Messi well placed to become greatest player ever (Feature)

By Duncan Shaw Jan 10, 2011, 21:15 GMT

Zurich - Lionel Messi, who on Monday won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the second consecutive year, is now well placed to become possibly the greatest footballer of all time.

Messi, who made history by becoming the first Argentine to win the award in 2009, held off Barcelona team-mates Xavi and Andres Iniesta to retain the trophy.

Messi's victory came as something of a surprise because it was expected that either Iniesta or Xavi would finish first in the polling because of their stellar roles in helping Spain to win the World Cup for the first time.

Messi was outstanding for Barcelona throughout 2010 but failed to score at the World Cup for Argentina, who were thrashed 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals.

However, even if 2010 was not a perfect year for Messi, there can be little doubt that he is currently the most talented player on Planet Football.

Indeed, just 23, he is perfectly positioned to become the greatest player of all time, ahead of legendary compatriots Diego Mardona and Alfredo Di Stefano, and even above towering figures such as Pele, Bobby Charlton, George Best, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff and Michel Platini.

Barca and Spain 1980s winger Francisco Carrasco, commenting the awards on Television Espanola, said: 'We still do not know just how good Messi can become. He is still very young.'

Radio station Cadena SER commented that Messi 'has everything that is needed to go on and become the best player ever: speed, talent, ambition, imagination and humility.'

After Messi had scored four spectacular goals for Barca against hapless Arsenal in April 2010, Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger said of the little genius: 'Once he's on the run, Messi is unstoppable. He's the only player who can change direction at such a pace. He is the best player in the world by some distance.'

The Messi story is a typical South American rags-to-riches tale. He was born on 24 June, 1987, in the Argentine industrial city of Rosario, to Jorge Messi, a factory worker, and Celia Cuccittini, a part-time cleaner.

Lionel, small but wiry and powerful, started playing for Grandoli, a local club coached by his father, at age 5 - and immediately caught the eye with his mazy dribbles and left-foot drives.

At the age of just 8, he was signed by Newell's Old Boys. Three years later he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. Buenos Aires giants River Plate were interested in him but could not afford to pay for his costly medical treatment.

This is when Barcelona stepped in, a decision they have never had cause to regret. Carles Rexach, Barca's sporting director, offered to pay the medical bills and give Messi's father a job at the club.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Messi and his family moved over to the Catalan capital, and the impish little striker was soon the talk of the town.

He made his Barca debut in 2004 at just 17 and quickly became a fixture and the new idol of the fans. Coach Frank Rijkaard cleverly positioned him out on the right wing, from where the youngster would cut inside to shoot with his lethal left foot, leaving behind him a trail of bemused defenders.

Messi has helped Barca to win two Champions Leagues and four Spanish league titles. His statistics for the Catalans are nothing short of astonishing: in 240 appearances for Barca in all competitions, he has scored 155 goals himself and set up 64 goals for his team-mates.

The only frustration of his career so far is that he has won nothing playing for Argentina. At the 2010 World Cup he cut a rather forlorn figure, failing to score a single goal and going home early after a 4-0 thrashing by Germany in the quarter-finals.

Part of his problem for Argentina is that he has to drop very deep into midfield to pick up the ball when playing for them, while with Barca he can wait upfield for the likes of Xavi and Iniesta to play him through - then use his speed and wizardry to bear down on goal.

Messi hopes to end his national team drought by helping Argentina to win the 2011 Copa America, to be played in July on home soil.

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