Finland, 2003. Argentina had been winning the Under-17 World Cup semifinal 2-0, but ended up losing 3-2 to Spain. That same night, at the team hotel, a cook approached Hugo Tocalli, coach of Argentina’s youth teams, and dropped a line that left him stunned: if they had had “that lad they have in Barcelona”, they would have been champions.
The lad was Messi. And what came next confirmed everything: Ángel María Villar and Juan Santisteban, face to face with Tocalli, admitted that Spain had tried to bring him in and he had refused. Ginés Meléndez, former Spanish youth coach, even asked him directly several times.
Tocalli wasted no time. He called Julio Grondona, arranged friendlies with Paraguay and Uruguay, and secured Messi for the Albiceleste. On July 29, 2004, he made his Under-20 debut 🇦🇷. Today, at MetLife Stadium, Argentina and Spain face each other again in a World Cup final 👀⚽