Argentina in thrall to Messi

Lionel Messi became the toast of Argentina when, just days after his 18th birthday, he inspired his country's U-20 side to a fifth world title with a series of masterful displays at the FIFA World Youth Championship Netherlands 2005. Such was the impression made by the prodigious midfielder that in addition to taking home a gold medal he also picked up the adidas Golden Shoe award as top scorer, and the adidas Golden Ball as best player.

"Although he's already a great player, Lionel needs to take things slowly. What he did in this tournament was fantastic, but in order to keep developing his game and improving, he needs to continue along the same lines," said his Argentina coach Francisco Ferraro. 'Messimania' has also broken out back in Argentina with many supporters and analysts already comparing him to the young Diego Maradona.

Indeed 'El Diego' himself was so taken with the youngster's mercurial displays that he personally phoned to offer his congratulations and encouragement. "The truth is that it feels wonderful when the greatest players in the world speak well of you. It gives you an incentive to keep learning and keep working hard," the player told FIFAworldcup.com.

With his extraordinary vision and impressive technical skills, Messi strides about midfield like it is his natural habitat, engineering openings where none appear to exist. Endowed with an explosive turn of pace and a majestic dribble, he is a constant threat to opposing defences, who seem incapable of containing him.

But the left-footed Messi is a lot more than just an orchestrator of play and a neat passer; he has also got a keen eye for goal. His six-goal tally in the Netherlands, in particular the exquisite strike that opened the scoring in the semi-final against Brazil, have marked him out as a formidable goal-scorer in his own right.

History-makerMessi was only 13 when his family moved from Argentina to Spain to escape the economic crisis then ravaging the South American country. After settling in Barcelona, the talented youngster was invited to trials at the Camp Nou, where the youth coach Carles Rexach immediately spotted a star in the making. "I snapped him up there and then. In fact, as a symbolic gesture, I got him to sign for FC Barcelona on the back of a serviette," Rexach later recalled.

Gallery However, at only 1.40m, the diminutive Messi was extremely small and slight for his age, and so the club also undertook to take care of the medical treatment needed to stimulate the player's dormant growth hormones. Three years on, the Argentine made his debut in the Spanish top flight at the age of 16, and then on 1 May 2005 he became the youngest league scorer in Barcelona's history when he got on the score sheet against Albacete at just 17 years, ten months and seven days. Officials at the Spanish Football Federation were not slow either when it came to recognising Messi's huge potential, offering him the chance to represent his adopted country at youth level. However, the player's Argentine roots ran deep and he politely declined in the hope that one day he would get his chance with the Albiceleste.

His faith was rewarded when he was called into Argentina's U-20 squad for the regional qualifiers for Netherlands 2005 in Colombia last January. It was there that South America got its first glimpse of Messi's formidable repertoire as he marked himself out as one of the continent's most talented young players. The Rosario-born starlet then followed that up in the Netherlands with a series of magnificent displays that saw him quickly become the talk of the tournament. Such was the level of interest in the player that the ever-vigilant Barcelona travelled to the Low Countries with an improved contract and revised buy-out clause.

Impressive statsNow tipping the scales at 65 kilos and 1.70m, Messi's vital statistics are almost as impressive as his footballing ones. He grabbed six goals in eight games in the qualifiers, a haul that saw him finish as second highest scorer behind Colombia's much-vaunted marksman Hugo Rodallega.

Then in the Netherlands, the teen sensation came into his own, scoring six times in seven games as well as laying on two wonderful assists. All told, his goal tally accounted for half of Argentina's total, and every one of them was crucial. His feat is even more impressive when you consider that he started on the bench for Argentina's opening game against the United States – coincidentally the only match they lost in the entire competition.

So integral was Messi to the youth team's success that he become an instant hero to the Argentine public, many of whom are now calling on national coach Jose Pekerman to consider their footballing gem for future assignments with the senior side. When the possibility of such a call-up was mentioned to the shy and self-effacing midfielder, his swift reply was: "It's still much too early for that."

His U-20 coach Ferraro said: "He needs to continue with what he's been doing until now, which is why it's vital that he has a safe environment in which he can develop. He's fortunate to have all his family around him, and all of us, of course. We'll do whatever we can to help in his development. If Jose Pekerman were to call him up to the senior squad, then that would be great for him. He'd see how things are done at that level and learn so much more." Of course, his new status as one of the finest young player of his generation brings with it ever more media attention – something the player has yet to fully come to terms with. Asked recently how he was handling being constantly in the spotlight, the player answered: "I'm trying to deal with it as calmly as I can, although all I really want to do is to get out on the pitch and play football."