A beautiful article from Ezequiel Scher & Gaston Bourdieu. (Goal)

I will try to highlight only bullet point of this article about Messi's struggled childhood.

Endocrinologist Diego Schwarztein is the main man, the man behind Messi's growth problem. Bravo to this guy for having us the wonder of football. Ok here we go:

• One day Schwarztein advised the Newell's Old Boys medical team: there
  was a boy in the youth ranks who was causing concern because all of
  his team-mates were growing except for him
  • Messi was diagnosis with a hormone problem and injection began. Paid by an insurance company

"I think that if you go and ask if the worst that could happen was
having to take injections every day, I am sure he would say no.

"What would he say then?

"He will probably tell you the worst thing must have been leaving his
neighbourhood, his family, being unable to play for a while due to a
problem in the transfer. Not the treatment."

• In 2,5 years Schwarztein was with Messi and listen to this kid's every story.

• After this period, a big economic crisis hit Argentina's mid-class families so hard that put Messi out of treatment while 30% of its wasn't done. (neo-liberal policies of the 1990s in the country led to a state meltdown in 2000)

• His father Jorge was desperate and tried everything. Messi was out of football for a year.
• He's out of work just like 3 millions Argentinian
• With the medication costing US$1,300 a month and with devaluation of the peso on the way, it would have been extremely difficult to afford
• Messi would have been much shorter than he is now if thing hadn't changed

His old club Newell couldn't take it anymore.

• Messi was taken to Buenos Aires, for a trial with River Plate, he was accepted but the Millonario also declined to part coming with money for the little star

• At that point, the chance to go to Barcelona appeared. Another tough call for the young Messi.

Many years before, when Schwarztein finished his medicine degree, he travelled to Catalunya to specialise in endocrinology.

• Schwarztein heard about Messi and Barcelona, he enrolled.
• Messi went with his father to live in Barcelona, his mother and siblings stayed behind in Rosario, his old friends carried on playing in the same block on Israel Street.
• Messi even stopped seeing the love of his life, as he had already met Antonella Rocuzzo, cousin of team-mate Lucas Scaglia, and who would years later become his partner and the mother of his children.
• He restarted the treatment in Barcelona and completed the 30 percent still outstanding. The Catalan club put up the funds and Messi was able to reach the height to which his body was intended to naturally grow.

When he first walked into the doctor's office, he was 1.27 metres tall and nine years old. He reaches 1.69m, two centimetres taller than Diego Maradona. That is not just coincidence, but the result of a promise Schwarztein made to his young patient: "I don't know if you will be better than Maradona, but you will be taller."

Source: http://www.goal.com/en/news/2466/goal-50/2015/12/03/17852742/messis-childhood-struggle-much-more-than-a-few-injections?ICID=AR_RS_1

A beautiful article from Ezequiel Scher & Gaston Bourdieu. (Goal)

I will try to highlight only bullet point of this article about Messi's struggled childhood.

Endocrinologist Diego Schwarztein is the main man, the man behind Messi's growth problem. Bravo to this guy for having us the wonder of football. Ok here we go:

• One day Schwarztein advised the Newell's Old Boys medical team: there
  was a boy in the youth ranks who was causing concern because all of
  his team-mates were growing except for him
  • Messi was diagnosis with a hormone problem and injection began. Paid by an insurance company

"I think that if you go and ask if the worst that could happen was
having to take injections every day, I am sure he would say no.

"What would he say then?

"He will probably tell you the worst thing must have been leaving his
neighbourhood, his family, being unable to play for a while due to a
problem in the transfer. Not the treatment."

• In 2,5 years Schwarztein was with Messi and listen to this kid's every story.

• After this period, a big economic crisis hit Argentina's mid-class families so hard that put Messi out of treatment while 30% of its wasn't done. (neo-liberal policies of the 1990s in the country led to a state meltdown in 2000)

• His father Jorge was desperate and tried everything. Messi was out of football for a year.
• He's out of work just like 3 millions Argentinian
• With the medication costing US$1,300 a month and with devaluation of the peso on the way, it would have been extremely difficult to afford
• Messi would have been much shorter than he is now if thing hadn't changed

His old club Newell couldn't take it anymore.

