Messi Mania
Luis Miguel Echegaray
Holler (Quarto)

Lionel Messi is a soccer superstar, of that there is no doubt. I was astonished to hear that one of my young relations had spend £12 of his pocket money to buy a single card about him. He certainly is infected with Messi Mania.

In this book sports presenter/journalist, Luis Miguel Echegaray, pays tribute to the player many consider the greatest of all time. Rather than presenting a chronological account he weaves into a kind of patchwork tale, significant elements of Massi’s life.

Starting with his arrival in the USA, he then goes back in time to his birth and early life in Rosario, Argentina, and forward to October 2024 when he was playing for Inter Miami and the team were knocked out in the first round of the MLS playoffs. In relation to this Echegaray writes this ‘And here’s the biggest message of all that we have learned from Messi’s entire journey. When you fall, that’s when you’re at your strongest because you have the chance to get up and try again. And that’s the true meaning of character.’ A powerful message to everyone, no matter what their walk of life. Moreover it’s not merely Messi’s hard work and soccer prowess that make him so special; it’s also his friendships and what he’s done and continues to do for others, all of which are included herein.

We hear what other soccer stars think of him, his style of play, there’s an interview between the author and Messi and more.

A legend indeed who, thanks in no small way to his devoted grandmother and father, overcame challenges in his boyhood including a growth hormone deficiency.

The penultimate paragraph in the book contains vital messages for all young people and he ends thus: ‘Little Leo is actually in all of us, just waiting for the glorious moment to shine,’