Young duo hold Argentina hopes (30 Dec 2005 17:44 GMT)
Argentine striker, Lionel Messi, hopes to play a World Cup alongside forward, Sergio Agüero, with whom he won the U 20 championship this year in the Netherlands.
Messi, 18, the new phenomenon of Argentine soccer, was leading scorer and best player of the Youth Championship-winning the Golden Boot and Golden Ball awards-sharing the frontlines with Agüero, 17, one of the stars of last season's Aperture Argentina tournament with Independiente.
"We did not have the opportunity to play together very long, but I felt very comfortable playing with him, and of course I would like to repeat it with the senior team," Messi told the Argentine press.
The FC Barcelona star has an almost sure spot on the national team roster for the 2006 World Cup, while Agüero is one of several players coach, Jose Pekerman is keeping a close eye on.
Pekerman is also considering Oscar Ustari, Fernando Gago, Daniel Bilos, Rodrigo Palacio, Daniel Díaz, Lucas Castromán y Fernando Belluschi, all in the Argentine league, for the already loaded national squad.
Messi did not lament his country's luck at drawing the same group with the Netherlands, Ivory Coast and Serbia and Montenegro, considered to be the toughest group in the World Cup.
"Argentina is big in name, game, and surely there are many national teams afraid of it," he said.
Lionel Messi started playing soccer at a very early age in his hometown's Newell's Old Boys. From the age of 11, he suffered from a hormone deficiency and as Lionel's parents were unable to pay for the treatment in Argentina, they decided to move to Barcelona, Spain. Shortly after arriving in Spain, Lionel tried his luck with a trial at FC Barcelona, despite being only 13 years of age. He excelled at the trial and rapidly found himself starting for the Barcelona B team, averaging more than a goal per game.
In October 2004 Messi made his official debut for the first team against Espanyol, becoming the third-youngest player to ever play for FC Barcelona. He scored his first senior goal for the club against Albacete on May 1, 2005.
He was offered the chance to play for the Spain national football team, but declined, preferring to wait for the opportunity to play for the country of his birth.
Despite his youth, Messi has already drawn comparisons with Diego Maradona, arguably one of the best football players of all time.
On June 27, 2005 FC Barcelona renewed his contract until 2010, establishing a selling clause of €150 millions.
On August 4, José Pekerman called him up to the senior Argentine national team. He made his debut against Hungary. On September 25, 2005 Messi obtained a Spanish citizenship and was finally able to make his debut in this season's Spanish First Division.
Messi's first outing in the UEFA Champions League at the Nou Camp was on Sept 28 against Italian club Udinese. He impressed with some great passing and a seemingly telepathic relationship with Ronaldinho that earned him a standing ovation from the 70,000-plus Nou Camp faithful. On December of that year, the Italian newspaper Tuttosport awarded him the Golden Boy 2005 title for the best under-21 player in Europe, over Wayne Rooney and Lukas Podolski.
While not as well known as Messi, Sergio "Kun" Agüero has a similarly bright future.
Last season he scored 9 goals for Independiente, helping the embattled side finish fourth in the standings.
Agüero holds the record of being the youngest player to debut in the Argentine First division with only 15 years, one month and 3 days (On July 7, 2003, against Club Atlético San Lorenzo).
The young star has already awakened the interest of several European teams, such as of Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter, Juventus, and Villarreal, who has already presented a formal offer of 12 million euros.
source : Soccer365