On November 16, 2003, a young man with short hair and long hair participated as a substitute for the Barcelona-Porto friendly match.
This young man, who presented glimpses of the match that attracted the attention of fans, was Lionel Messi of Argentina.
Barca coach Frank Rijkaard called Messi, who was wearing the number "14", to join him in the place of Fernando Navarro in the 71st minute of the match, which ended with a 2-0 loss to Barca at the Porto stronghold of Dragao.
This was the first unofficial participation of the Bulga with the first team, and from that day he turned into the first star and icon that imprinted with its goals and titles the history of a long-standing team like Catalan.
One final peek before the 17th anniversary of # Messi's unofficial debut expires.
pic.twitter.com/OeYYlUl8Yx
- FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 16, 2020
And over the next 16 years, the Argentine magician and his team achieved:
- 640 goals and 282 goals
- 6 golden balls
- 6 times the Golden Boot award as the best scorer in European leagues
- 10 times the League title
- 4 times the Champions League title
- 8 times the Spanish Super Cup title
- 6 times the King's Cup title
- 3 times the European Super Cup title
- 3 times the Club World Cup
As for the defining dates in the "Polga" march with the Blaugrana, they are:
May 2005: Messi's first goal in LaLiga
April 2007: His "Maradon" goal against Getafe
May 2009: Won his second Champions League title and scored in the final against Manchester United
December: He takes his first Golden Ball in his career
March 2012: Barcelona's all-time goalscorer
December 2012: Scored 91 goals in one season
April 2017: Scores his 500th goal in El Clásico against Real Madrid
December 2019: Won his sixth Ballon d'Or and set a record in his name
June 2020: He scored his 700th goal