Many years after participating in youth tournaments, Galíndez and Messi faced each other in the World Cup qualifiers.
WHAT HAPPENED? Ecuador’s national goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez explained his jersey swap with Lionel Messi after the 0-1 defeat against world champions Argentina on Friday night and revealed curious details: The two played against each other at youth tournaments in Rosario several decades ago.
WHAT WAS SAID? In conversation with ESPN explained the goalkeeper: “The first goal scored against me in my life was scored by Messi. We were neighbors in Rosario and the same age, so we faced each other a lot.”
Galíndez emphasized that he had won the final of one of the youth tournaments against Messi’s team: “I have a DVD that proves that I faced the monster.”
WHAT IS THE BACKGROUND? Messi comes from Rosario, but left his homeland early to be trained at FC Barcelona’s La Masia youth academy. A step that commands Galíndez a lot of respect: “I often hear people say that Messi didn’t try hard, that he won everything in Barcelona, that he is a millionaire. But Messi had to give up his whole life, his friends and his school Left at the age of twelve to find out if he could be a football player. That’s the price he had to pay.”
At the reunion in the World Cup qualifiers, Messi had the better end against Galíndez: the 36-year-old scored the winning goal with a free kick and thus ensured a successful start for the Albiceleste in the competition.
THE PICTURES FOR THE NEWS:
Getty
WHAT’S NEXT? Messi and Argentina face Bolivia on Tuesday, while Galíndez and Ecuador host Uruguay.
2023-09-09 12:48:20
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