Despite playing a small number of minutes, the man from Rosario managed to attract the attention of the Blaugrana fans.
There are few moments that a soccer player savors and remembers for the rest of his life, and one of them is his professional debut. This happened to Lionel Messi a October 16, 2004when he entered a Catalan derby against Espanyol. That day marked the beginning of one of the most extraordinary careers in the history of sports.
Currently, Messi is the top winner of the Ballon d’Or (8)the top scorer in the history of football in the same club (672 with Barcelona), the player with the most goals scored in a calendar year (91 in 2012) and the greatest winner of all time, with 46 trophies to his name.
messi debut 2.jpg
However, the now world champion and considered by many the best footballer in history He had a blank page 20 years ago, when he stepped onto the green grass of the Montjuic stadium.
The day of Messi’s professional debut with Barcelona
In a close match, Barcelona beat Espanyol 1 to 0 in a new Catalan derby. It was for him minute 82 game that the technical director of the Blaugrana team, Frank Rijkaard decided to make a modification: outside Deco, the author of the only goal of the match, and inside the number 30.
From the bank awaits your entry a young Messi, 17 years, three months and 22 days old, short in stature, thinner than now, with long hair and his shirt tucked into his shorts.. The Portuguese comes out and shakes hands with the Argentine who had a concentration worthy of a debutant. His game was discreet and he had only one chance with the ball at his feet. However, Barcelona fans had already been following him since his games at La Masía – the club’s lower divisions – and were excited about his arrival.
On November 16, 2003, Messi had already had his first opportunity with the team’s firstin a friendly match against Porto, with a 2-0 defeat. Despite having left everyone speechless with his performance in the youth B team, he had to wait until October of the following year to have a new chance.
Thus it was, as before more than 34 thousand spectators inside the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium, the career of the Argentine star was born. He spent 17 years at the Spanish club, where he established himself as a legend and a fundamental pillar of the Blaugrana’s success. Now, 20 years after that debut, keep playing with the same hunger.
Source: Ambito
I am Pierce Boyd, a driven and ambitious professional working in the news industry. I have been writing for 24 Hours Worlds for over five years, specializing in sports section coverage. During my tenure at the publication, I have built an impressive portfolio of articles that has earned me a reputation as an experienced journalist and content creator.
