Sports : life magnified

So Barcelona will have a small trip to Holland before the Asia tour. They have got Van Bommel and the side surely has a stronger look to it. how do you guarantee the side will remain strong for a long period now?

You get Samuel Eto’o to sign a contract till 2010. If that is not enough, you get Lionel Messi, one of the stars of Argenitina’s win in the under 20 World Cup into the first XI.

It is certainly difficult to break into the first XI of the Barca team but Lopez in a game last season showed how stars can emerge. Messi joined the club at age 14, progressing through the teams and his contract runs till 2012. He is one of the best examples of the Barca youth system.

From the Official Barca site:

At 13 years, Lionel Messi crossed the Atlantic to try his luck at FC Barcelona, joining the club as an under 14 player. Since then, Messi has progressed spectacularly through the different youth categories (Under 14 A, Under 16 B, Under 16 A, Under 18 A, Barça C and Barça B) in record time. During the 2003-2004 season, aged just 16, Messi’s dream came true when he played with the first team in a friendly with Porto to celebrate the inauguration of the Portuguese side’s new stadium. In the 2004-05 season he joined the first team on its ‘On Tour Asia 2004′ trip.