The discoverer of Messi: “I hope that one day he will return to Barcelona for whatever it is”

—What makes you think that Lionel Messi has won the World Cup?

I have a special appreciation for Messi. It was the last big tournament he had yet to win. He won the Copa América last year against Brazil in Brazil. So the icing on the cake is the World Cup title.

—Was 35 the right time?

Yes, although I think I could have won it earlier. I sincerely think that in other times, perhaps the Argentine National Team was better, because it had more names of well-known people, but I think that this time, they designed a team so that Messi could play at ease and had to make less effort. physical. Argentina played for Messi. The others sacrificed themselves.

—What does this 35-year-old Messi keep from the boy he met?

I think he has the stability that has been his characteristic and the vision of the game. He is a person who, when he receives all the balls, executes them judiciously, without thinking about what to do. In that aspect, apart from his innate ability from birth, I think that vision of the game is one of the most important things.

—How is the first contact you have with Lionel Messi?

The first time they told me about Messi I was in Argentina, and they told me that there was a kid who played very well. I had already been there for about 15 days. When I asked how old he was, they told me 12 years old and I said: “I couldn’t have traveled a thousand kilometers to see that kid.” So, they insisted that he was a good player. I decided that he and his family would come to Barcelona for 15 days. That’s how we did it, and Messi from the first moment was an unusual player. The only problem we had is that I was a bit annoying to sign him, because it was difficult being a foreigner, he couldn’t play in the Spanish League and we were arranging papers until we got him to stay in Barcelona.

—Messi as a child, what was he like?

He was a very quiet, shy boy, he didn’t make noise, he spoke little, and he paid close attention. But when it was time to play a soccer game, he would transform. Then, that shyness disappeared.

—And what was he like in training?

He was at Masía FC along with other kids. Then he went to school, the typical thing when kids like soccer, the minute he has, he plays soccer. They are players who train equally when there is no training and when there is a match, they continue playing afterwards. If you like soccer when you are little, you play until when you have to go to sleep. I believe that Messi has lived for football. He was obsessed with succeeding in soccer, he is sick in this sport and he has shown it throughout his life.

—When you say that Messi is sick of football, do you mean that he is passionate about this sport?

Exactly, because for example there was a moment when he was injured as a child and was left standing because he had a problem with his tibia or fibula and his father told him: “we’re going home and nothing happens”, but Messi replied: ” No, I stayed here, I’m still here and I’m not leaving Barcelona”. He was very clear about it. It’s not easy for such a young boy to stay in Barcelona, ​​people see it as a fairy tale, right? A wonderful life, but I think that when you’re little and you don’t have your father or mother, having him or her close is hard, but mentally he became stronger.

—Was the injury you mention the hardest period for Messi in his adolescence?

Yes, because he had to be unemployed for a while, the kid when he can’t play and sees that others are playing, that was the most difficult moment. But I repeat to you: Messi is a mentally strong person and you saw that he was born and lived for football.

—So, adversity used her as a tool to overcome herself…

When the little ones go to sleep at 7 or 8 at night, they can be a little melancholic waiting for their father or mother, and there are boys who have a downturn and you have to help them a little, but Lionel Messi was very clear .

—Sé talked about the treatment so that he could grow, can you detail what happened?

People talked a lot about it, but that has been done many times with other Barcelona players. Give him vitamins and in the end people think that this was a miracle. The miracle is that Messi plays better than the others. That is a legend, but it is not as transcendental as they say either.

—Barcelona and Messi deserve a The last dance (last dance)?

I say that one day I hope Lionel Messi returns to Barcelona for whatever reason, because he is a benchmark for the team and all of Barcelona. But as a player I see it as difficult: he didn’t come out of here well.

—Then, could you be ambassador in Barcelona?

Messi will be an ambassador for Barcelona all his life, he is a benchmark for world football and he is not now, he will be for his whole life. Practically people who are 15 years old and up, Messi will be the world soccer idol, it is very difficult for another player to come out, to achieve the successes that Lionel achieved. He has won many Leagues, European Cups, the World Cup, he has played more than 1000 games and scored countless goals. He holds practically all the records. You have to take advantage of it.

