Lionel Messi and the ascent of Barca soccer

Look Ma, I scored. But I lost my shoe. It seems like every boy's idea of fun, but it's very hard work, more seminary than summer camp. Star defender Gerard Pique started here when he was eight.

Bob Simon: Masia has been called a football factory. Is that unkind?

Gerard Pique: I don't know, I think factory-- I don't really like this name. No, because finally we are humans, we are people.

Bob Simon: Sure, but the objective of Masia is to create good football players.

Gerard Pique: Yeah, definitely, that's for sure. And everyone knows that.

Because of the Masia system, these days Barca doesn't have to spend a fortune buying good players. Barca breeds them. Most have played together since they were kids. They know each other's moves. Here's Pique. There's Cesc Fabergas. Today when they pass, there's always someone there to receive because there's always been someone there. And the goals? They come every which way making the commentators sound like they've just seen the messiah.

[Like a lightning bolt from Zeus's hand, off Alves's boot to the back of the net.]

[Gooooooooooooollllllll. It starts way deep, but it's pure Barcelona.]

When Barca plays at its best, it's like watching a ballet. Poetry in motion.

[Messi! Bueno bueno bueno bueno bueno bueno bueno bueno bueno bueno bueno!]

John Carlin: Symphonies. Beautiful paintings. Whatever you like. Absolutely. I mean, I think that, you know, some of the plays will be viewed with aesthetic delight. Not just decades hence but hundreds of years hence.There will be museums, as there are now museums for Picasso here in Barcelona and people will ooh and aah.

[Messi, again takes the wall pass. And again! Absolutely brilliant, that goal was a work of art!]

Today's Picasso in Barcelona is that kid Messi. He came to the Masia from Argentina at the age of 13. Today they call him La Pulga, the flea. No one can shake him off.

[Look at this from Messi. Look at this run. He leaves one, he leaves two for dead. Takes on three, takes on four, beats the goalkeeper!]

The ball often seems magically attached to his foot.

[This little man is an absolute genius.]

Like all geniuses, Messi makes it look easy.

Bob Simon: Now, when you score a goal today, are you just as happy as when you scored a goal when you were 11 years old?

Lionel Messi: In the same way. I enjoy football in the same way I did when I was a little kid. And I love playing. I love winning the games. I love scoring. And I keep loving it all.

Bob Simon: Yeah. But when you score a goal today nobody's surprised. Everyone expects you to score a goal. When you first came here, when you started playing it was a big surprise when you scored a goal.

Lionel Messi: Yeah, that's true. In that regard, it was a big change.

And Barca has changed from what was once something of a neighborhood club to a global franchise. It boasts the second highest grossing Nike store in the world and it's worth an estimated 1.3 billion dollars. Its owners? You're looking at them. Not some rich mogul. It's a not for profit owned by the club's members -- 170,000 of them. Each one with a vote. Sandro Rosell was elected Barca's president in 2010. He has belonged to the club since he was six years old.

Bob Simon: The slogan is "More than a club." What does it mean?

Sandro Rosell: Well it's a feeling. It's part of our lives. It's within our heart. It's something that is part of your culture. And that's the reason it's more than a club. It's not only 11 players playing against 11 players and winning or losing. It's much more than this. It's something that is within your blood.

Barca has been in Gerard Pique's blood for three generations. Today, he's one of the pillars of the team. He took us to a hallowed place in Camp Nou: the locker room.

Bob Simon: A lot of very famous people have been before you, huh?

Gerard Pique: Yeah.

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[kjinvest]

Totally missed on this story. Inaccurate, incomplete, showed a complete lack of understanding for European football.

[SykeDelyk]

Not true. It is a good and accurate depiction of football. Do not see your point at all. You should explain.