2005/2006

Lionel was 18 during the course of this season, and with Barcelona in what was something of a golden-era, manager Frank Rijkaard tended to use the Argentine sparingly, slowly breaking him into the demands of professional football.

Before the domestic season started though, On 4 August 2005, José Pekerman called Messi up to the senior Argentine national team. He made his début on 17 August against Hungary at 18 years and 54 days. However, there would be a bitter twist to this day, as he was sent off after just 40 seconds after coming on as a substitute. Referee, Markus Merk, found he had elbowed defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi’s shirt. It would be no exaggeration to say that the decision was contentious. Despite the knowledge of justice, Messi left the pitch in tears and was said to be inconsolable in the changing room. It would not take long to forget though, as Messi then had his first international start on 3 September in Argentina’s 1-0 World Cup qualifier away defeat to Paraguay. Ahead of the match he had said “This is a re-début. The first one was a bit short.”

On 16 September, Barcelona announced an update to Messi’s contract raising his pay to a similar level of that of many first team players, with an expiry date of 2014. Interestingly, due to an administrative error, Messi was unable to play in the earlier parts of this season as Barcelona had filled their quota of non-EU players. Messi obtianed Spanish citizen ship in September of that year though, and Messi’s first home outing in the UEFA Champions League came on 27 September against Udinese.

In a stop-start season, Messi managed to score six goals in seventeen league appearances, and scored one Champions League goal in six. A notable goal coming against Racing Santander after a run in which he beat two defenders.

However, his season ended prematurely on 7 March 2006 when he suffered a muscle tear in his right thigh during the second leg of the second round Champions League tie against Chelsea. Without Leo though, Barcelona ended the season as champions of Spain and also of Europe. Messi had played enough games to warrant a winners medal in the Champions League.

This injury was a blow to Messi’s chances of playing in the World Cup. With lots of Argentine demand, Messi was selected in the Argentina squad for the tournament on 15 May 2006. In the second match against Serbia, Messi became the youngest player to represent Argentina at a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Maxi Rodríguez. He assisted Hernán Crespo’s goal within minutes of entering the game and also scored the final goal in the 6-0 victory, that made him the youngest scorer in the tournament and the sixth youngest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup. In the knockout game against Mexico, Messi came on as a substitute in the 84th minute, with the score tied 1-1. He appeared to score a goal, but was ruled offside, but Argentina found a Rodriguez extra time winner to proceed. In the Quarter-Finals, coach José Pekerman controversially left Messi on the bench for the whole game. Argentina lost 4-2 on penalties and Messi appeared to once again be visibly upset by the defeat.