Lionel Messi: Small Doesn’t Mean Weak

Lionel “Leo” Messi, one of the greatest soccer players of all time, was born in Rosario, Argentina in 1987. He was one of the smallest growing up, often bullied and pushed around. On his first day of school, Leo was told he was too fragile to play soccer. To prove that he was as good and strong as the other players, he put on an incredible dribbling display. Soon, the other kids learned that taking the ball away from him was no easy feat and no matter how hard they knocked him down, he always got back up.

As the other kids grew an inch or two each year, Leo stayed the same height. When he was eleven, he discovered he had a growth hormone deficiency that required him to take injections into his legs every night.

But soon the family ran out of money to pay for his treatments. Leo didn’t let that stop him. He grabbed a video camera and recorded himself juggling oranges with his feet as if they were soccer balls. He sent the video to FC Barcelona, who offered him a tryout.

At the tryout, Leo was once again the smallest player. But on the field, his dribbling and goal scoring ability shone through. FC Barcelona was so eager to sign him that they wrote his first contract on a napkin.

Being small didn’t make him weak, but rather more determined. He went on to lead the Barcelona team to numerous titles, won the World Cup for Argentina, and currently plays in the U.S. for Inter Miami CF.

As Leo said, “when you lose, you get up, you make mistakes, and you learn.”