Messi's tourist circuit in Rosario

Having already been called Rosario's ambassador to the world, it is very clear that Messi is a popular figure in Rosario. So much so, that in November of 2019 a tourist circuit opened up detailing his childhood places when he was in Rosario.

It's made out of ten places where Messi used to spend his time, which go hand in hand with with stories, anecdotes, images and audiovisuals, where the Rosario Turismo app presents a journey through Messi's childhood neighborhood, his school, the 'potreros', his first clubs (Grandoli and Newell's) and even the place where he met Antonella Roccuzzo, his wife.

The places are the following:

Santa Fe Sports Museum: This museum is located where Battalion 121 used to operate. When he was a boy, Messi and his friends would outwit the soldiers guarding the place and sneak into the huge field that turned into a 'potrero' to emulate an eleven-a-side soccer field. Today, a large metal cube 40 meters high stands out in the Parque Héroes de Malvinas. It houses a museum that pays homage to athletes who made the national sport great and were born in the province of Santa Fe. On the second floor, at the end of the tour of the football area, there is an exclusive space about Messi.

Club Abanderado Grandoli: The little field where at the age of 4, when he was with his grandmother in the stands as a spectator, his brother's team lost a player and Leo replaced him, scoring the winning goal. I've done an entry on Messi's time at Grandoli.

School N° 66 "Gral. Las Heras": His elementary school, which today has a mural by the Brazilian artist Paulo Consentino showing him wearing the albiceleste jersey. I've already done an entry on this topic.

La Bajada neighborhood: The streets where La Pulga played soccer with his brothers and friends. The figure of the crack can also be seen in one of the 34 murals that decorate the neighborhood.

El Campito Club: The 'potrero' where Leo Messi began his relationship with the ball is now a neighborhood club. In this little field he made his first friends and spent long afternoons kicking the ball and riding his bike. In December 2018 these friends decided to transform the place into a space for recreational, artistic and sports meetings. Girls and boys from La Bajada neighborhood can now enjoy a place where they can practice different sports, get together with friends and dream like Leo did.

Central Córdoba: In 1995 Messi wore the blue and red shirt of the Charrúa in a children's tournament in which he was crowned champion.

Paseo de los Olímpicos: The star plaque of the promenade is located at the intersection of Av. Pellegrini and Entre Ríos, where Lionel Andrés Messi, who in 2008 won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing, China, is depicted.

Complejo Malvinas Newell's: This is the Newell's Old Boys children's soccer school where Messi began to approach his future as a professional.  You can check this entry for more information.

Coloso del Parque: Newell's stadium, where Messi used to go with his father and siblings as fans.

City Center Rosario: At the age of 9, Lucas Scaglia, a friend of Lionel's, invited his cousin Antonella to enjoy the Paraná River with them. It was there where their lives began to intertwine. They became good friends and even though Leo went to live in Barcelona, they never lost contact.

The page for the circuit can be found here. That is all for today, so as always, I hope you liked this entry and I'll see you in the next blog.

Messi and rugby/American football

Rugby/American football is another sport that Messi is obviously not known for, but like with basketball, he's had some contact with throughout the years. So this entry will be dedicated to those times Messi and the sport connected.

First, we'll go back to March 2014 when Messi was given a shirt of 'Los Pumas' (Argentina's national rugby team). Martín Rodríguez gave it to Lavezzi so he could give it to Messi seemed to like the gift and even posed with the shirt, which Rodríguez later sent the pic on social media. The rugby player later said on Twitter: "It's incredible that it reached his hands... Thanks Lavezzi you're great!".

In March of 2015, Messi met up with Robert Griffin III, quarterback from the Washington Redskins, as well as two hockey players. They presented Messi with a 'Messi' shirt for their teams in their respective sports, with the Nº 10 of course.

Forward to September 2015, when Argentina did their tour in the USA, Messi met JJ Watt, who was the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year in 2014. Watt posted a pic of both of them together and captioned 'The best football player on the planet.'.

In June of 2016, while Messi was in the USA for the Copa América, he met with American football player Patrick Chung, a member of the Patriots.

Moving on to December 2016, when Messi was in an Argentine gym while on vacations, he trained alongside Juan Nogués, a rugby player from Club Atlético del Rosario. Messi posed with the team's shirt and with Nogués too.

In June of 2017, days before the Superclásico de las Américas game against Brazil in Melbourne, Messi met some Wallabies (Australia's national rugby team). He posed with Will Genia, changing shirts with him, Sam Carter, and he posed with more members of the Wallabies as well.

Going to a different subject, opinions, Tom Brady (regarded as the best player in the NFL's history) said he liked Messi and said he was a great player, but was unsure about the Messi vs Maradona debate as he had not seen Maradona's game. He also said it was a blessing to be compared to Messi.

He also inspired DeAndre Hopkins, player from the Arizona Cardinals, to play with the Nº 10 jersey. And this is what he had to say for Messi: "Messi is obviously considered one of the best players in history. He's small, you know, he's not the tallest. I feel his mentality is to have everything against him."

And finally, to what people care the most, Messi actually playing the sport. He has played only once with a rugby ball as far as evidence goes, and it was in a training with his Barcelona team-mates back in February 2014.

There's also an Adidas ad of him dribbling past an entire rugby team, but that's acting to promote his Nemeziz boots of course.

In a future entry, I will detail how Messi could have been as an American football player. As always, I hope you liked this entry and I'll see you in the next blog.

Messi, the ambassador of Rosario

In 2011, after an amazing year with a lot of trophies and goals, Messi went to his native city, Rosario, on vacations. On the 30th of December, he was called to be the ambassador of Rosario to the world, which was an important recognition and showed his importance to the citizens of Rosario. The distinction was handed by the mayoress of the district, Mónica Fein.

He talked a lot during the press conference, saying at one moment "It is a great pride for me to receive this award, in my city, in my country. I want to thank this recognition in Rosario, in my house, in the place where I was born, where my people and my family are and where will surely I live.", saying that Rosario is a beautiful city that grows every year, and he also spoke about other topics.

Since Cristina Kirchner (Argentina's president at the time) would undergo an operation for her thyroid cancer in a few days, he supported her in this difficult time alongside his foundation. And since Gerardo Martino was recently signed as Newell's manager, he spoke well of him, saying that he was loved by the clubs and the fans, and hoped the best for him.

Overall, it's now clear that Messi is the most famous person from Rosario ever, so it makes sense that he would be the ambassador to the world of the city. I hope you liked this entry, and as always, I'll see you in the next blog.