Caioli Messi - 2017 Updated Edition Messi - 2017 Updated Edition

More Than a Superstar
1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-1-78578-138-4
Verlag: Icon Books
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, 304 Seiten

Reihe: Luca Caioli

Lionel Messi is the greatest footballer of our time: a magician with uncanny ability to beat defenders, find space and score goals. 2016 saw him win the Ballon d'Or for a record fifth time, further emphasising his status as the greatest footballer in the world today, and possibly ever. Messi is Luca Caioli's classic portrait of modern football's undisputed superstar, now fully updated to include all the action from 2015/16. Featuring exclusive testimony from those who know him best, including coaches, teammates and even Messi himself, it offers an unrivalled behind-the-scenes look at the life of a football superstar.

Luca Caioli is the bestselling author of Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar and Suarez. A renowned Italian sports journalist, he lives in Spain corresponding for SKY Italia and Corriere della Sera.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Caioli, Luca

Leseproben

Chapter 1

Rosario

Conversation with Celia and Marcela Cuccittini

‘I buy the rump or a piece from the hindquarter. They’re cuts of beef I’ve also seen in Barcelona but I don’t know what they’re called. I put a bit of salt on each piece, dip them in egg and coat them in breadcrumbs. I fry them until they’re nice and golden-brown and I put them in an oven dish. I slice the onion finely and fry it over. When the onion turns white, I add chopped tomatoes, a little water, salt, oregano and a pinch of sugar. And I leave it on the heat for around twenty minutes. Once the sauce is done, I pour it on top of each piece of beef, making sure they’re well covered. I take some cream cheese or hard cheese out of the fridge and lay it on top of the beef in thin slices. I leave them in the oven until the cheese melts. All that’s left to do is fry the potatoes as a side dish and the milanesa a la napolitana [schnitzel napolitana] is ready to serve.’

With the passion and experience of a good cook, Celia describes her son Lionel Messi’s favourite dish.

‘When I go to Barcelona I have to make it two or three times a week. And with at least three medium-sized cuts of beef. I tousle his hair and tell him: “My schnitzel napolitana and my mate [traditional Argentine tea] are what make you score so many goals.”’ Lionel has simple gastronomic tastes: schnitzel, but not made with ham or horsemeat; chicken with a sauce made of pepper, onions, tomatoes and oregano. He doesn’t care much for elaborate dishes, like the ones his brother Rodrigo makes, but then, as is well known, Rodrigo is a chef and his dream is to open his own restaurant one day. It is natural for him to experiment and try new recipes, although his younger brother doesn’t always appreciate them. Does he have a sweet tooth? ‘Yes, Leo loves chocolates and alfajores [traditional caramel-filled biscuits – a national delicacy]; when we go to Spain we have to take boxes and boxes so that he always has a good supply.’ She tells the story about how, when he was little, when a coach promised him an alfajor for every goal he scored, he netted eight in a single match. Some feast.

Over a cup of coffee in La Tienda bar on San Martín de Rosario avenue, the mother of Barça’s number 10 talks with great gusto about her world-famous son. Black hair, a delicate smile and certain facial features that remind one of Leo (although she laughs and says that he resembles his father completely), Celia María Cuccittini Oliveira de Messi has a soft, gentle voice. While she is speaking, she often glances at her sister Marcela, seated opposite. The youngest of the Cuccittini family, Marcela is also a mother of footballers: Maximiliano plays for Bahia in Brazil; Emanuel plays for Vasco da Gama in Brazil. Marcela Cuccittini de Biancucchi is Leo’s godmother and his favourite aunt. When he returns to Rosario, he loves spending time at her house. ‘We have to go and meet him or call him to see how he is, but, of course, my sister spoils him,’ says Celia. ‘And then there’s Emanuel, they’re inseparable.’ From a very young age they were continually playing ball. ‘There were five boys: my three, Matías, Rodrigo and Leo, and my sister’s two, Maximiliano and Emanuel. On Sundays, when we would go to my mother’s house, they all used to go out into the street to play before lunch,’ recalls Celia. They were wild games, of football or foot-tennis and often Leo would end up returning to the house crying because he had lost or because the older ones had cheated.

‘Just the other day, Maxi was reminding me about those games,’ adds Marcela, ‘and he was telling me that when they all meet back here in Rosario he wants to play Messis against Biancucchis, just like old times.’

