Messi's eight trips to China: no one cared about it in 04, and he was "difficult" because of his height
From the short boy who no one cares about, to the "contemporary king" who led Argentina to the World Cup, Messi has left us with too many beautiful moments. As one of the top superstars in world football today, Messi also has a deep relationship with China, and as of this trip to Beijing against Australia, the Argentine star has been to China a total of 8 times, and China is both a place of dreams and a lot of warmth for him.
【2004: First trip to China that no one cares about】
Many fans think that Messi only came to China for the first time in 2005, but if you look closely, Messi's relationship with China can actually be traced back to 2004.
At the time, the Argentine was just a 17-year-old unknown young man who came to China in August 2004 with the Red and Blue. At that time, Barça was full of stars, and all the main players came to Shanghai to play a friendly match against Shanghai International United at 7:30 pm on August 8.
But no one expected that the Red and Blue Army, which has a great reputation in world football, encountered an unprecedented "extreme cold" in Shanghai, China.
Why is it extremely cold? Because Barça's trip to Shanghai, which brought all the main forces thousands of miles, did not set off much attention in China. On the evening of August 8, in the stands of the Shanghai 80,000 Stadium, facing the attendance of only a few thousand people, the Barça club officials, who were accustomed to seeing big scenes, also sighed with emotion, frankly saying that this was the first time that Barça played an open tournament in front of such a small audience.
It is worth mentioning that this is the most complete European team in Shanghai in the more than 20 years before 2004. Coach Rijkaard, captain Puyol, as well as Ronaldo, Xavi, Gyuli, Iniesta, Deco, the main players of the red and blue team were all present. Such a luxury list, excluding the free tickets, only attracted a few thousand spectators in the end, which has to be said to be the biggest blow in the history of Barça's trip abroad.
At that time, the superstars who shook the football world were all cold, not to mention the unknown Messi at that time, which is an important reason why many Barça loyal fans do not remember that Messi came to China as early as 04. At the time, Messi was just an unnamed substitute wearing the number 21 shirt, and the Argentine was on the bench in that match against Shanghai International and did not receive much media attention, not even many photos.
[2005: Messi's "debut" in the eyes of Chinese]
In a sense, 2005 was the beginning of Messi's association with China. That summer, the 18-year-old Messi played a friendly match with Barça on his second trip to China, playing a friendly match in Macau with 2004 Chinese Super League champion Shenzhen Jianlibao.
Unlike a year ago, Messi was given more appearances in the team, scoring his first career goal three months ago, winning the 2005 European Golden Boy Award and the Argentine Footballer of the Year.
At that time, more and more media began to pay attention to the young star, who officially renewed his contract with Barça two months before coming to China, and the liquidated damages rose to a staggering 150 million euros, attracting global media attention. This time, Messi came off the bench in the second half of the match against Shenzhen Jianlibao, and helped Barca win 9-0 with two goals and two assists.
[2007: Business journey "rewarded", height problems cause embarrassment]
Compared with the previous two competition-based tours, Messi's 07-year visit to China was full of commercial flavor. That year, the Argentine visited China for the third time with Barça, but instead of being included in the red and blue friendly match against Inter Milan, he participated in a number of commercial events - from Beijing to Jinan, from Guangzhou to Shenzhen, Messi's footprints spanned several cities in China from north to south.
In Beijing, Argentines visited Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, held a meeting with fans, watched a demonstration of traditional Chinese crafts, and received a large portrait of Messi; In Jinan, Messi learned about China's Qiju culture in Qilu and showed off his skills in the way of Qilu; In Guangzhou and Shenzhen, Messi attended sponsorship events and interacted closely with fans.
It is worth mentioning that Messi's trip to China in 2007 had some not very good episodes.
