Argentina, Barcelona, confidence -- Messi speaks out

	Nineteen-year-old Lionel Messi has been tabbed by many of his teammates as the most talented player at FC Barcelona. David Bergman/SI

By Keir Radnedge, Special to SI.com, World Soccer

World Soccer's Keir Radnedge recently interviewed Barcelona wonder-teen Lionel Messi about his tremendous potential, European stardom and comparisons to his idol, Diego Maradona.

World Soccer: Barcelona promoted you to the first-team squad after your success at the 2005 World Youth Cup. Was it a help or a hindrance to suddenly find yourself playing alongside stars such as Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o?

Messi: Certainly not a hindrance! Quite the opposite. Also, the help and encouragement of all my teammates -- Roni and Samuel, but not only those two -- has been brilliant. But this was not only the case in the first few weeks, it continues even now. No footballer should ever think he knows everything because he is fortunate enough to win some trophies. Football is a team game -- and I learn all the time from my teammates. This is the spirit that fills the dressing room and helps us win game after game. I have to laugh when I read stories in the media about squabbles among the players. How could we be as successful as we are if we were not united?

World Soccer: Why Barcelona, and why so young?

Messi: This is perfectly simple and even obvious once you know the background. I was 13 years old when they approached me and my family in Argentina and said they believed so much in my potential as a footballer that they wanted me to transfer to Europe -- not just myself, but also all my family. You see, this was not merely a simple transfer of one player changing shirts or changing cities or even changing countries. It was a huge gesture of belief in a boy that involved his entire family.

World Soccer: Is it true that even before you moved to Spain you had started taking a growth hormone prescribed by the Barcelona medical staff?

Messi: Yes, this is perfectly true but not unusual. I was not big for my age and it's well known that such treatment can be prescribed quite properly for children who are below average height and weight. I am not the only player who has benefited. I think you will find that Zico was also helped in this same manner when he was a young teenager. At all stages Barcelona oversaw the dosage.

This helped my confidence, too. I learned that it was possible to play and hold my own even in games in which all the opposing players were head and shoulders taller than me. Football is not only a game of skill and mental agility but also one of physique.