SPORT / SPORTS 108 | Velikani sporta » Sporting greats L EO MESS I ' S L I F E 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. Johan Cruyff returned to Barcelona in 1988. Even though Leowas then just a one-year-oldbaby living in the distant Rosario, it was as if an invisible connection was then created between the Catalan club and the son of a cleaner and a worker in a factory producing barbed wire. That’s because Cruyffwas the onewho ordered the removal of that shameful message about banning the hiring of players shorter than 1.8 metres. “Talent is important, not height,” said the Dutchman. And Messi had talent for three. The third child in the family, his older brothers, Rodrigo and Matias, were already training football, while he has a younger sister,Maria Sol. His love for football was obvious from the start, with him starting to kick a ball as soon as he could walk. His ball would followwherever he went. His first “manager” was his grandmother Celia, who nagged Leo’s parents to buy him his first sports shoes. According to neighbours, she later went to the pitch of the local football club every day to ask the coach to put little Messi 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 grandson 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 little Messi still had a long way to go to achieveworldwide fame.The first warning light flashed while he was in the youth categories of Newells, when coaches noticed that Leowas much shorter than his peers. They recommended consultations with endocrinologistDiegoSchwarzstein. “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 1.7metres 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 gol podigne ruke prema 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 his arms to the heavens every time he scores a goal to thank his guardian angel, his grandmother. Klinac od deset godina preko noći je postao čovek shvatajući da put vodi kroz mnogo bola / From a ten-yearold kid he became a man overnight by realising that the road leads through a lot of pain
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