As we all know, due to the lack of growth hormone in his youth, Messi suffered from dwarfism. Later, with the help of FC Barcelona, Messi gradually overcame his illness, but his height was only about 1.7 meters. When he came to China in 2007, Messi was invited to be a guest on CCTV programs, but he didn't expect that the host actually grabbed the pain point of Messi's height and repeatedly entangled, and the scene was once very embarrassing, but Messi always showed high emotional intelligence and literacy, and was polite and courteous in the face of the host's "forced questioning".
On that day, Messi's brother and friends joined him on the show, and the host asked Messi shortly after the opening: "How tall are you now?" Is it 1.69 meters? Or maybe 1.67 meters? 1.68 meters? ”
Messi once suffered from dwarfism is well known, but the host seized this pain point of others to ask questions, which naturally made Messi a little embarrassed. But the Argentinian replied very politely: "Height is not very important to me, I think I am fine now." ”
The host actually did not give up, and took out his height to compare with the media: "I am 1.73 meters, and I look taller than Messi." Even so, Messi replied very politely: "That's because your hair is mousse, standing up, relatively high." This ingenious high emotional intelligence answer instantly enlivened the atmosphere on the field, which was originally embarrassed, and the audience involuntarily applauded.
Originally thought that this topic could finally pass, who knew that the host then asked: "You are much shorter than your peers, are there many coaches who will say that you have no future?" When it comes to careers, Messi's answer this time is very firm: "This question does not stop me from playing like other boys. ”
The host turned the gun again and said to Brother Macy, who was sitting in the audience: "It seems that your brother is much taller than you, why are you so much worse?" Faced with these nonsensical questions, Messi still explained very patiently: "It looks very different, but in fact, the difference is not big, I am shorter at home." ”
I thought it was a unique meeting, but many topics revolved around height, which really made Messi's side a little confused. It can also be seen from the program screen that when the host asked Messi his height three times, Messi's brother and others under the stage were slightly dissatisfied, and if it were not for Messi on the stage using high emotional intelligence to solve problems repeatedly, I am afraid that the ending would be more embarrassing.
[2008: Resisted the pressure of Barça to go to Beijing, the dream of winning the Olympic Games finally came true]
In 2008, Messi came to Beijing again, but this time the trip to China was not to attend business events or represent Barça in friendly matches, but to represent the Argentine Olympic team in the Olympic Games.
Speaking of which, Messi's Olympic trip can be described as extraordinary. At that time, Barça and Messi had a huge disagreement over whether to participate in the Olympics, and the club refused Messi's request to go to Beijing to participate in the Olympics, insisting on taking him to Italy and the United States for training camps.
Barca's move is mainly to prepare for the Champions League qualification on August 12, but in the face of the once-in-a-four Olympic Games, Messi prefers to represent his country. Barça appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, and Laporta even said: "The FIFA ruling will not change our plans in any way, and if the ruling is against us, we will continue to appeal." ”
Faced with such a resolute attitude from the club, Messi's response was very simple: after receiving the FIFA release order, he directly turned off his mobile phone and then boarded a plane to Beijing. It is precisely because of this that when Barca got the news again, Messi had already arrived in Beijing.
On August 7, in the first round of the men's group stage of the Olympic Games, Messi contributed a pass and a shot for Argentina to help the team win 2-1 against Côte d'Ivoire. In the quarterfinal, Messi opened the scoring again and assisted Di Maria in extra-time to help Argentina defeat the Netherlands 2-1. In the final against Nigeria, Messi used his outstanding personal skills to deliver a number of threatening passes up front, eventually assisting Di Maria to score the only goal of the game to help Argentina win the gold medal in the men's football event at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
It is worth mentioning that this is also the first national team title won by Messi in his career. The Argentine cherished the title and showed gold at Camp Nou after returning to Spain.
In the face of media interviews, Messi fully affirmed this trip to China: "The time I experienced with my teammates in Beijing is really unforgettable for me!" He then said another big goal of his career: "Now our goal is to win the World Cup!" ”
[2010: Warring States Security, Beams and Columns Repeatedly Steal Scenes]
In the summer of 2010, Messi came to China again with Barca, which was the first time Messi faced Guoan. Although the red and blue did not play the game with all their strength, Messi's start, the flash of young players such as Roberto and Ibrahimovic's goal still excited the fans.
