Lionel Messi: The Best In The World?

At the tender age of 19, Lionel Messi, was hailed the best player in world football. Strangely though, even to this day, Messi would never admit to being the best at the beautiful game. Humble sits with the range of words used to describe such a talent. When asking the Argentine the dreaded question he answers with some annoyance, a deep sense of truth when answers that, "No, I am not the best. I score goals, lots of others do, I am no different."

Maybe so, but at just 17 years of age, Frank Rijkaard, the FC Barcelona manager at the time, put faith in the teenager and played him with some of the greatest footballers of our generation. To further ensure the faith in his talent, the FC Barcelona board extended the teenagers contract to June 2014. Not even a first team player, Messi scored 6 goals in 17 league games, also becoming the youngest player ever to score in the La Liga.

There was certainly something special about Lionel, and as they say, good things come in small amounts. Messi was rather small, 5'6, partly due to his Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD). It was to dampen the young boys dreams of playing the game he loved, proving a huge disadvantage to begin with. Not for long though, Messi used his height disadvantage to work on the ground, becoming skillful with his dribbles. It was in his early teens that FC Barcelona approached the Argentine, offering to pay for his hormone medication, something no other club had been willing to offer.

It was at the famous FC Barcelona youth academy where Messi began to shine. Still, he was injecting himself with growth hormones, living in a different country and being separated from half of his family. This, to an extent, just lit a fire in the pit of his stomach. Soon though, it would be the pitch that would be on fire, burning on contact with his presence.

In the Spanish La Liga season of 2006 - 2007, Messi firmly roted himself in the starting squad. Too much for a boy so young? Clearly not. Giants of the footballing world became aware that this tiny striker was a force to be reckoned with. The famous league match of Real Madrid against FC Barcelona saw a stunning display by Messi, in a game were he hit the back of the net three times. He became the first ever player to score a hat-trick in an El Clasico. It was around this time that the world started to notice his brilliance.

True pressure came when FC Barcelona hero Ronaldinho left the club, though Messi did inherited the number 10 jersey. The 2008 - 2009 season saw great changes in the striker, his ability to keep calm on the pitch proving crucial. By the end of the season, Messi had hit the back of the net more than thirty times (in all competitions), quite some achievement, and doubling his tally from the season before that.

No longer a boy, yet just short of a genius, Messi became something of a nightmare for opposition defenders in the 2009 - 2010 season. Quick feet and an even quicker mind, Messi was branded impossible to stop, unless you give him a little kick. He won yet more honors for his abilities, but stayed quiet about everything, passing questions that would involve any form of gloating. In La Liga, Messi matched yet another record, most goals scored, joint top with Christiano Ronaldo.

The latest season however was the season - if he hasn't already - Messi exploded. The whole world had been drawn in to watch his magic with the ball, hid elegance on the pitch. Scoring over 50 goals in the one season, more than his fellow strikers combined, leaving the world at his feet.

But, are we expecting too much now? Previous seasons had lead to that climax, surly Lionel couldn't top that world class performance. In some eyes he could, though they are the people that find everything to pick at. "He doesn't use his right foot, Pele used both," or "He runs himself alone, he's too quick for the rest of them." Despite the previous statement, Messi is 100% a team player. It is not all about Messi, even he would tell you the same.

Messi's achievements seal him as one of the greatest footballers of our generation, an utter wizard of the game. In the midst of this we may forget that Messi is 23 years old, ten potential years of first class football left in him. If he improves he will surly be the best, but one things for sure, you'll never hear him say it.