• Messi was taken to Buenos Aires, for a trial with River Plate, he was accepted but the Millonario also declined to part coming with money for the little star

• At that point, the chance to go to Barcelona appeared. Another tough call for the young Messi.

Many years before, when Schwarztein finished his medicine degree, he travelled to Catalunya to specialise in endocrinology.

• Schwarztein heard about Messi and Barcelona, he enrolled.
• Messi went with his father to live in Barcelona, his mother and siblings stayed behind in Rosario, his old friends carried on playing in the same block on Israel Street. For a kid, this must have been really tough!!!
• Messi even stopped seeing the love of his life, as he had already met Antonella Rocuzzo, cousin of team-mate Lucas Scaglia, and who would years later become his partner and the mother of his children.
• He restarted the treatment in Barcelona and completed the 30 percent still outstanding. The Catalan club put up the funds and Messi was able to reach the height to which his body was intended to naturally grow.

When he first walked into the doctor's office, he was 1.27 metres tall and nine years old. He reaches 1.69m, two centimetres taller than Diego Maradona. That is not just coincidence, but the result of a promise Schwarztein made to his young patient: "I don't know if you will be better than Maradona, but you will be taller."

Source: http://www.goal.com/en/news/2466/goal-50/2015/12/03/17852742/messis-childhood-struggle-much-more-than-a-few-injections?ICID=AR_RS_1

A beautiful article from Ezequiel Scher & Gaston Bourdieu. (Goal)

I will try to highlight only bullet point of this article about Messi's struggled childhood.

Endocrinologist Diego Schwarztein is the main man, the man behind Messi's growth problem. Bravo to this guy for having us the wonder of football. Ok here we go:

• One day Schwarztein advised the Newell's Old Boys medical team: there
  was a boy in the youth ranks who was causing concern because all of
  his team-mates were growing except for him
  • Messi was diagnosis with a hormone problem and injection began. Paid by an insurance company

"I think that if you go and ask if the worst that could happen was
having to take injections every day, I am sure he would say no.

"What would he say then?

"He will probably tell you the worst thing must have been leaving his
neighbourhood, his family, being unable to play for a while due to a
problem in the transfer. Not the treatment."

• In 2,5 years Schwarztein was with Messi and listen to this kid's every story.

• After this period, a big economic crisis hit Argentina's mid-class families so hard that put Messi out of treatment while 30% of its wasn't done. (neo-liberal policies of the 1990s in the country led to a state meltdown in 2000)

• His father Jorge was desperate and tried everything. Messi was out of football for a year.
• He's out of work just like 3 millions Argentinian
• With the medication costing US$1,300 a month and with devaluation of the peso on the way, it would have been extremely difficult to afford
• Messi would have been much shorter than he is now if thing hadn't changed

His old club Newell couldn't take it anymore.

• Messi was taken to Buenos Aires, for a trial with River Plate, he was accepted but the Millonario also declined to part coming with money for the little star

• At that point, the chance to go to Barcelona appeared. Another tough call for the young Messi.

Many years before, when Schwarztein finished his medicine degree, he travelled to Catalunya to specialise in endocrinology.

• Schwarztein heard about Messi and Barcelona, he enrolled.
• Messi went with his father to live in Barcelona, his mother and siblings stayed behind in Rosario, his old friends carried on playing in the same block on Israel Street. For a kid, this must have been really tough!!!
• Messi even stopped seeing the love of his life, as he had already met Antonella Rocuzzo, cousin of team-mate Lucas Scaglia, and who would years later become his partner and the mother of his children.
• He restarted the treatment in Barcelona and completed the 30 percent still outstanding. The Catalan club put up the funds and Messi was able to reach the height to which his body was intended to naturally grow.

When he first walked into the doctor's office, he was 1.27 metres tall and nine years old. He reaches 1.69m, two centimetres taller than Diego Maradona.
That is not just coincidence, but the result of a promise Schwarztein made to his young patient: "I don't know if you will be better than Maradona, but you will be taller."

Source: http://www.goal.com/en/news/2466/goal-50/2015/12/03/17852742/messis-childhood-struggle-much-more-than-a-few-injections?ICID=AR_RS_1

Bravo:

And bravo to Barcelona:

The first ever contract, showed how badly they wanted him - a non-proven potential kid who has deficient growth hormone problem.