Messi started 45 minutes for Barca as captain that game, and his dribbling breakthrough and passing vision caused a series of amazements. Unfortunately, due to bad luck, Messi's shot was twice blocked by the crossbar and upright and failed to score in the bird's nest.
[2014: South American Super Derby Cup settled in China, Messi lost a point regretfully]
Founded in 1914, the South American Super Derby Cup is an official cup with a history of 100 years, also known as the Nicolas Leos Cup. The tournament is one of the oldest tournaments in South American football (16 years before the World Cup).
The match takes place alternately between the two countries and is played on a home-and-away basis. In 2014, Brazil and Argentina celebrated their 100th year of green-shaded history, and the 2014 South American Super League Derby happened to be the 100th showdown in the history of the two teams. In order to welcome this event, CONMEBOL joined hands with China to promote the South American Super Derby Cup out of South America for the first time and settled in the Bird's Nest in Beijing, China, and the tournament level was also changed to A Grade Points Competition, and the format was changed from home and away to single game.
It is worth mentioning that this is the highest specification and highest level of official continental football competition introduced in the history of the mainland, whether in terms of competition scale, competitive level or the quality of the stars participated, this South American Super Derby Cup can be described as surpassing the Beijing Olympic football competition and any football event held in China in the past.
Brazil and Argentina are also very concerned about this game, and they can be said to be the main force in order to win. In Brazil, Neymar, David Luiz, Kaka, Miranda, Marquinhos, Felipe Luiz, Coutinho, Oscar, Willian, Fernandinho, Tardelli and other celebrities were all present. Argentina also sent Messi, Di Maria, Higuain, Sergio Aguero, Mascherano and other main squads.
Messi started Argentina and was awarded a penalty in the 40th minute, which was unfortunately saved by Brazilian goalkeeper Jefferson. The star of that match was Brazil's Tardeli, a future Brazilian international who would join Shandong Taishan who scored twice (with two assists from Oscar, who currently plays for Shanghai Port), to help Samba defeat Argentina 2-0 to win the South American Super Derby.
【2017: First visit to China as an individual】
Before 2017, although Messi came to China many times, he all visited with the team, and his first visit to China in his real personal name was in 2017.
On June 1, 2017, Messi came to China for the first time in his personal name and attended the global launch of the "Messi Football Interactive Experience Space", and finally determined the world's largest football theme park in China. The theme park uses virtual and augmented reality to present viewers with classic moments from Macy's career, which visitors can experience using relevant equipment during the tour.
Messi hopes to inspire a new generation of Chinese footballers through the experience, saying in an interview: "I want to be able to provide visitors with experiences they have never had before, to encourage them to join the sport earlier, and I want them to feel like we are there for him when they visit." ”
While participating in a series of business activities, Messi also found time to appear on Phoenix TV's exclusive interview.
【2023: Returning to Beijing is significant】
On the morning of June 10, 2023, Beijing time, the private plane taken by Messi and his party landed smoothly at the Capital Airport. Messi has since joined the Argentine national team, who arrived earlier, for a friendly match with Australia on June 15 at the Beijing Workers' Stadium.
For Messi personally, this visit is very meaningful. This is Argentina's first overseas match after winning the World Cup last year, and it is also Messi's second visit to China after six years.
From the young player who sat on the bench in 2004 and was not cared for, to the thunderous applause of two goals and two assists in 2005, and then to the realization of the dream of Beijing in 2008. The fate between China and Messi has been continuing, and after 19 years in circles, Messi's trip to China seems to be a microcosm of his career, witnessing the perfect transformation of an unknown young player to a generation of football kings.
Now, he will wear a three-star Argentina shirt on the stage of the Workers' Stadium, which may be the last time Messi will come to China as a player. Regardless of the outcome, regardless of off-field factors, the meaning of this game itself has transcended a lot.