"He's Not Angry At Being Left Out" Said Iniesta

Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta says Lionel Messi was not angry at being left out of the starting XI against Atletico Madrid.

Messi missed training on Friday in order to be with girlfriend Antonella Roccuzzo for the birth of his second son, Mateo.

Barca coach Luis Enrique opted to leave him among the substitutes at the Vicente Calderon until the hour mark, when the Argentina star came on for Ivan Rakitic before scoring the winner in the 2-1 victory.

Iniesta insists his team-mate had no qualms with the coach's decision, telling reporters: "He's not angry at being left out. It's normal after the journey and everything that's happened over the last few days.

"Ultimately, it's the work of everyone that helps the team go forward.

"Leo is a unique player, he makes a difference and today he did it again. I'm very happy for him and the team.

"We know that games here are always more difficult than normal. We matched the intensity of Atletico when we didn't have the ball and with the ball we played very well.

"I think we played a very, very complete match."

Sergi Roberto, who again filled in at right-back in place of the injured Dani Alves, was keen to hail the decisive nature of Messi's appearance from the bench as Barca prepare to visit Roma in the Champions League on Wednesday.

"There is nobody like Leo. He's a father again, he could not train with us, but today he decided the game," Roberto told the club's official website. 

"The team played very well the whole match and Leo was decisive when he came in.

"It's true we have two tough away games but now we only have one. We're thinking about Roma and the Champions League because it is always important to start off with a win."

Everything Is Better With Him On The Pitch

Neymar hailed Barcelona team-mate Lionel Messi's impact against Atletico Madrid, with the Brazil forward claiming "everything is better with him on the pitch".

Messi came off the bench for Barcelona on Saturday, playing just 30 minutes but still producing the winner in the Catalans' 2-1 triumph at the Vicente Calderon.

Neymar, who struck Barca's equaliser with a direct free-kick after Fernando Torres had given Atleti the lead, was full of praise for Messi's impact, with the Argentine forward having missed Friday's training session due to the birth of his second child.

"We got a quick equaliser which was very important," Neymar told Movistar Plus.

"Messi then came on and he always makes the difference. We went on to win the game."

Luis Suarez's deft touch set up Messi's winner in the 77th minute, with the latter lifting his shot over the onrushing Jan Oblak with the outside of his left boot.

Barcelona full-back Sergi Roberto added: "There is nobody like Leo. He's a father again, he could not train with us, but today he decided the game.

"We are proud to have him on the team."

Barcelona lead La Liga with a perfect nine points from three matches having already beaten Athletic Bilbao, Malaga and Atleti this season.

But Neymar was not getting carried away with the Catalan club's title defence despite Barca having maintained their two-point lead over Real Madrid.

"It's too early to talk about but it is true that we have started the league very well," he said.

"We have worked well and we have won three big teams."

Lionel Messi Has Done It Again

Lionel Messi has done it again. Surprisingly left on the bench after the birth of his second son on Friday,Barcelona's brilliant Argentine came on to do what he does best as he pulled out a goal and a vital victory for Luis Enrique's side.

It was anything but easy. Without Claudio Bravo, Dani Alves and Gerard Pique in their starting line-up and missing Messi as well from the outset, Barca were the better team in the first half but were unable to make it count.

Luis Suarez hit the bar from close range, while Fernando Torres blasted over at the end. Barca also saw two penalty appeals turned down as referee Antonio Mateu Lahoz deemed handballs in the Atleti area not to be deliberate.

Torres then raced away to give the Rojiblancos the lead early in the second half, but Neymar levelled with a fantastic free-kick and moments later, Messi came on for Ivan Rakitic. The momentum was very much with Barca.

Luis Enrique's men continued to dominate and Messi made the difference with a fine finish after 77 minutes to bail out Barca and save his coach some complicated questions after the match.

The last time Messi was left on the bench by Luis Enrique was in January against Real Sociedad. Barcelona lost that match at Anoeta and it later emerged the two had argued in a training session. The situation was at boiling point and Luis Enrique's future looked in serious doubt.

Instead of a fall-out, however, Barca went from strength to strength and produced their finest football over the next weeks and months of the season. After failing to convince before Christmas, the team was unified and went on to win a treble of Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League titles as they swept aside all of their rivals in the second half of the campaign.

Luis Enrique learnt a lesson, though. He may be the coach, but Messi does not take too kindly to being left on the bench and so Saturday's decision to start without the Argentine attacker was still surprising - even though it would appear normal for any other player to be left out in such circumstances.

