9781422270745

WORLD CLASS FOOTBALLERS SOCCER’S BEST PLAYERS

CRISTIANO RONALDO

ERLING HAALAND

KYLIAN MBAPPÉ

LIONEL MESSI

ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI

WORLD CLASS FOOTBALLERS SOCCER’S BEST PLAYERS

GREG BACH

MIAMI

PO Box 221876, Hollywood, FL 33022 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll-free) • www.masoncrest.com

Copyright © 2024 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-4745-7 Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4222-4749-5 ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7074-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Bach, Greg, author. Title: Lionel Messi / Greg Bach. Description: Hollywood, FL : Mason Crest, [2024] | Series: World class footballers: soccer’s best players | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2023027258 | ISBN 9781422247495 (hardback) | ISBN 9781422270745 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Messi, Lionel, 1987---Juvenile literature. | Soccer players--Argentina-- Biography--Juvenile literature. Classification: LCC GV942.7.M398 B33 2024 | DDC 796.334092--dc23/eng/20230623

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Chapter 1: Greatest Moments................................................7 Chapter 2: Club Dreams......................................................21 Chapter 3: National Pride....................................................35 Chapter 4: Words Count......................................................49 Chapter 5: Off the Pitch.......................................................65 Series Glossary of Key Terms...............................................76 Further Reading & Internet Resources.................................77 Index................................................................................. 78 Author Biography & Credits.................................................80 CONTENTS

KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR:

Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more!

Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there.

Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

commence: begin; start; get the ball rolling mayhem: disorder, confusion, trouble

percolating: be or become full of lively activity or excitement prolific: present in large numbers or quantities; plentiful salve: soothe; comfort; dull

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World Class Footballers: Lionel Messi

CHAPTER 1

Greatest Moments

PROLIFIC PLAYMAKER Lionel Messi showed up on soccer’s world stage turning heads as a talented teenager, and for more than two dynamic decades ever since, he has been dazzling and dominating with prolific playmaking that has pushed him into the conversation of the greatest player ever. A game changing force and the ultimate creator of magic and mayhem with the ball at his feet, the awesome Argentinian’s legendary career has been filled with a never-ending string of epic goals, hard-to-believe passes, and staggering, record-setting production season after season. The owner of an astounding all-time best seven Ballon d’Or trophies, awarded to the world’s best soccer player, Messi has hoarded many of the sport’s most sacred and hard-to-get records. He was the fastest player to reach the 100-goal mark in Champions League matches, needing just 123 games; he posted a record-setting 50-goal season in 2011–2012; and indicative of his lethal longevity, Messi is the only player to score 40 or more goals in 10 consecutive seasons.

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Greatest Moments

BRILLIANT FOR BARCELONA During his marvelous career with Barcelona, a stretch of sensational soccer that isn’t likely to ever be matched, Messi led the club to a whopping 10 La Liga championships, seven Copa del Rey titles, and four Champions League titles. On the international stage, competing for his beloved Argentina, Messi led the team to an Olympic Gold Medal in 2008 in Beijing, China; a Copa America title in 2021; and he took them all the way to the World Cup finals in 2022, where Argentina defeated France to become world champions. A savage ball-striker whose shots are explosive and notoriously well placed, coupled with potent passing skills that routinely present teammates with gorgeous scoring opportunities (he has collected more than 200 assists during his career), Messi is a one man wrecking crew who sabotages opponents’ game plans and poses a heap of trouble for defenders who have the impossible task of keeping him from doing something special. Explosive and unpredictable, Messi pulls fans out of their seats with his greatness and forces broadcasters to scramble to somehow come up with words to describe his latest fantastic feat. ONE OF A KIND A global giant both on and off the pitch—Messi has more Instagram followers than Kim Kardashian and more than twice as many as LeBron James—he was also the world’s highest-paid athlete in 2022, raking in an estimated $130 million in salary and endorsement money. Joining French Ligue 1 powerhouse Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 and heading to his fifth World Cup with Argentina in the fall of 2022, Lionel Messi continues to add to his glowing legacy and stash of untouchable records that go with being arguably the greatest ever to play the game.

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World Class Footballers: Lionel Messi

GREATEST MOMENTS

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Greatest Moments

DYNAMIC DEBUT Lionel Messi’s first venture into World Cup action for Argentina in Germany in 2006 quickly backed up the buzz that had been percolating around the talented teenager for quite some time. On a roster crowded with talent—he was a wildcard selection who didn’t break a sweat while left on the bench in Argentina’s first round-robin game—he made his World Cup debut in the 75th minute against Serbia and immediately put his imprint on the game. First, he assisted on Hernan Crespo’s goal that bumped the score to 4–0, and then he provided a glimpse of his quick-strike capability by taking a Carlos Tevez pass and depositing it in the back of the net to close out the scoring in the 6–0 victory. Just 18 years old, Messi was Argentina’s youngest-ever player to appear in a World Cup match. The performance generated high praise and earned him a start in Argentina’s next match against The Netherlands.

Lionel Messi made his World Cup debut against Serbia in 2006, where he came off the bench and delivered a goal and an assist in the 6–0 win.

