THE MAKING OF LIONEL MESSI - HOW IT ALL STARTED FOR THE FIVE-TIME BALLON D'OR WINNER

After he claimed the prestigious individual honour for the fifth time on Monday, Goal examines the forward's journey from anonymity in Argentina to greatness with Barcelona

Argentina were World Cup holders back in 1987 and Diego Maradona was the planet's finest footballer but, in a poor part of the country's third-largest city, Rosario, something very significant also took place: Lionel Andres Messi was born.
The third son to Jorge, a steel worker, and Celia, a cleaner, young Lionel weighed in at just three kilos and was a mere 47 centimetres in height. But he grew to become the greatest of his generation and perhaps of all time, a peerless player - and the only one to win the Ballon d'Or on five separate occasions.
Football was part of Leo's life from day one. Rosario Central were crowned champions of Argentina two weeks before Messi's birth, but little Lionel would inherit his father's passion for the city's other club: Newell's Old Boys.
"When his mother sent him off to run errands, Leo always took his football with him," his brother Matias once said. "And if he didn't have one, he would make one out of plastic bags or socks."

Even from the age of three, Leo and the ball were best friends. "I got given my first football when I was very young: three, maybe, or four," Messi said a few years ago. "It was a present and from then on it was the only present I ever wanted, Christmas, birthday or whatever: a ball."
Young Leo went along to watch his brothers play at local club Grandoli, a modest team with no money and a dirt pitch in the south of the city. Their youth coach back then was Salvador Aparicio - and one night he found himself a player short.
"I looked up to the stands and saw him playing with a ball," he told Goal in a recording for part of the gametv before his death in 2008. "But he was so small, so we decided to wait for the other player to turn up. But he didn't, so I asked Lionel's mother if I could borrow him.
"She didn't like the idea. She said he had never played [in a match] before. His grandmother was there too and she said: 'Come on, let him play'! So they let me borrow him.
"The first time the ball came to him he just looked at it and let it pass. He didn't even move. But the next time the ball came to him, it virtually hit him on the left leg. Then, he controlled it and started running across the pitch. He dribbled past everyone crossing his path. I was screaming for him to shoot, but he was too small. Ever since that day, he was always in my team."
That was at the age of five and, before long, Messi was not only dribbling, but shooting and scoring too.

Later, in the youth teams, he scored six or seven goals in every match," Aparicio added. "Instead of waiting for the goalkeeper to kick the ball, he would take the ball off him and start dribbling all over the pitch. He was supernatural."
At the age of nine, Messi joined the club he still supports even today, Newell's, and was part of an exciting generation which lost just one match in four years. Little Leo, however, was the shining star of the Maquina de la '87 (the '87 Machine) - so named because all of its players had been born in 1987.
By the age of 11, however, it emerged that Messi was suffering from a growth hormone deficiency. Without the necessary treatment, his dreams of a career in football would be dashed.
Contrary to popular belief, Newell's did try and pay for treatment for their promising player, but with the club in crisis and few funds available, Messi's father grew frustrated. Social security saw to some of the medical bills, but the family were struggling to make ends meet.
Jorge Messi considered moving the whole family to Australia, but believed his son's football skills could help them to overcome their financial problems. He offered Lionel to River Plate and the young forward impressed as a 13-year-old against boys three years his senior in a trial alongside future international team-mate Gonzalo Higuain.
But Messi's father asked River for a job and a house in Buenos Aires and River took exception, while Newell's were also playing hard ball. So the move never materialised

Instead, Jorge met with representatives of a scouting firm who called Argentine lawyer Juan Mateo, and a video of Messi kicking an orange (113 times in a row) and a tennis ball (120 times) was sent to Barcelona scout Josep Minguella.
Remarkably, that was enough to secure a trial at Barca and Messi travelled to the Catalan capital along with his father and one of the intermediaries, Fabian Soldini.
The forward's first contract was signed on a napkin by his father, Minguella and former Barca midfielder Carles Rexach, but his future remained uncertain for three years. Jorge was out of work and the club went back on several promises until a €4,000 per month contract allowed the family to breathe easily in 2004.
Later that year, a much taller and stronger Messi made his debut for the first team at the age of 17 and also scored his first Barca goal - with a beautiful lob - against Albacete that same season. Just over a decade on, he has now not only gone on to become the greatest goalscorer in the history of Barca and La Liga, but he has also amassed an amazing 26 team trophies with the Blaugrana and, after his success in Zurich on Monday, an unprecedented five Ballons d'Or.
"When we first saw him, he was so small that we wondered what he was doing here," Gerard Pique once said of little Leo. But how he grew.