"Messi is so important to us," the Barca coach said afterwards. "It was better not to risk him. We want to take care of him; we want him in the best possible condition."

That is understandable, especially with a tough trip to Roma ahead in the Champions League on Wednesday. Presumably this time, however, the decision was discussed between coach and player prior to the match in order to avoid a repeat of the tensions from January.

Whatever was said, there was a happy ending on this occasion. Barca fans were frustrated at the decisions of referee Mateu, but Messi came on to dedicate his goal to new-born son Mateo.

And without several key players, this was an important win. Barca missed the height and physique of Pique, who is still suspended, while Thomas Vermaelen limped off after a bright start. Down to the bare bones and unable to field new signings until their transfer ban is over in January, the champions are coping any way they can at the moment.

Three league games in, the Catalans have won them all to top La Liga with maximum points, but have triumphed in each of their games by a single goal: 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao, 1-0 at home to Malaga and now 2-1 at Atletico.

This was another tough test against an extremely strong side and even though Atletico took the lead, Barca deserved the three points in the end.

"We played an enormous game against a direct rival," Luis Enrique said. "We have a difficult calendar and there is a long way to go, but we dominated both phases of the game and we turned it around when it was looking at its most difficult."

And although Neymar kicked off the comeback, the ultimate inspiration arrived from a familiar source: Messi. The Argentine has now netted 20 Liga goals against Atleti - more than against anyone else - and can celebrate the birth of his son with another match-winning performance to save the day for the Blaugrana.

He's the daddy.

Lionel Messi in a Superclasico?

Lionel Messi in a Superclasico? Fans of Boca Juniors still sing songs about Diego Maradona and poke fun at rivals River Plate for missing out on the former Argentine great but, had things turned out differently, theAlbiceleste hero could have gone on to represent River in the famous fixture.

With his name very much etched into Barcelona folklore, it seems so unlikely now but, before his move to Spain, Messi travelled to Buenos Aires from his native Rosario for a trial with los Millonarios as a tiny but talented 12-year-old with close friend Leandro Gimenez and the pair played with River's reserves against the starters from that age group - including Gonzalo Higuain - in a practice match. Leo left a lasting impression. 

"He blew me away in that first practice," River's former youth coach, Eduardo Abrahamian. "He was very small but we didn't worry about size. We looked at technical abilities - and he had plenty of those. It was impressive: in the practice he scored about 12 goals and, even though Gimenez scored a few more, they all came from Messi's moves. He had amazing abilities."

Messi trained with River for several days and Abrahamian immediately told the club's directors that they were onto something special.

"He was here for three of four days. He blew us away," Abrahamian added. "Together with Higuain, at that age group, they would have been champions every year.

"I called the club's director general and I told him to come down and have a look because this was something surprising. For the technical quality he had, his speed, the way he beat players - let's just say he was different."

However, Messi was just 12 and, back then, the club only housed players of 13 and over - so he returned to Roasrio. Even though Abrahamian pushed for his signing, he never came back.

"I spoke to the co-ordinator and to the directors," Abrahamian explained. "They had to try to speak to his father to get him to come to River. I wanted him at the club but they needed to find accommodation for his father so that he could bring his family with him. I wanted him here. You don't see a player like Leo every day. He made a difference; he was outstanding. He played with joy, with freshness, but there were things to sort out."

Those things never were sorted out, however, and River missed out on a talented youngster who would go on to become the world's finest footballer and perhaps even the greatest player in the history of the game.

Why this happened has never been established entirely and various versions of the story have been bandied about but one popular theory is that Messi's father asked for more than the club were willing to pay. Another is that the club baulked at the costs of the growth hormone treatment he required - although that was estimated at around just $900 (€800) per month.

"I don't know what was said with his father," Abrahamian added. "I can't say. All I know is that I wanted to sign him. I am a River fan and I didn't want the club to lose out. I wanted him to come because of his technical qualities but also because I'm a River fan. I knew that one day I would see him from the stands playing in the Primera and that he would blow me away again. So that was my interest and my intention."

Some 15 years on, Messi continues to blow away football fans all over the world, not to mention his rivals, but he has never turned out in the Argentine league, having signed for Barcelona instead and spent his entire career at the Catalan club.




River's loss was Barca's gain as Barca stepped in to take care of Messi's treatment and turn him into the best there is. Back at River, Abrahamian had been told that the club already had lots of talented teenagers but they ended up missing out on the finest of them all - and they have regretted it ever since.