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World Class Footballers: Lionel Messi

GOLDEN PERFORMANCE It took Lionel Messi a grand total of 43 minutes to announce his arrival on the Olympic stage in 2008 and commence what would be a glorious and golden summer in Beijing. Messi struck just before halftime in the opening match against Ivory Coast, registering Argentina’s first goal of the Olympic tournament. The Argentines would power through group play undefeated. In the quarterfinals against the Netherlands, Messi was at his brilliant best, scoring in the match’s 14th minute after accelerating past a pair of Dutch defenders and then setting up the game-winner with a nifty pass in extra time for a 2–1 win. After blanking rival Brazil 3–0 in the semifinals, Argentina faced Nigeria for gold in the punishing heat at the National Stadium in Shanghai. With the stakes high, and the world watching, Messi assisted on the match’s lone goal to help secure a gold medal for Argentina in what would be his only appearance in the Olympic Games.

Lionel Messi led Argentina to the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics, defeating Nigeria 1–0 in the title match in Beijing, China.

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Greatest Moments

SUPER SEVEN Lionel Messi has been scooping up Ballon d’Or trophies at a prolific pace through the years, squashing debates about who the best player on the planet happens to be. The most prestigious individual award in the sport—translated as ‘the Golden Ball’—is annually presented by the France Football Magazine to the best male player on the planet. Messi picked up his record seventh award in 2021 at a ceremony in Paris, not far from where he dazzles and delights fans playing for Paris Saint-Germain in France’s top-flight Ligue 1. Messi’s seventh award pushed him two ahead of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo on the all-time list. He beat out a star-studded list of global greats—including Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, who finished second in the voting, and Chelsea midfielder Jorginho, who was third—to add the coveted award to those he previously won in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015, and 2019.

Lionel Messi won his record seventh Ballon d’Or trophy in 2021 in recognition of being the best player on the planet.

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World Class Footballers: Lionel Messi

FAB FIVE Lionel Messi added another record to his mounting stack of them when he became the first player in Champions League history to net five goals in a match. He delivered the goal-scoring bonanza against Bayer Leverkusen in the second leg of their Round of 16 matchup that Barcelona won 7–1 and 10–2 in aggregate. Messi scored twice in the first half on Barcelona’s home turf at Camp Nou, at the 25th and 42nd minute; and added goals in the 49th, 58th, and 85th minutes of the second half to send the 75,632 zealous Barcelona fans home happy and with a cool story to share about being there to witness a spectacular slice of soccer history. Messi’s previous-best scoring output had come with a four-goal performance against Arsenal a couple of years earlier. He delivered another fab five performance in 2022, scoring all five of Argentina’s goals in a 5–0 friendly with Estonia.

Lionel Messi became the first player in Champions League history to score five goals in a match against Bayer Leverkusen in 2012.

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Greatest Moments

STUNNING SCORING SPREE When Lionel Messi stepped on the pitch in 2012, opposing teams had more reasons to fear the awesome Argentinian than normal, as he was on an epic goal-scoring spree rarely seen in the sport. Messi put together a year-long run of staggering production, netting a calendar year record 91 goals—in just 69 games!—while competing for Barcelona and Argentina’s national team. That bundle of brilliant scoring was half a dozen better than the previous best mark owned by Gerd Muller while playing for Bayern Munich and Germany back in 1972. Messi struck 79 times in 60 matches for Barcelona and scored another dozen times in nine matches with the Argentina national team. That stretch of sensational scoring translates into a hard-to believe average of 1.3 goals a game. Indicative of his potent prowess in navigating the high-traffic areas in the vicinity of the goal, 78 of his tallies were delivered inside the penalty area.

Lionel Messi’s record 91-goal calendar year in 2012 began with a header against Osasuna and concluded with a nifty left-footed shot to the far post. Check out all of his 91 goals.

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World Class Footballers: Lionel Messi

WINS COPA AMERICA 2021 Winning can be a mighty potent salve for healing some of the lingering heartaches of past disappointments, as Messi discovered while leading Argentina’s national club to the prestigious Copa America title in 2021. After a pair of losses to Chile in the Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016, which was preceded by a painful 1–0 loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup finals, Messi was the driving force in delivering a string of wins that was punctuated with a 1–0 victory over host nation Brazil in the finals. The victory at the 10-team tournament was Argentina’s first major title in nearly 30 years. Messi was a gigantic headache for opposing teams all tournament long, driving the Argentina attack, delivering timely goals, and distributing the ball to teammates in prime scoring areas. He finished with a tournament-best four goals to go with five assists, and he was the obvious choice to be named Player of the Tournament.

Lionel Messi had plenty of reasons to celebrate after leading Argentina to the 2021 Copa America title, defeating Brazil 1–0 for its first major title in 28 years.

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Greatest Moments

TERRIFIC TRIFECTA Lionel Messi has a penchant for delivering big goals in big matches, and he netted a bundle of them during a magical march into history during the 2008–2009 campaign. Messi led Barcelona to titles in the Champions League, the Copa del Rey, and La Liga, making it the first Spanish team to win all three in the same season. The fantastic feat began with Barcelona’s 4–1 win over Athletic Bilbao in the finals of the Copa del Rey, where Messi accounted for one of the club’s goals. Next, they grabbed the La Liga crown, where Messi was dynamic and dominant, netting 23 goals in 31 matches. And, showcasing his remarkable ability to score in all sorts of ways, the superstar headed in a clutch goal during Barcelona’s 2–0 victory over Manchester United in the Champions League final at the Olympic Stadium in Rome. It was his ninth tally in the Champions League that season to punctuate a history-making run of excellence.

Lionel Messi delivered a rare header goal to help Barcelona beat Manchester United 2–0 in the 2009 Champions League final.

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World Class Footballers: Lionel Messi