Bojan Krkic,Mauro Zarate,Martin Ødegaard,Alen Halilovic,Paulo Dybala; have all being at one time or the other tagged "the new Lionel Messi", but one by one they have each fallen short of expectations. Under this weighty mantle on their shoulders, only a few have come close to manifesting the greatness expected of them,the rest have more or less collapsed under the huge,perhaps unreasonable expectations. The journey thus continues for the now seemingly fruitless search for the heir apparent to this Argentine and PSG star,Barca legend and indeed footballing legend.
Perhaps we don't need a new Messi again, since we already have the new Messi playing in Newell's Old Boys, donning the No.10 shirt. No I'm not drinking and writing; and yes I know that same Newell's Old Boys, is Lionel's boyhood club which he left for Barcelona in 2000.
Please meet the other Messi,in a very literal sense,who plays for Newell's Old Boys. He is the 19-year-old, Joaquin Messi, born in a village near Rosario(the home of his club) and has been employed by the club since he was eight years old(same age Lionel began in same club).How is that for follow in a man's footsteps. He made his debut for the Under-20 side just last week,where they clashe with Guarani in an Under-20 Copa Libertadores match. He came in from the bench in the second half and the No.10 squad number assigned to him,coupled with his answering same name as the record, seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was such a huge attraction.
By the way he is no relation of Lionel in any way. When asked about this he started by saying, "it's simply coincidence", then he went on to explain that in his village of residence there are three different families who go by the surname, Messi,so they see it as normal, just like it happens in other parts of the world, where unrelated families have sane surname. He concluded by saying that, it is just that Lionel Messi is a popular brand in football that is why their bring namesake makes so much news. He rounded off by pointing out how he is starting in same club as Lionel his idol and now wearing that iconic No.10 shirt.
It is no secret that Lionel has repeatedly expressed his desire to finish off his career in this his boyhood club and Joaquin was asked about the possibility of playing alongside the Argentine legend. He answered with delight that it would be the "most beautiful" experience for him, something he considers brilliant.
As a follow up to this,he was asked if he who would retain the No.10 shirt if Lionel was his teammate. He said he would with delight give up the shirt, in his words,"No, he[Messi] would [wear the shirt]." For him it doesn't matter the shirt number he is given,once it is him and Lionel Messi playing in thesame team.
The reality is that Joaquin turns 20 in April and since his debut in late February, what he gets is only substitute appearances(4 in all) so far, for the Newell's Under-20 side. In today's football a 20 year old is not necessarily too young and can be forgiven for thinking of regular football and in a senior side too.
Argentine newspaper La Nacion reports that, due to his current status as a fringe player, Joaquin seems likely to seek a move elsewhere rather than at Newell's or the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa. Ofcourse this may hamper his chances of ever getting to play alongside his famous namesake at Newell's. Well,we wait and see as he is in such a moment in his life that he needs to make a decision for his future. Lionel didn't stay this long at the Estadio Marcelo Bielsa.
A funny writer gave an equally funny suggestion on how best Joaquin can emulate his super hero. He asks him to follow the example of Daniel Are Knutsen, a 16-year-old Norwegian youth player who went the whole horse and changed his name to "Lionel Messi" in other to get picked for a trial for club in his country(https://africa.espn.com/football/blog-the-toe-poke/story/3927105/toe-poke-daily-lionel-messi-signs-for-norwegian-third-tier-ik-junkeren).
Anyways, eventhough it won't take a complete overhaul(since he shares same surname) for Joaquin to change his name, you can imagine that this strategy is not sustainable, when we talk of playing football to it's very peak— the name will have to step aside someday for the footballer to prove he is worth the name.
We await what next with Joaquin Messi.
Cheers
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