15 minutes to go, and Fernando Navarro is coming off and this is the debut for 16-year-old Leo Messi.
Sixteenth of November 2003. What does that date say to you?
It's a very important date with regards to my career. I was able to fulfill my childhood dream. But the truth is it was a very happy day.
There wasn't so much media attention surrounding his debut before it happened.
No headlines or great expectations because he was a player who was just starting out with the Under-19 B team.
But those of us who have been following him on the fields near Camp Nou knew that he was a different and special player.
I remember that I started with the Under-19 team, I played one game and then I played half the season with them,
then I played in the C team's home games, and when the B team played at home, with them.
I hardly ever played any away games. I almost always played in the Mini, with the C team or with Barça B. At that time, I really didn't think about anything.
I played where they told me. I got on well with the lads from the Under-19 team, the C team, and the B team.
So, I didn't have any problems, regardless of the team I played for.
It's for the first game in Porto's new stadium. And they invited us. They know that we are missing plenty of players.
Those ones who are with their national sides.
It's a commitment, and we have to go play there. We have put together a squad of players for the game, but we can't change the date, and neither can they.
We had a really good relationship with Frank Rijkaard. Every now and then he would invite us, all the coaches, out to dinner.
We talked about the youth academy, the teams we had, and like a good Dutchman, he took time to take an interest in the youngsters.
Then one day he said let's give him a chance and introduce him to the world of professional football, the first team, and let's see how he handles it.
So, the date came and they I told him. It wasn't Frank who told him, but the coordinator who said all of them were going, Messi included. I was happy.
Rijkaard needed players, but he didn't just grab Barça B's best four players, for example. He picked players from the Under-19 team.
In Messi's case, a player the coaches knew it had a bright future. So, it was a great opportunity for him to have a chance to play with the first team at that elite level.
I remember that I was training with the Under-19 team. And then, at that moment, I was with the coordinator.
He came up to me at the end of the training session.
And then, amongst a few other things, he told me I was going to be traveling with the first team for the friendly.
It was a reward for him. And we said that he should enjoy it. But he hadn't done it all. It meant that he was going in the right direction.
And he still had things to learn, so he should make the most of the trip to Portugal.
I remember at that moment he told me to enjoy it and that I should make the most of the experience with the first team.
To learn what it was like because it was so new for us. Then we got back, and we had to focus on the Under-19 team.
Because that was where we were going to be playing.
I remember that four of us went from the Under-19 team because we were having a great season.
For us, it was a reward, because they needed players. It was a happy moment in which we could get valuable experience.
I think, as well, that he was able to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional with a first division side.
That's what we are all fighting for. I had the fortune to be able to do it in Barcelona.
That's what I wanted, after a long time here. So now I'm trying to enjoy every single minute I am here.
How did you feel at a moment like that?
I was really happy, but I was also really nervous due to what it all meant to be there, and to come on and play the time I was given.
When I got on, I just enjoyed the moment.
There wasn't so much time for you on the field, but you had chances out there, you were pretty much the main attacking threat with several other players missing.
I remembered that I had a really good chance just up against the keeper.
I didn't get a hold of it, and I remember after the game Frank Rijkaard came up to me and said, "You missed a good chance."
I don't remember my reply. It was a good chance.
Leo Messi robs the goalkeeper, he gets it back, and it's a last-ditch tackle that saves the day for the Portuguese. Leo Messi, one to watch.
If we look back at that game, it was not one for the archives. The team lost, they didn't play well, it was a match that caught them in between league matches.
But for Messi, it was a special game. And he comes on for the last 15 minutes, touches the ball four or five times, and every time, he did something with it.
In fact, he had a couple of chances. He didn't score, but he does ask for the ball. He takes players on. He looks to do things.
So, he left his mark. It's interesting to note, that he played that day in a position that at Barça he has made his own. The false nine.
At that time, he played just off the striker. And that was not where Rijkaard played him. He played as a striker. He almost got his name on the score sheet. And I think he made a good impression.
At the time, Messi and I were on the Under-19 team, we shared a room at the weekends, he was a quiet lad.
He didn't say much, really. But when he got out onto the field, it was completely different.
At Porto, he came out onto the field and you could tell that he would be a top player. Making it to the first team, and then two years later he was there.
The next day, just hours after making his debut, he came to Barça TV, to see the game for the first time with his family.
He was very self-critical, and he was angry at himself for not having scored. Obviously, he was happy for having made his debut.
And he was excited to see himself on the screen in the game. He asked us to make a copy for him, so he could watch it.
I think it was the first time that I have seen the footage since I got back, and realized things I didn't notice at the time.
What did your parents say to you at that stage of your career with so many things changing?
More or less what Rojo said to me at the time. That I enjoyed everything that was happening, that I had worked hard for it, that I didn't need to change anything.
That he could see us commentating on what was happening.
He told me not to change, and that I was on the right path. But with just one game, I hadn't done it all.
What I noticed, was that he hadn't really shared the experience with anyone. He was very shy.
He hadn't really explained it to anyone. Nevertheless, he was really happy with having made his debut. Even if it was not an official fixture.
I was relaxed. Not too worried.
Did you explain it at all to your friends afterwards?
No, I never really said anything to anyone. They saw it when it came out in the newspaper. But I never said anything to anyone.
How come?
I don't know. I didn't want to.
Now, 10 years later, and you are a father yourself. How life changes.
That's true, a lot has happened in those 10 years. I've been fortunate enough to be a father, and that is something that makes me amazingly happy.
I'm sure that when my son is old enough, he will ask me all about it, and he will be able to find out about it.
He had everything. Speed, rhythm, competitiveness, skill.
He never use the score that many goals with the Under-19 team, but you could see that he was special, and that he was going to reach the first team.
And to get where he is now, and where he could be, because you have to remember he's still young, nobody would have said that.
And if they say that now, they are not telling the truth.
Messi loves playing football. Another player with his talents might be more selfish, or less consistent.
He enjoys playing football, and the day he stops enjoying it is the day he will stop playing. I am convinced we will see a Messi who reinvents himself.
More of a creator, dropping back into the midfield. We don't know how he will play in the future, but I'm sure he will be an important player for Barça.
I think I'm the same person with the same way of looking at things. I've grown up. I'm learning all the time and winning things.
Well, today, I'm very proud to be talking to Leo Messi. Congratulations. And happy anniversary.
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