Lionel Andrés Messi (Spanish pronunciation: [ljoˈnel anˈdɾes ˈmesi]; born 24 June 1987) is an Argentine footballer who currently plays for La Liga giants Barcelona and the Argentine national team. Messi is considered to be one of the best football players of his generation,[3][4][5] having received several Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year nominations by the age of 21.[6][7][8] His playing style and ability have drawn comparisons to football legend Diego Maradona, who himself declared Messi his "successor".[9][10]
Messi began playing football at a young age and his potential was quickly identified by Barcelona. He left Rosario-based Newell's Old Boys's youth team in 2000 and moved with his family to Europe, as Barcelona offered treatment for his growth hormone deficiency. Making his debut in the 2004–05 season, he broke the La Liga record for the youngest footballer to play a league game, and also the youngest to score a league goal. Major honours soon followed as Barcelona won La Liga in Messi's debut season, and won a double of the league and UEFA Champions League in 2006. His breakthrough season was in 2006–07: he became a first team regular, scoring a hat-trick in El Clásico and finishing with 14 goals in 26 league games. Perhaps his most successful season was the 2008–09 season, in which Messi scored 38 goals to play an integral part in a treble winning campaign.
Messi was the top scorer with six goals, including two in the final game of the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. Shortly thereafter, he became an established member of Argentina's senior international team. In 2006 he became the youngest Argentine to play in the FIFA World Cup and he won a runners-up medal at the Copa América tournament the following year. In 2008, in Beijing, he won his first international honour, an Olympic gold medal, with the Argentina Olympic football team.
Each month in Inside Unitedthe boss shares his footballing pearls of wisdom. Here he waxes lyrical about the recent Manchester derby, Owen's winner and Louis Saha. Read more in the new issue, out 7 October...
What did you do after the Manchester derby? Did you go home and watch the highlights or did you go out and celebrate? I was drained, to be honest with you! I got home, had a glass of wine and went straight to bed. That’s not always the case, though. I normally try and watch Match of the Day on Saturday nights but it’s easy to forget about MOTD2 on Sundays.
ManUtd.com recently ran a poll – Macheda v Villa or Owen v City: which goal gave you the biggest buzz? Both of them! How can I possibly choose between those great goals? But if I have to pick one it has to be Michael’s goal against Manchester City, though, just because he scored it in the derby.
Louis Saha has started the season well for Everton. How do you look back on Louis’ time at Old Trafford?
I’m really happy for him. He’s a terrific player with plenty of ability. He’s had a lot of injury problems but it’s good to see him back playing regularly. Louis is almost the complete centre-forward – two-footed, good in the air, quick, aggressive, powerful.. and he has a marvellous shot. Unfortunately he picked up too many injuries and that was frustrating for us… and for him.
Genres: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Kids/ Family and Animation
Up is a computer-animated 3-d film produced by Pixar Animation Studios. It is distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The film is directed by Pete Doctor and features the Voices of Edward Asner, Christopher, and Jordan Nagai.
Plot:
Carl Frederickson (Edward Asner) is a retired 78-year-old balloon salesman. When Carl was a child, he met and eventually married a girl named Ellie who grew up in a small Midwestern town. Ellie always dreamed of visiting South America, but she died before she got a chance. Now, when developers threaten to move him into an assisted living home, Carl decides to fulfill his promise to Ellie. To accomplish this, he uses 10,000 balloons to make the house fly--but unwittingly takes a chubby eight-year-old wilderness Explorer named Russell with him. The two opposites match up for thrilling adventures as they encounter wild terrain, unexpected foes, and all the terrifying creatures that wait in the Venezuelan jungle.
Troy and the gang of East High School are going through their senior year, facing graduating and going their separate ways. Coming to terms with the reality of it all, Troy wants to attend the nearby University of New Mexico next year on a basketball scholarship, but Gabriella wants to attend Julliard School of Arts in New York to set her sights on becoming an artist. Meanwhile, Sharpay, the school's shallow and spoiled rich girl, plots to go all out planning the school's final musical show with the idea to add music to her hopes and fears about the future. While Sharpay takes an up-and-coming British exchange student under her wing, her flamboyant fraternal twin brother, Ryan, has his sights set on something different after school. In addition, Troy's best friend and basketball teammate Chad, and Garbiella's best friend Taylor, all have their sights set on their plans after high school and come to terms with the reality of the real world.
