Lionel Andrés Messi born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for La Liga giants FC Barcelona and the Argentine national team. Messi is considered to be one of the best football players of his generation, having received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21. His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to football legend Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".

Messi began playing football at a young age and his potential was quickly identified by Barcelona. He left Rosario-based Newell's Old Boys's youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe, as Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Making his debut in the 2004–05 season, he broke the La Liga record for the youngest footballer to play a league game, and also the youngest to score a league goal. Major honours soon followed as Barcelona won La Liga in Messi's debut season, and won a double of the league and UEFA Champions League in 2006. His breakthrough season was in 2006–07: he became a first team regular, scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico and finishing with 14 goals in 26 league games. Perhaps his most successful season was the 2008–09 season, in which Messi scored 38 goals to play an integral part in a treble winning campaign.

Messi was the top scorer with six goals, including two in the final game of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. Shortly thereafter, he became an established member of Argentina's senior international team. In 2006 he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa América tournament the following year. In 2008, in Beijing, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team.

HONORS

    * U-21 European Footballer of the Year: 2007
    * FIFA U-20 World Cup Top Scorer: 2005
    * FIFA U-20 World Cup Player of the Tournament: 2005
    * Copa América Young Player of the Tournament: 2007
    * Player of the Year of Argentina: 2005, 2007
    * FIFPro Special Young Player of the Year: 2006–2007, 2007–2008
    * FIFPro World Young Player of the Year: 2005–2006, 2006–2007, 2007–2008
    * World Soccer Young Player of the Year: 2005–2006, 2006–2007, 2007–2008
    * Premio Don Balón (Best Foreign Player in La Liga): 2006–2007, 2008–2009
    * EFE Trophy (Best Ibero-American Player in La Liga): 2006–2007, 2008–2009
    * FIFPro World XI: 2006–2007, 2007–2008
    * UEFA Team of the Year: 2007–2008
    * UEFA Champions League Top Scorer: 2008–2009
    * Trofeo Alfredo Di Stéfano: 2008–2009
    * UEFA Club Forward of the Year: 2008–2009
    * UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2008–2009

TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE BACKGROUND AND HONORS OF MESSI AND OTHER POPULAR FOOTBALLERS AND COACHES LIKE KAKA,TORRES,C.RONALDO,SIR ALEX FERGUSON,
LOG ON TO http://footballers-and-coaches..com

FOR HISTORY AND WINNERS OF DIFFERENT SOCCER TOURNAMENT LIKE THE LALIGA,SERIE A,THE KING'S CUP,THE EPL etc
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FOR THE WINNERS OF DIFFERENT WINNERS FOOTBALL AWARDS LIKE THE FIFA WORLD PLAYER OF THE YEAR(BOTH MALE AND FEMALE) AND THE UEFA PLAYER OF THE YEAR TILL DATE(BEST KEEPER,MID FIELDER AND THE STRIKER OF THE YEAR)
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FOR THE HISTORY AND HONORS OF DIFFERENT FOOTBALL CLUBS TILL DATE. CLUBS LIKE MAN UTD,CHELSEA,BARCA,INTER,AC MILAN,ARSENAL,LIVERPOOL etc
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up messi

My Guy dani Alves

Dani Alves is one of the strongest, most intense right-sided players in the world, and covers an extraordinary amount of ground. He came to FC Barcelona in the summer of 2008, aged 25 years, after six seasons with Sevilla.


Born on May 6, 1983 in Juazeiro (the Brazilian state of Bahia), Daniel Alves started out playing at youth level for the biggest club in the region, Esporte Clube Bahia. He progressed through the ranks, and was just 18 when he played his first top flight match, when the club was being managed by former Barça man Evaristo de Macedo.

Bahia won 3-0 against Paraná that day, and Alves impressed from the outset. He was brought down for a penalty and also supplied an assist, leading the home fans to start chanting “Ah, ah, ah, Daniel titular”.

Alves’ first professional title was the Bahia Championship in 2001 followed by the Northeast Cup in 2001 and 2002. This led to a call-up for the Brazilian Under 20 team in January 2003. Sevilla had their eye on him, and brought him to Europe on loan.

Pleased with his performances, the Andalusian outfit soon acquired permanent rights to the player. In late 2003, Alves was in the World Under 20 Cup winning team. It was played in the UAE, and Brazil beat Spain (with Andrés Iniesta in the side) 1-0 in the final. Alves was named best full back of the competition.

In that 2003/04 season, he played 29 games as right back for Sevilla as the club qualified for Europe.

As time went by, Alves consolidated his role as both a defender and part of the attack in the Sevilla team that in 2005/06 won the UEFA Cup. The Brazilian was named best player in that competition, and a few months later, won the Super Cup as his side beat FC Barcelona in Monaco.

In 2006/07 the Brazilian formed a solid part of the Sevilla team that went on to also retain the UEFA Cup, and collect the Copa del Rey as well.

A year before joining Barça, Alves won the Spanish Super Cup by beating Madrid and also gained his first Champions League experience. Sevilla went out in the second round to Turkish club Fenerbahçe. In that 2007/08 season, Alves played 33 league games and was the second most used player in the squad after Navas.

Now considered one of the best full backs in the world, Alves came to Barça in the summer of 2008. In his first season, he was involved in the incredible treble winning campaign. He missed very few games, but one of those was the Champions League final in Rome. Despite being a defender, he scored five goals in his 54 appearances.

Alves is also an important member of the full international Brazil team. In the summer of 2007 he was in the Copa America winning side, and two years later lifted the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

PROFILE

Despite being just 173 cm tall and weighing only 64 kg, Alves is a very strong player. He covers a lot of ground, being a tireless runner able to move up and down the wing – contributing regularly to the attack, without ever neglecting his defensive duties.

It is going forward where he most impresses, and he can shoot with both his left and his right foot. He is also a free kick specialist, and is highly renowned for his crossing ability.

HONOURS

FC Barcelona
2009/10 European Super Cup
2009/10 Spanish Supercup
2008/09 Champions League
2008/09 Liga
2008/09 Copa del Rey

Sevilla
2007/08 Spanish Super Cup
2006/07 Copa del Rey
2006/07 UEFA Cup
2006/07 European Super Cup
2005/06 UEFA Cup

Sporte Clube Bahía
2002 Interestatal

Brazil National Side
2009 Confederations Cup
2007 Copa America
2003 U-20 World Cup

Individual Titles
2005/06 Most Valuable Player in the UEFA Cup
2006 Most Valuable Player in the UEFA Super Cup

Lionel Messi rocks!!!!

where is barcelona thread now?

Whats the point of this thread?