Born for football: Lionel Messi turns 30

One of the strongest football players in the world Argentine striker Spanish "Barcelona" Lionel Messi turns 30 years old. Forward five times won the "Golden Ball" the best football player in the world, four times defeated in the Champions League. There is not enough in his collection of only titles with the national team of Argentina.

Messi moved from his native Rosario to Barcelona at the age of 13, when the Spanish club made the main transfer in its history. As a child, Leo suffered from a lack of growth hormone, and "Barcelona" invited a talented guy with his family, paying him a treatment that cost only about 1 thousand a month. As a result, the club received a leader for a couple of decades - Messi not only grew into a world-class star, but also perfectly suited the concept of the game "Barcelona".

"Barcelona" historically shared with "Real" the status of the main favorite of Spanish football, but until the appearance of Messi the club almost did not win in the international arena. For 13 years that Messi plays for Barcelona, ​​it was replaced by almost 10 coaches, but the style of the game was determined not by them, but by the actions of Leo.

"Barcelona" five times in history won the Champions League, and four titles were won in the Messi era. The Argentine striker was never a born sniper, playing like his legendary compatriot Diego Maradona, just in the depths of the attack. However Messi managed to rewrite almost all records of the performance of the championship of Spain. 73 goals in the season 2011-12, scored by Messi only in club competitions, seem to be figures from the distant past, when football was completely different, and the attacker was allowed much more than today. And for the calendar 2012 Messi scored 79 goals - a record that is hardly possible to improve.

By the incomplete 30 years, Messi set a record performance of the championships in Spain - 349 goals, which Leo needed 382 matches. In the season 2016/17 Messi for the fourth time was the best scorer of the championship of Spain, and spent far from the best of his season. However, scored 37 goals - this is his fourth result in his career. The bar of performance for one championship of Spain Messi set at an incredible mark of "50".

Depend on the game of one, albeit brilliant player - it's not the most promising, but it is unlikely that any of the fans of the "Barcelona" will agree that the team changed its game. On the other hand, any coach will be happy when he has a footballer who goes beyond any tactical framework, which can be given freedom of action - and he will give a result. In modern football, there are almost no such "free artists", but Messi continues to play as he wants.

The head coach of Barcelona in recent years, Luis Enrique, at one time miraculously escaped the resignation after Messi's displeasure with his role on the field. Leo in the "Barcelona" formally acts on the position of the right-handed striker under the "4-3-3" scheme, making a trio with friends-South Americans Neimar and Luis Suarez. However, in fact, Messi acts across the entire width of the attack, trying to always be open to transfer.

Close Messi alone is impossible, and if you "watch" him three or four together - the freedom is obtained by partners. To win the "Barcelona" is possible only thanks to the team play, acting collectively, what did the Italian "Juventus" in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, when the Spanish club failed to score twice in two matches.

Messi is extremely good at three important moves for the forward - dribbling, pas and blow. "Firm" goal from Leo - when he picks up the ball on the flank, shifts to the center, beating several opponents, and just hits the corner from the penalty. To counter it is almost impossible - it remains to hope that the Argentine will not get into the goal. However, instead of a strike, an unexpected pass to the partner in the penalty box may follow, - good defenders, as enchanted, looking at the actions of the 10th number of the opponent, forget about others.

Messi is constantly compared with Cristiano Ronaldo - the Portuguese striker of "Real", with whom Leo had a longstanding confrontation in the championship of Spain. In recent years, the comparison is not in favor of the Argentine, because his competitor won a year ago the European Championships with his team, and with Real Madrid - twice in a row the Champions League. In the outgoing season, Messi remained without a champion title in Spain, which also received the "Real", contented only with the Royal Cup of the country.

However, to compare Messi and Ronaldo is not necessary at least for the reason that Leo is a genius from birth, a football player of unique natural talent given only to his great predecessors Pele or Maradona. Cristiano Ronaldo - a man who made a name for himself not so much a bright appearance, as an incredible work, training his body and perseverance in achieving the goal. The fact that for Messi is a holiday game, for Ronaldo - albeit a favorite, but hard work.

It is symbolic that while Ronaldo in the Russian fields is striving for the next title - a victory in the Confederations Cup, Messi has a long rest, having had a wedding with Antonella Roccuzzo after the end of the season, with whom he is familiar from the age of five. The couple already have two children, but up to 30 years Messi was not officially married.

Very many fans, especially among the youth, consider Messi the greatest player in history. It could be so if it were not for Leo's regular setbacks in the Argentina squad. King of football Pele won the World Cup three times, and no one has managed to repeat this achievement. Diego Maradona almost led Argentina's national team to the title in 1986, when it was unlikely to be stronger than the current one.

For Messi so far, the finalists are bewitched. In 2014, the Argentina national team lost to the Germans in the decisive match, and in 2007, 2015 and 2016 lost in the America's Cup. The only title Messi won with the Olympic team - at the 2008 Games in Beijing.

If Messi wins the same World Cup, he will go down in history really the greatest of all people who professionally played football. In fact, Leo has only one chance - a year later in Russia, where the Argentine national team still needs to break through.