Messi - Omar Tawil

Omar Tawil 7-4

May. 18, 2014.

Mrs. Chalhoub

Book Blog 4

Messi

Balague, Guillem. Messi : The Biography. Great Britan: Orion Books Limited, 2014. Print.

Summary

In the summer of 1987, in Rosario, Argentina, Jorge and Celia Messi were expecting their little boy. Lionel. As Messi was first born, they discovered that he had a growing deficiency, which would make him weaker and shorter, yet that didn’t bother him. Little did they know, he would turn out to be arguably the greatest football player in history. Lionel Messi was born into a not so rich household, yet they were never struggling for food. Ever since Lionel started walking, he would always have a ball with him, no matter what he was doing. He would take it to outings, to school, and even to sleep. At the age of 4, he had already started showing some skills with the ball. As Messi got a little older, he joined a local football club with kids older than him. He had absolutely stunned all his teammates, showing them the best he had. Many people were certain he would make it to professional football. A few years went by and he got scouted by FC Barcelona; one of the best teams worldwide. Messi made his debut at age 17, and became the youngest Barcelona player ever to score. Messi kept playing, practicing, and persevering to become what he is today; the best football player of all time. Nothing could stop him. If he could overcome the disadvantages of his growing deficiency, than he could do anything.

            This Biography takes place in the current time period. Clear proof of that is: “Leo gazed out of the window from the back seat. It was 17 September 2000. A Sunday.” (Messi, p.3).

            The time period affected his ideas in many ways. One way is that Diego Maradona, a famous Argentinian football legend, was at the peak of his career. Messi looked up to him, and at one point, Maradona briefly played for Messi’s local club as stated in the biography: “Maradona had a brief spell at Newell’s in 1993. Leo went to his debut in the black and red shirt.” If he had been born at a different time period, he probably wouldn’t have been as inspired by Maradona as he was.

Vocab

·      Devoted: (p.31): To be dedicated to something.

Relation: Messi devoted his time to playing football.

·      Despair: (p.38): To be very sad, or to feel that you have lost hope.

Relation: Messi was in despair whenever he didn’t have the ball with him.

·      Divine: (p.40): of God, or like God.

Relation: Messi has a divine gift in football.

·      Degenerative: (p.45): Strong disease affecting the body.

Relation: Messi had a degenerative and incurable disease, which caused him to be shorter and weaker.

·      Triumph: (p.45) Victory over something.

Relation: In an interview Messi was talking about his Aunt who was very close to him and he said: “I would like her to be here, but she left before she could see me triumph.

Reflection

                          This book is and outstanding biography showing us how one of the best players in the world got where he is today. It shows us all the obstacles he faces, and he has inspired many. I found it amazing how someone with a strong disease still managed to get where he is today. I liked the book a lot because he is one of my favorite players, and it shows us that not everyone is perfect, but you can be close if you persevere. I would really recommend this book for someone who really enjoys football and has some time since it a little long. It is really inspiring, and it encouraged me to play football every day for about half an hour minimum. Messi is a great role model to many people everyone, especially for people who are in any way disabled. In my opinion I would rate this book a 9/10 because it is my favorite biography yet, but it does sometimes get you a little bit bored when they start to go off topic.