What's the story?
Lionel Messi rose to prominence in Argentina after his Newell's Old Boys days, where his magnificent talent was talked about way before he went to play for FC Barcelona. Ernesto Vecchio was Messi's first coach with the Old Boys.
He sadly passed away yesterday aged 65 and was found in his home at Romario. His former club, posted a message on Twitter paying a tribute to him by saying, "We regret the death of Ernesto Vecchio, teacher at Malvinas and Leo Messi's coach in his early days, our condolences to his family."
In case you didn't know...
Vecchio began his coaching career back in 1984 at the 'Malvinas International school' where he was the man in charge of the fabled 87' championship leading side.
The youth coach had spotted Messi even before he joined Newell's as he revealed previously in an interview with La Nacion that Messi showed glimpses of his talent playing as a kid on the grounds of Bella Vista sports complex before joining the Old Boys.
The heart of the matter
Vecchio spent 28 years working for Newell's old boys with his formative years being spent on honing the skills of a youngster who later went on to win five Ballon d'Ors. The Argentine had always spoken highly of Vecchio whenever he was asked about the coach's impact on him as a player.
Vecchio's passing away must have saddened Messi to great lengths as until the previous day from his sudden death, the 65-year-old was managing two youth teams at Leones FC, a team which is a part of Lionel Messi's foundation.
Vecchio always spoke highly of his favourite student as he would have been proud to coach the legend in his formative years. One famous Messi incident which Vecchio revealed once was when Messi dribbled past defenders and rounded off the goalkeeper, as he is used to even now.
In that move, the goalkeeper injured himself and despite having an empty net to slot the ball home, Messi stopped the game and called medical assistance for the keeper.
What's next?
A tribute is being planned by Vecchio's former employers and also by the Lionel Messi foundation. It remains to be seen if Messi flies back to Argentina to attend the funeral of the first coach of his career.
Sportskeeda's take
The footballing world will pay a tribute to Ernesto Vecchio today for producing a player like Lionel Messi, who comes once in a generation. Vecchio would love for his favourite student to come back to play for Newell's before retiring with Messi also wishing to end his career back in his homeland.
