When I ‘met’ Lionel Messi it was a brief, heated, exchange. As he prepares to take on Manchester City tomorrow night in the knock-out round of the Champions League, I’m reminded of a night almost eight years ago to the day, when he played in this stage of the competition for the first time.
It was 22 February 2006, Messi was only 18, and not yet the household name he is today. I was 22 and sitting in the front row of the East Stand at Stamford Bridge, drooling at the prospect of watching Chelsea take on the likes of Ronaldinho – the best player in the world at the time – Deco and Eto’o. However, it was Messi who would make the biggest impact.
The diminutive Argentinian looked quite different back then – his shoulder-length hair was a mess and his shirt was far too big for him. He looked like the boy who always forgot his PE kit at school and had to borrow whatever the teacher could find in the lost property cupboard. But his style on the ball was unmistakable, right from the outset.
Within the first 10 minutes he’d won possession on the right wing and dashed past the villain of the day, Spanish left-back Asier Del Horno. His talent was glaringly obvious. He was different. I’d never seen a player so young with such a bustling, swashbuckling approach. He was so lively on the ball, knocking it past Del Horno or Arjen Robben, then scampering after it with incredible speed, strength and, most of all, determination.
Then Del Horno raked Messi down the leg, badly. Messi looked at his knee, rubbed it, and got up again. It was a terrible tackle, worthy of a red card. Looking back at the footage today, it’s clear that Del Horno was under instruction from Mourinho to go in hard on Messi. It was not pretty. The soundtrack on the video link is apt – Guns N Roses’ ‘Welcome to the Jungle’.
The second tackle was late, and high, but Messi was guilty of melodramatics it has to be said. After skipping past a two-footed lunge by Robben (spot the pattern here?), Messi wisely leapt into the air to meet the onrushing Del Horno shoulder-to-shoulder. They collided in a violent crash and both men fell to the ground. Messi looked up at the referee briefly, then rolled, not once, but four times, to the side of the pitch. It was unnecessary, but he knew he was going to get hurt seriously if he didn’t exaggerate this particular incident.
The atmosphere in the stadium was electric and being in the front row was a privilege. At the sight of Messi’s theatrics and the resulting red card for Del Horno, I jumped out of my seat to give Messi an earful! It’s embarrassing to admit now, but I was caught in the moment and I always enjoyed the heckling between fans and players.
As Messi hobbled up the touchline, the Barca physio actually turned to acknowledge me (pictured below), spun Messi in my direction, and promptly pulled up the leg of his shorts to reveal the horrific cut that had been left by Del Horno’s studs in the first challenge.
The injury was pictured in his next game for Barcelona, below.
It was clear that Messi was in the right and Del Horno deserved to receive his marching orders. The physio was shouting at me and I was shouting back – Messi’s eyes said it all: “Are you kidding?” Despite my inadvisable protestations about Messi’s play-acting, I was relieved to see him return to the pitch.
That night, Messi arrived on the world stage. As he continued the game, linking up play seamlessly between Ronaldinho and the other stars, he never looked out of place, despite his age. He had the tricks and touch of Ronaldinho, but the dribbling style of Maradona.
For me, Messi is unquestionably the best player ever to grace the game. I’m always excited to see him on television, and I’ve seen him at Chelsea since, but I still hope that one day I’ll have the privilege of watching him up-close again.
Rob Gibson 