Opening Doorz

By Geneive D’Souza | Opening Doorz Editorial | February 27, 2019

Book Review: Messi
Author: Luca Caioli
Rating: 3.5/5

“Messi is the best in the world without any doubt, and for me, the history of football”
                                                                                                           —Luis Enrique

Book Review: Messi

With not a very rich background, and being diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency early on, Lionel Andrés Messi Cuccittini, the most revered footballer in history, has come a very long way.

It was all thanks to his grandmother who encouraged the coaches to play him, when they doubted his skill due to his size. And that was how the world was introduced to this footballing genius, known simply as Lionel Messi!

Written by Luca Caioli, a renowned Italian sports journalist who lives in Spain, Messi captures everything statistically. Caioli, who corresponds for SKY Italia and Corriere della Sera, is also the bestselling author of Ronaldo, Neymar and Suarez.

Caioli covers all the statistics about Messi’s matches, his life apart from football, how he responds to his new duty as a father, and how he stays humble through his walk in stardom.

His meekness and humility is appreciated by all: opponents, coaches, teammates, fans. His skill and ability to do tricks with the ball and perform on the pitch has people watching him in awe, wonder and surprise. How can this little man win everyone’s heart and praises?

“I think Leo is the best”
—Pep Guardiola

Lionel Messi vs Diego Maradona

Caioli vividly captures how the whole world constantly compares him to Diego Maradona. They make comparisons with their goals, how they score, how they dribble, and their similar short stature. Caioli reveals how people are sometimes brutal in these comparisons and he writes about how Leo and his loved ones deal with it. The criticism Messi received after three straight losses at three finals for his country is also well captured in this book. The book also highlights the way Leo has been accused of being more ‘Spanish’ than Argentinian. The news of his international retirement after Argentina lost to Chile on penalties in the Copa America final in 2016 had the whole world in shock. But no one could imagine football without the one and only Lionel Messi. Thankfully, he was back!

Luca Caioli includes interviews with family members, coaches and even the man himself, and adds detail about his favourite food and drink right to what he loves to do other than play football. He adds details as to how he first came to Barcelona, how he signed his first contract, his journey towards various goals and his wizardry displays on the pitch.

A very technical book

Having said that, Messi, the book, is very technical: Caioli uses too much statistics, which makes it boring and only a true Messi fan will read till the end. It should have been more reader-friendly and the author could have included more fun anecdotes from Messi’s life, because as a fan, one would have read all about the man and what one looks for is something only someone will know who is close to him.

Maybe, in the updated version, Caioli might just doo the needful!

“Who is the best player in the world? Leo Messi. Who is the best player ever? Leo Messi”
                                                                                      —Arsene Wenger

(Geneive D’Souza is a Grade IX student from Don Bosco International School (DBIS) she is passionate about writing, music, playing the piano and La Liga (FC Barcelona and Lionel Messi).

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