"I wanted him to come," Abrahamian said. "I was convinced he would make it to play in Primera and I was working at the club because they gave me the post for that reason - to have my say on that. You can't lose out on a player like Messi.

"I told them that he was a player with great qualities. They told me we already had some of those and that he wanted to go home... so go and convince him to come back!"

But nobody did and Abrahamian believes that any costs demanded by the forward's father would have been cheap compared to what he would have been worth to the club in the future both on the pitch and in an eventual sale to a top team in Europe.

"The investment was nothing!" he said. "Over time, it wouldn't have been anything. If you look at what he would have been worth to the club, it was nothing. The club didn't have economic problems, either. On the contrary. He was a player who was nailed on to play in Primera for River, then in the national team and there would likely have been a future sale to a team in Europe as well..."

And he added: "When Boca invested in Maradona, he was a player who had already played in Primera for Argentinos Juniors but they made a decision and it bore fruit. River should have done the same with Messi.

"But it didn't happen and River, as an institution, lost so much. You can't miss out on a player with those technical abilities. He was a genius."







He still is and, 15 years on, Abrahamian admires the player whom he briefly trained and now turns out for both Barca and Argentina.

"I haven't seen him since," he said. "If I saw him again now, I would say 'thank you for your football and for all the joy you bring us' because he gives us joy when he plays for the national team and when we see him playing for Bacelona."

As he spoke those words, though, there was a lump in his throat - a regret that, even though he did all he could at the time, he never saw Messi turn out for his beloved River.

"When you bring in players as kids and then see them play in the Primera, it's an emotional thing," he said. "You enjoy it even more. Imagine Messi playing for River..."

It almost happened but, sadly for fans of los Millonarios, it never did. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Player Profile

Lionel Messi is the heir apparent to the throne left vacant by Diego Armando Maradona. The waters are divided between those who consider him to be far from being the best No. 10, and those who believe that Messi will be even better than Maradona.

Born in Rosario, he cut his teeth in the youth ranks of Newell's Old Boys, until a hormonal problem that affected his growth changed the plans of his family and, of course, his personal future. Facing expensive treatment for their son, Messi's parents moved to Spain as Newell's were not able to afford the medical costs related to his condition, and even the wealthiest Argentine teams, such as River Plate, refused to foot the bill.

After his first trial with Barcelona, the Catalan coaches had no doubts. They decided to sign Messi and pay for his medical treatment. His growth was noticeable within Barca, and in little time he came to be considered one of the great talents at the club. He made his debut in the first division in October 2004, against Espanyol, and Barcelona have since adopted him as one of their greatest idols.

His first championship would come in the Liga season of 2004-05. Since then, and playing a more prominent role every season, he has won every major club trophy at Camp Nou -- including a stunning haul of six in 2008-09 -- and claimed the World Player of the Year [later the FIFA Ballon d'Or] award four times in four years.

Messi has proven his credentials on the biggest stage with goals in two of the three Champions League finals he has won with Barcelona, with his achievements leaving many in little doubt that he is the best player of his generation; possibly of all time.

That idea was given further weight in March 2012 when, at the age of 24, he became the all-time top scorer at Barcelona -- beating the 232 goals of Cesar Rodriguez.

The forward's hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-3 win over Real Madrid in March 2014 also saw him become the all-time top scorer in El Clasico clashes.

Messi endured criticism over his performances during the 2013-14 campaign despite scoring 28 goals in 31 Liga appearances as Barcelona lost the title to Atletico Madrid in a dramatic final day clash, but the forward committed his long-term future to the club with a new deal in May 2014 and came back with a bang to claim the Treble of La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey after scoring 43 goals in 38 games.

As the top scorer for Barcelona, and still under the age of 30, Messi is simply one of the best there has ever been.

Strengths: His ball skills are second to none, his runs from midfield are usually lethal and he is almost impossible to tackle when he gets his head down. His balance when running at speed is incredible.

Weaknesses: Too often he searches for a way to finish moves by himself without looking for teammates in a better position to shoot at goal.

Career high: Winning the 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 awards for the best player in the world.

Career low: He was unable to perform to his best in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, where Argentina were eliminated in the quarterfinals with Messi looking on from the bench.

Style: Quick, incisive, balanced, a stylish runner with the ball.

Quotes: "Messi is my Maradona," said Maradona himself, as the head coach of the Argentine national team in 2010.

Trivia: His debut with the national team (against Hungary) was a disaster: he entered the game in the 18th minute of the second half, and was sent off just 47 seconds later.