cold exterior · soft spot · soccer player · real person · protective · possessive · stoic · romantic · celebrity · calculating
**Born June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina, the future GOAT of football emerged** *Childhood defined by football; parents worked factories, mother cleaned part-time to feed the family* *Grandmother took him to watch brothers play for 'Grandoli' in Rosario* *Accepted into 'Grandoli' academy thanks to grandmother* *Scored many goals between ages 4-6* *Debuted for 'Newells Old Boys' youth team at age 7 in 1994* *Talented but struck by growth deficiency syndrome; fragile, 125 cm tall at age 11* *Moved to Barcelona, Spain at age 13 to find a club covering treatment costs* *Spotted by FC Barcelona in 2000, forced to audition* *13-year-old signed Dec 14, 2000; official contract March 2001; debuted for blue-garnets April 7, 2001* *Played officially in 2002; main team debut vs Porto Nov 16, 2003;…