And the memories bring us to the grandmother, Celia: her delicious food, the pastries, the Sunday family reunions and the passion for football. ‘She was the one who accompanied the kids to their training sessions. She was the one who insisted that they let my Lionel play even though he wasn’t old enough, even though he was the youngest and he was small. Because,’ says Celia, ‘he’s always been small. They were afraid he’d get trodden on, that he’d get hurt, but she wasn’t, she insisted: “Pass it to Lionel, pass it to the little guy, he’s the one who scores goals.” She was the one who convinced us to buy him football boots. It’s a shame she can’t see him today. She died when Leo was ten years old, but who knows if, from up there, she sees what he has become and is happy for that grandson of hers whom she loved so much.’

But how did Leo begin playing football? Who taught him? Where do all his many skills come from – is it a question of genes? ‘I don’t know, from his father, from his brothers, from his cousins. We have always loved football in our family. I am also a fan. My idol? Maradona. His career, his goals, I followed them with much passion. He was a barbarian on the pitch. When I met him, I told him: “I hope one day my son will be a great footballer and you can train him.” And look what’s happened … look how far he’s come …’

A pause in the story: the mobile phone on the table starts to ring. Celia excuses herself and moves away to answer it. Meanwhile, Marcela returns to the topic of young Leo. ‘He was incredible, before he was even five years old he could control the ball like nobody else. He loved it, he never stopped. He hit every shot against the front gate, so much so that often the neighbours would ask him to cool it a bit.’

Celia has finished her phone call, she sits down and nods in agreement. ‘The worst punishment we could threaten him with was: you’re not going to practice today. “No mummy, please, I’ll be really good, don’t worry, I promise … let me go and play,” he begged and insisted until he convinced me. Leo wasn’t a temperamental child and he wasn’t lazy either, he’s always been a good boy, quiet and shy, just as he is today.’

Really? ‘Yes, really. He doesn’t take any notice of the fame. When he comes back to Rosario he always wants to come and wander around this area, along San Martín avenue, with his cousin Emanuel. When we tell him it’s not possible, that here the people of his hometown will get hysterical when they see him and not let him go two steps, he gets upset. He doesn’t understand it, he gets annoyed. In Barcelona, he goes to the Corte Inglés department store in his trainers and sports gear. Ronaldinho often used to ruffle his hair and ask him if he was crazy going out dressed like that. He hasn’t taken any notice of who he is. That’s why being famous, signing autographs or taking photos with fans doesn’t bother him. Some evenings, when he comes home after a long time and when I go to see him, I lay by his side on the bed. We chat, I ruffle his hair, I tell him things, and I say, half joking: “What all the girls wouldn’t give to be next to you like this.” He makes a weird face and says: “Don’t be silly mum.”’

On the walls of the bar hang the shirts of Argentine players. Leo’s is there too, under a window, marked with the number 30 of Barcelona. ‘They don’t know I’m his mother, although we live in this town,’ comments Celia, a woman who shies away from fame, very aware of the risks that come with celebrity, and having clear priorities for her life and those of her children. All well and good, but how does she feel being the mother of a star? ‘Proud, very proud. Opening the newspaper and seeing – here just as much as in Spain – a piece about him or seeing his shirt number, or seeing the kids who wear it … it makes me swell with pride. That’s why it hurts me to hear criticism about his playing or false information about his life. It affects you deep down in your soul and it pains you when someone calls you and says, have you seen this, have you seen that? Leo? He hardly reads what they write about him. If he notices it, it doesn’t affect him that much. But that isn’t to say that he hasn’t been through some tough times. He has had his low moments, when he was injured, out for months, when things don’t go the way he wants them to go. At times like that, I don’t even think twice, I pack my bags and I go to Barcelona, to see what’s happening, to be close to him, to look after him as much as I can. Leo has always been a boy who keeps all his problems inside, but at the same time, he’s been very mature for his age. I remember, when we hinted at the possibility of him returning to Argentina, he said to me: “Mum, don’t worry, I’m staying, you go, God will be with us.” He is very strong willed.’

She returns to the topic of his success, of the people who go crazy for the ‘Flea’ on both sides of the Atlantic. ‘The thing I like the most is that people love him,’ says Celia. ‘They love him, I think, because he is a simple, humble, good person. He always thinks of others and he makes sure that everyone around him is OK: his parents, his siblings, his nephews and nieces, his cousins. He’s always thinking about his family. Of course, I’m his mother and a mother,...