—In Barcelona the devotion to Messi remains or would you say that his departure generated divisions?

The people are with Messi. Here Lionel Messi is God, do you understand me? What happens is that perhaps they thought that because he was older he would no longer give fire and they have realized that he has stamina for a while, since he has won a World Cup. In that aspect. I think they were wrong.

—Why are Messi’s last years so different from Cristiano Ronaldo’s last years?

Cristiano Ronaldo is a player with more of a finisher and finisher in some way. Messi is more complete, creative, he can go down to midfield, he can give passes, assists, he dominates the collective game more and I think he’s better tactically. He always knows where he has to be positioned, if they mark him too high he goes a little behind or goes to the right or left. He is a guy who knows where to put himself and is always well placed. That is not taught, it is innate.

—Were you also one of those who at some point demanded more captain’s attitude from Messi, more leadership?

I do not think so. People believe that to have leadership you have to do gestures, numbers. I think the captain is set by the players, and they are with him. Today in the world of football, everyone is a bit of gestures and things, here or there. In that aspect, Messi has been a discreet person, he has commanded, but without people noticing.

—When Messi leaves Barcelona, ​​did you talk to him?

I was not convinced that he would leave Barcelona, ​​I thought that in the end the issue would be settled and that we would see Messi here, because my idea was that Messi would retire at a high level playing for Barcelona. Proof of this is that last year he won the League in Paris, this year he won it again, now he has won a World Cup, he has won European Cups, that shows that Messi is in circumstances to be among the elite. Thats the reality.

—Have you sent a message to Messi after winning the World Cup?

These days, I believe that congratulations are so many and so exaggerated, that practically. he does not have time to answer for the success he has achieved. I think Messi has to take advantage of 10 or 15 days, relax and return to Paris to start the League. Now it is difficult because Messi will have to go from party to party and everyone wants him for his programs and to seek statements. Messi doesn’t like that very much, he is very quiet, he is not a man of many interviews.

—Of course, everything shows it on the court. It has always been like this.

There was a time when here in Spain, specifically in Barcelona, ​​Messi was God and in Argentina, people questioned him a lot. I sincerely believe that they mistreated him. I thought, but what does Messi have to do to show that he is the best? Now it seems that with this World Cup everything has changed, but it has cost him a lot, I have heard people say: “If Messi is not Argentine, from the He has been in Barcelona for 12 years, he is more Catalan than Argentine”. I think that Messi has had a hard time enduring all that, but I repeat again: since he is a mentally strong boy, he has overcome everything.

—The mental theme is a lesson for adolescents who yearn to be soccer players…

Exactly, is that in the world of football people only see the end, and Messi’s end is spectacular, but do you remember that penalty in another World Cup? People killed him, you understand me? Other people said that Messi was retiring from the national team and that he was going to his house. Another player leaves, instead Messi has returned and has triumphed with the Argentine team. Everyone fails, but notice that they were looking for anything, I sometimes wonder, what would have been if that French player (Kolo Muani) who was left in front of the goalkeeper (Dibu Martínez) shot better? If it had been a goal, due to a specific play, Argentina would have lost the World Cup. So, history would be written differently. So, in the end, it takes a bit of luck in life. Messi deserved it. That’s why he came out world champion.

—If you hadn’t won the World Cup, would you still be the best player in the world?

Today for me, it was not necessary. There are other players who have never won the World Championship, since in the end there are only 7 games in that tournament and many things are involved, such as the opponents, the referee. It is not normal for a World Cup final to have three penalties and it is disputed whether or not they are. Many circumstances intervene.

—Thank you very much for granting us this interview, Don Carles Rechax, and for recounting little-known passages from Lionel Messi…

Since you’re talking about Peru, give Hugo Sotil a big hug from me. We played together at Barcelona, ​​up front were Johan Cruyff, Hugo Sotil and me. I saw him a few years ago when he was in Barcelona. A big hug for him.

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