Messi deserves a European crown

For the third year in succession, the Champions League has three semi-finalists from England. Barcelona will be the standard bearers for everyone who wants to see the English dominance broken and they'll have to triumph over the Anglo triumvirate: holders Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. Barca will have to overcome Chelsea as they did in the 2005-06 competition to play the winners of United or Arsenal in Rome's Stadio Olimpico on May 27. A Barca v United final whets the most lips - and not just mine, for I spend much of my life covering both clubs. For the last eight years I've watched United live 30 times a season and Barca 25, including all the European games. Throw in other Spanish games and European fixtures and I'm seeing around 100 games per year.

Under such circumstances, you get to know players and managers. When I arrived in Barcelona in 2001, the team were faltering and there were not too many foreign journalists attending games. So when Barca came good the Catalan club granted me privileged access to stars like Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto'o. In 2003, a close friend, Arnau Riera, was captain of Barca's reserve team. One week, he told me that I should come and watch his game on Sunday because they were going to give a debut to a young Argentine striker called Lionel Messi.

"He's a kid," glowed Arnau, "and he's tiny, but he's brilliant." Midfielder Arnau had tested Messi, who had been promoted to training with the "B team" that week, with a crunching tackle that sent him flying up in the air. Messi shrugged and carried on. Arnau apologised. About 1,000 fans, an average figure, were in Barca's Mini Estadi, the 16,000 seater venue used by the reserves who play in Spain's regional third division. Messi's control, acceleration and two-footed precision stood out.

That summer, 2004, Messi travelled to the Under 20 World Cup in Holland and was the stand-out player in the competition top-scoring with six goals in seven games as Argentina were victorious. Barca had always known that they had a potential star, but maybe the speed with which president Joan Laporta hot-footed it to Holland to improve Messi's contract illustrates that maybe they had not realised just how good he was. With Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Rangers and AC Milan showing interest, Messi's reserve player contract of around £100,000 (Dh548,000) a year was upgraded to one worth up to £3million (Dh16.4m).

Messi started training with the first team in Aug 2004. He cut a different figure to the other players. For one, he walked to training, his eyes partially hidden behind a mop that would not look lost in a Beatles tribute band. As he sheepishly made his way to work one morning he heard, "Che, boludo" (hey, mate) in an Argentine accent. He turned to see a smiling Ronaldinho, wanting to introduce himself. He never forgot that and their friendship endures.

I was invited to interview Messi a few months later. He was shy, inarticulate, friendly and unassuming. Already famous in Spain, his prominence rose internationally a few months later when a he was man of the match as Barca beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Today, Frank Lampard considers the Argentine "the best player in the world by some distance". Messi, the competition's top scorer, should play on the right wing when the clubs meet for the first leg at the Nou Camp in a fortnight. Chelsea, who have conceded eight goals in their last two games, have usual left-back Ashley Cole suspended. It is mistaken to accept that it will be easy for Barcelona, but you can understand why, with Messi in regal form, the Catalans are favourites.

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