BREAKING NEWS ! Just yesterday on BBC discovery, A very dangerous snake has been discovered by some scientists which they claim it is an enhance done in d world. According to BBC news

BREAKING NEWS !
Just yesterday on BBC discovery, A very dangerous
snake has been discovered by some scientists which they
claim it is an enhance done in d world.
According to BBC news, the strange snake keep on increasing in length 0.5cm, it can't be killed by any weapon unless it bite itself and dies immediately.
Researchers claimed that is the only way it can be killed for now.
This is the world most deadly and poisonous snake ever.
This kind of snake can only be found in Nokia touch Light mobile phone under game option, snake Xenia.pacman emoticon
Thanks for your patience for reading this carefully.
Please don't abuse me o. I think jokes are good for your health.
Happy Weekend tongue emoticon grin emoticon

Buffalos kill 7 people every year. Lions kill 500 people every year Hippos kill 800 people every year. Spiders kill 5000 in people every year. Scorpions kill 7000 people every year.

Buffalos kill 7 people every year.
Lions kill 500 people every year
Hippos kill 800 people every year.
Spiders kill 5000 in people every year.
Scorpions kill 7000 people every year.
Snakes kill 10000 people every year.
Guess what?
Mosquitoes kill 2.7 million people every year.
The smallest are the deadliest.
Small 'sins', hardly noticed by many, are the most deadly to your spiritual life.
Avoid excuses for not praying and allotting few moments of your day to your creator or your Isht Dev.
Sins of omission are just as deadly as sins of commission.
White lies, gossiping, small lies, are committed more frequently and are deadly.
Mind those little compromises that you do daily.
They are the ones that will bring your downfall.
Successful people have two things on their lips,
"Smile and silence".
Smile can solve problems, while
Silence can avoid problems.
Sugar and salt may be mixed together
but
ants reject the salt and carry away only the sugar.
Select the right people in life and make your life better and sweeter.
If you failed to achieve your dreams, change your ways not your Creator.
Remember, trees change their leaves, not their roots.
You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks.
Haters will see you walking on water and say it's because you can't swim.
Even if you dance on water, Your enemies will accuse you of raising dust.
Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your own hands.
Remember Don’t ever wrestle with a pig. You’ll both get dirty, but the pig will enjoy it.
Be wise and be smart.

While giving don't use your heard

FULL TEXT OF PROSTATE HEALTH AWARENESS LECTURE: MEN - MY CHILDHOOD; MY MANHOOD; MY PROSTATE.. MUST READ!!

