Mesmerising Messi lived up to the hype
IN 2004 I decided to try something completely different. I had just been appointed as a coach with Northern Ireland but the role was part-time and I had to supplement that with another income.
So, I moved to Spain to work as a scout for Bolton. At that time Sam Allardyce was coaching the likes of Fernando Hierro and Ivan Campo along with Youri Djorkaeff and Jay-Jay Okocha so it was feasible he could be on the lookout for more players of that type and La Liga was a good league for me to cover.
I was entering my 25th season as a player or coach and I thought I had seen everything there was to see in football and, dare I say it, I was slightly stale, season after season, game after game, it was all rolling into one. Nothing dramatic was happening and it was a treadmill to keep involved in making a living in the game.
Then Lionel Messi magically appeared! Rumours were abound that Ronaldinho was badgering Barcelona boss Frank Rijkaard to hurry up the process of unleashing this scrawny, long-haired 17-year-old. Ronaldinho, the best player in the world at that time, wanted him as a team-mate and wasn’t showing any patience.
Thankfully Rijkaard agreed and we were able to get our opportunity to see for real what this much talked about youngster could offer.
How many young players have gone through the hype, talked up as the next this player or that player and then in a lot of cases don’t fulfil or sustain that early promise.
My first impression seeing Messi appear as a sub, which he mainly did that season, was that he was someone Bolton should keep an eye on!
He looked a million miles away from being the perfect athlete – the kit was possibly too big and he looked like a street footballer. My goodness, looks can be deceiving.
When he played, everybody got on the edge of their seat. I saw him come on as a sub at Sevilla who possibly have the most partisan supporters in La Liga and he even brought a smile to the faces of their fans as he tore apart their defence. He was a whirlwind.
He mesmerised opposing players and fans with his skills and it was the beginning of an unbelievable journey for him and Barcelona.
Now, 778 appearances, 672 goals, 34 club trophies and six Ballons d’Or later I thank Lionel Messi for refreshing and maintaining my love of this beautiful game. He certainly did fulfil the hype.
It wasn’t just about the trophies and the stats though, it is the way Messi plays the game that brings me so much enjoyment.
If you don’t love a dribbler, a scorer of incredible individual goals, someone who gets knocked about from pillar to post in every game and someone who is diminutive and yet makes mincemeat of tough, cynical defenders who physically tried to diminish his talent, then frankly I’m afraid you don’t have a football soul.
PSG fans enjoy him – I have no doubt you will.