England coach Fabio Capello has risked the wrath of Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez after forcing Steven Gerrard to report for duty ahead of Wednesday's friendly in Germany, despite being declared unfit by his club.
Gerrard sustained a minor groin injury at Bolton Wanderer's on Saturday and Liverpool's doctors ruled him out of the international match in Berlin.
But Capello has ordered Gerrard to undertake the 200-mile journey to England's Hertfordshire team hotel, where he is being assessed by Football Association medical staff before a final decision on his availability is reached on Monday.
Chelsea and England captain John Terry is also being assessed following the foot injury he sustained during Chelsea's 3-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion.
An FA spokesman said: "John Terry and Steven Gerrard have both reported to the team hotel tonight [Sunday] and will be assessed tomorrow [Monday] by the England medical staff."
The decision to assess Gerrard will no doubt open a club versus country row and the crunch will come if England's doctor's declare the Liverpool skipper fit to play in Germany.
This is the first time that Capello has exercised his right under FIFA rules to have his own medical staff examine a player whose club claim is injured.
With the likes of Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand and Wayne Rooney ruled out before the Italian named his 23-man party and Joe Hart, Gerrard and possibly Terry pulling out before the Three Lions have begun a training session, Capello's efforts at maintaining the momentum built up by four straight World Cup qualifying wins have been cruelly undermined.
Born in the Santa Fe province of Argentina in a family where soccer was king, Lionel Messi started kicking the ball at an early age and when he was just 5 years old, he joined thetraining sessions of the club his father was coaching at that time, Grandoli.
Although he was close to his father at Grandoli, they both knew this club would not be one to offer the young boy a future as a soccer player, so his father decided to take him to one of the most prestigious youth academies in Argentina, that of Newell's Old Boys. This happened in 1995, when Leonel Messi was just 8 years old.
Three years later, Messi was already showing promise and he was considered a huge future talent, but unfortunately he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency that could be treated, but its cost would be around $700 per month and the Messi family simply did not have that kind of money.
River plate wanted to pay for Messi's treatment, but they couldn't afford it either, with the Argentinean economy collapsing. Fortunately for the young player, FC Barcelona learned of his problem and decided to help out and put the life of Leonel Messi back on its rightful track. Messi soon signed with Barcelona's youth team and moved to Spain for his treatment.
Despite his small frame, he managed an impressive 35 goals in 30 matches and in 2004 he made his official debut for the senior squad of the Catalan team, in a local derby against Espanyol Barcelona. He was 17 years and 3 months old on his debut. He didn't play in a lot of other games in that season, but in May 2005, he managed to score his first official goal, against Albacete, becoming the youngest player to ever score a game for Barcelona in a league game.
From that moment, he was almost indispensable in Barca's first squad and although several thigh injuries kept him away from the pitch, he came back in force in the 2006-2007 season. Probably his most memorable match and the one that truly made him the big star that he is today was the El Clasico duel on March 10th 2007, where Barcelona met arch-rivals Real Madrid on Nou Camp.
Lionel Messi became the latest teen superstar of Argentine soccer in 2005. That year he was named the player of the tournament at under-20 World Cup; played his first game for the Argentine national team (against Hungary on 17 August); and scored his first goal (on 1 May) with the professional team FC Barcelona. That year Messi also turned 18. He was soon being compared to an earlier Argentine soccer hero, Diego Maradona. Like Maradona, Messi is an attacking, goal-scoring forward; Barcelona's official site calls him "highly creative." Messi was a member of Argentina's 2006 World Cup team.
