Lionel Messi and the dribbles of his life

"Lionel Messi surging forward...brilliant from Messi, what a goal that is! The whole of this ground stands to applaud the 19-year-old boy."

- Barcelona vs Getafe, 2007

The young boy, touted as the one destined to become the Kohinoor among the jewels in world football, ran towards the sideline. The supporters erupted in joy, for they had seen something magical unfolding itself in front of them. The boy was flanked by the likes of Carles Puyol, Deco, Samuel Eto'o, Iniesta. Amidst the euphoria, a realisation dawned on everyone. He would go on to define football, changing the course of its narrative.

And the boy knew that he had to dribble past countless hurdles before he could reach his destiny.

From the 1950s till the 1970s, the football world was dominated by the brilliance of Brazil. The men in yellow and green swept aside every opponent to establish their legacy as one of the greatest sides of all time. They did it with a beautiful style, where elegance and entertainment joined hands to enchant the viewers. And more than that, the conquests of a young superstar who went by the name of Pele made people fall in love with the team. Some 15 years later, another talent would appear on the stage. His dance with a football would make people devoted to Argentina, and Maradona would carve out a place along with Pele, as the greatest footballers of all time.

Years later, a player resembling Maradona would don the Argentina jersey. Like his predecessor, he is short. But the similarity would not stop there. The player, very much like El Diego, is gifted with a magical left foot, capable of slicing through defences with the utmost ease and grace. He announced his arrival with a goal, which is uncannily similar to the one scored by Deigo against England in 1986.

Little did he know that a player from the past would haunt him throughout his career.

Lionel Messi's proficiency as a footballer is well documented. Experts have racked their brains over his physics-defying free-kicks that seem to bend according to the will of the master, the gravity-defying dribbles that opponents have vainly tried to figure out. Messi's exploits, however, are not limited to the ground. Beyond the fields, away from the arenas, Messi's life has been laced with barriers that have posed a much greater threat than the defenders who fall like winter leaves.

How can a boy dream of becoming a professional footballer after being diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency? Messi was 10 years old and the cost of treatment was an insurmountable burden for his family. His first club Newell's Old Boys, the elite champion of Latin America River Plate, failed to pay for his treatment. To add to his misery, his illness coincided with the Argentine Great Depression.

On Dec. 14, 2000, Messi signed his first contract with Barcelona on a paper napkin, as the first team director Charly Rexach had nothing else to offer. When he turned 14, his growth hormone treatment was complete.

Messi shot off like a bullet. Climbing the ladders one after another, he soon found himself as the one marked to become the torchbearer of the two teams in which he would create his legacy: FC Barcelona and Argentina. He would thrive in Barcelona, first under the guidance of Dutch visionary Frank Rijkaard, and then under the tutelage of Pep Guardiola. The latter would bring a revolution in playing style with his famous tiki-taka and Messi would go on to become the best in the world. Opponents were lurking around the corner, however.

Can he become the next Diego Maradona? A question that was a murmur during his teenage days became a raging debate among fanatics. Maradona, the quintessential rebel, the dribbler who placed Argentina on the world football map, the player who orchestrated their second World Cup win in 1986. During his playing days, Maradona challenged and probably overturned the supremacy of Pele as the undisputed best, and he would do that again to Messi, long after his retirement. Messi's desperation to win an international tournament with Argentina (notwithstanding his gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics) comes from not just a passion to lead his country to glory but also a need to rival Maradona. For he knows that the cacophony will only grow louder with time and the shadow of another number 10 will loom large over his own. The missed penalty in the 2016 Copa America final and the heartbreak of the 2014 World Cup final have rubbed salt into a gaping wound.

If Maradona is his nemesis from the past, then the indomitable Cristiano Ronaldo is his arch-rival in the present. Ronaldo is everything that Messi is not. Vocal, wearing his heart on his sleeves, an angry beast who sacrificed flair to mould himself into a goal-scoring machine. He would counter Messi blow for blow, matching every achievement with his own. And the latter would find himself tangled in a rivalry counted as one of the greatest of all time across sports. The comparisons between the two would form the fulcrum of footballing arguments for a decade. Messi's fight to drag himself up a bit higher would be a long-drawn-out affair and a fierce contest. As Cristiano once described, "We push each other."

Messi's playing style has served as an inspiration for many and a counter against those who have harped that a footballer's performance depends upon his physique. Since time immemorial, footballers have been imagined as someone tall, sturdily built. If Maradona shattered the orthodox belief, Messi reaffirmed the notion that talent and hard work will always determine the greatness of a player. Over the years, he has shown that he can shoot and cross and not perform just as a dribbler. He has proved with his prolific goal-scoring ability that he is more than a playmaker. And his famous header against Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final is a testament that he can soar above others, quite literally.

And of course, the new generation of fans created by the 21st-century social media boom added to the misery. Armed with the power of the internet, they wait to pounce upon a single player mistake. The hideous moments highlighted and the joys relegated to a corner. Criticisms have been easy to make and Messi would often end up as the prized target.

The element of fitness is key to a footballer, shaping his fortune. In an age where technological advancements have an ever-increasing impact on sports, maintaining fitness is less hazardous than it was 20 years ago. Then again, the ravages of time do take their toll and Messi knows that his time is running out. Henceforth, he will have to run harder than ever, in his usual zigzag ways, drawing geometrical figures for mere mortals to applaud. He will have to overcome the barriers, to stake a claim for the crown of the greatest player of all time.

Lionel Andrés Messi turns 33 today.