouldn't today be watching Leo Messi, who recently succeeded in breaking the record of the legendary Pele for the number of goals scored while wearing the shirt of one club.
Klinac od deset godina preko noći je postao čovek shvatajući da put vodi kroz mnogo bola / From a ten-year- old kid he became a man overnight by realising that the road leads through a lot of pain
108 | Velikani sporta » Sporting greats
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