#3 Partido de la Máscara – Final of the Mask
When Lionel Messi arrived at La Masia, the other players couldn’t believe how small he was. The little Argentine kid was also a shy one and was nicknamed El Mudo (the mute one). But they soon came to realise that although he was quiet in the dressing room, Messi’s feet did the talking on the pitch.
Although he joined the academy in late 2000, he couldn’t play in Spanish competitions until he was registered in early 2002. That was when he befriended Gerard Pique and Cesc Fabregas at La Masia and they were integral members of what came to be known as the Baby Dream Team.
With the Cadetes A, Messi scored 36 goals in a season as they won the youth version of the treble. The reason he’s wearing a mask in this picture? He had suffered a broken cheekbone and was only allowed to play if he wore the plastic protector.
But it didn’t allow him to play freely and he soon threw it aside. The result? Messi scored twice in 10 minutes to seal the title for Barcelona.
