Top Young Footballers In The World, Part 1
Footballers are said to be at their prime between the ages of 26 to 29, however there are a few who have reached that stage early on in their careers. The young footballers who have achieved greatness make one wonder how much more they could improve once they are older. Most young stars are spotted when they are young and are signed by big clubs like Real Madrid, Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona and Arsenal etc.
Lionel Andrés Messi is a 23 year old Argentine football player who currently plays for the national team and the Spanish club Barcelona. Messi is undoubtedly considered one of the best footballers of his generation and has been referred to as the world’s best contemporary player. He has been compared to Diego Maradona because of his playing style and ability with the ball, and Maradona himself declared the youngster as his successor. By the age of 22, Messi had received several Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations, a feat which takes other players their entire playing careers to achieve.
Messi started playing at a young age and while he was with the Newell’s Old Boy’s youth team he was spotted by Barcelona scouts. He made his debut for the Spanish giants in the 2004-2005 season and broke the teams record for the youngest football player to score a goal in the domestic league. In his debut season Barcelona won the La Liga and the following season completed the double, the La Liga crown and the Champions League.
His break however, came in the 2006-2007 season where he secured his place in the first team, he also became a regular after his hat-trick in El Clasico. He finished that season with a total of 14 goals in some 26 appearance in the League. The 2008-2009 season he surpassed everyone’s expectations and increased his goal tally when he scored 38 goals and led his team to the treble. Next season he went a step further as he scored a total of 47 goals and equaled Ronaldo’s record total for Barcelona, a feat previously thought unachievable.
His success was replicated in his international career, in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship he was the top goal scorer with six goals, two of which came in the final of the competition. Shortly after the successful youth championship he became an established member of the Argentinean team. In 2006, he was the youngest Argentine player to play in the World Cup that year, and was part of the team that received runners up medals at the Cop America tournament. In the 2008 Beijing Olympics he won his first international honor, an Olympic goal medal.
The most memorable moment in his career came in the Champions League quarter final second leg against Arsenal on the 6th of April 2010 when Messi scored four goals in a single match, leading his side to a 4-1 home win. This impressive display saw him over take Rivaldo as Barcelona’s all time greatest scorers in the European competition. He reached the 40th goal mark when he scored the first goal in the 2-0 win over Real Madrid. It was after this successful run that he was named the La Liga player of the year for the second year in a row.
Messi started the 2010-2011 season when where he left off the previous, he scored a hat trick in the start of the season, earning a 4-0 win over Sevilla in the Supercopa de Espana, securing the early trophy of the new season. He also began the league with a goal, scoring in under the first three minutes. But he suffered an injury which was feared to be a broken ankle that would keep him out for at least six months, but fortunately it was just a sprain. David Villa said, “the tackle on Messi was brutal” but added that he believed that Tomas Ujfalusi “didn't go into the tackle to hurt.” Messi is sidelined for the time being, but is scheduled to return in two weeks time.
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