I am here to speak with you on Prostate. The topic is misleading. Is prostate strictly for men? Yes, ONLY men have prostate and ONLY men over 40years but the healthcare enlightenment is for everyone.
There is no woman who does not know a man 40 years and above – father, uncle, brother, son, friend, neighbor, colleague …
Essentially what I will be doing today is health promotion. Responsible health promotion must provide three things:
1. Information
2. Reassurance
3. A plan of action.
Let me start with a background on prostate health.
Everyone has a pair of kidneys. The job of the kidney is to remove waste. It is the LAWMA (waste management company) of your body. Everyday your blood passes through the kidney several times to be filtered. As the blood is filtered, urine is formed and stored in a temporary storage tank called the urinary bladder.
If there were to be no urinary bladder, as a man walks on the road, urine will be dropping.
Now think of the plumbing work in your house. Think of the urinary bladder as the overhead storage tank. From the storage tank, a good plumber will run pipes to other parts of the house, including the kitchen. God in His wisdom ran pipes from our urinary bladder to the tip of the penis. The pipe is called the urethra. Just below the bladder and surrounding the urethra is a little organ called the prostate gland.
The prostate gland is the size of a walnut and weighs about 20grams. Its job is to make the seminal fluid which is stored in the seminal vesicle. During sexual intercourse, seminal fluid comes down the urethra and mixes with the sperms produced in the testicles to form the semen. So semen technically is not sperm. It is sperm + seminal fluid. The seminal fluid lubricates the sperm.
After age 40, for reasons that may be hormonal, the prostate gland begins to enlarge. From 20 grams it may grow to almost 100 grams. As it enlarges, it squeezes the urethra and the man begins to notice changes in the way he urinate.
If you have a son under 10, if he has a little mischief like we all did at that age, when he comes out to urinate, he can target the ceiling and the jet will hit target. Call his father to do same, wahala dey. His urine stream is weak, cannot travel a long distance and sometimes may come straight down on his legs. So he may need to stand in awkward position to urinate.
Not many men will be worried their urine stream cannot hit the ceiling. Toilets are on the floor and not on the ceiling. But other symptoms begin to show.
TERMINAL DRIPPLING:
The man begins to notice that after urinating and repacking, urine still drops on his pants. This is the reason why after an older man urinates, he has to ring bell. A younger man simply delivers to the last drop and walks away. Just see an older man coming from the bathroom. Sometimes he may clutch the newspaper closely to hide the urine stains, particularly on plain colored trousers.
RESISTANCY:
At this point you wait longer for the urine flow to start. There are 2 valves that must open for you to urinate – the internal and external sphincters. Both open but because of obstructions in the urethra, you wait long for the flow to start.
INCOMPLETE EMPTYING:
You have this feeling immediately after urinating that there is still something left.
As all these things happen, the bladder begins to work harder to compensate for the obstruction in the urethra. The frequency of urination goes up. Urgency sets in. sometimes you have to practically run into the toilet. Nocturia also becomes common. You wake up more than 2 times at night to urinate. Your wife begins to complain.
Men being men may not talk to anyone even at this point. Then the more serious complications start.
Stored urine gets infected and there may be burning sensation when urinating.
Stored urine forms crystals. Crystals come together to form stone either in the bladder or in the kidney. Stones may block the urethra.
Chronic urinary retention sets in. The bladder stores more and more urine. The size of the bladder is 40 - 60 cl. A bottle of coke is 50cl. As the bladder stores more urine it can enlarge up to 300cl. An overfilled bladder may leak and this leads to wetting / urinary incontinence. Also the volume may put pressure on the kidney and may lead to kidney damage.
What may likely bring the man to hospital is acute urinary retention. He wakes up one day and he is not able to pass urine.
Everything I have described above is associated with prostate enlargement, technically called benign prostate hyperplasia.
There are other diseases of the prostate like:
1. Prostatitis – inflammation of the prostate
2. Prostate cancer – cancer of the prostate.
This discussion is on prostate enlargement.
I have bad news and good news.
The bad news is that everyman will have prostate enlargement if he lives long enough.
The good news is that there are life style changes that can help the man after 40 to maintain optimum prostate health.
Nutrition:
Look at what you eat. 33% of all cancers, according to the US National Cancer Institute is related to what we eat.
Red meat everyday triples your chances of prostate disease. Milk everyday doubles your risk. Not taking fruits / vegetables daily quadruples your risk.
Tomatoes are very good for men. If that is the only thing your wife can present in the evening, eat it with joy. It has loads of lycopene. Lycopene is the most potent natural antioxidant.
Foods that are rich in zinc are also good for men. We recommend pumpkin seeds (ugbogulu).
Zinc is about the most essential element for male sexuality and fertility.
Men need more zinc than women. Every time a man ejaculates he loses 15mg of zinc. Zinc is also important for alcohol metabolism. Your liver needs zinc to metabolize alcohol.
ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION:
As men begin to have urinary symptoms associated with prostate enlargement, it is important they look at alcohol consumption. More fluid in means more fluid out.
Drink less. Drink slowly.
EXERCISE:
Exercise helps build the muscle tone. Every man should exercise. Men over 40 should avoid high impact exercise like jogging. It puts pressure on the knees. Cycling is bad news for the prostate. We recommend brisk walking.
SITTING:
When we sit, two-third of our weight rests on the pelvic bones. Men who sit longer are more prone to prostate symptoms. Do not sit for long hours. Walk around as often as you can. Sit on comfortable chairs. We recommend a divided saddle chair if you must sit long hours.
DRESSING:
Men should avoid tight underwear. It impacts circulation around the groin and heats it up a bit. While the physiological temperature is 37 degrees, the groin has an optimal temperature of about 33 degrees. Pant is a no - no for men. Wear boxers. Wear breathable clothing.
SMOKING:
Avoid smoking. It affects blood vessels and impact circulation around the groin.
SEX:
Regular sex is good for the prostate.
Celibates are more prone to prostate illness. While celibacy is a moral decision, it is not a biological adaptation. Your prostate gland is designed to empty its contents regularly.