International career
In June 2004, he got his first chance in Argentina colours, playing in an under-20 friendly match against Paraguay. In 2005 he was part of the team that won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship in the Netherlands. Here, he won the prize for best player of the tournament and became top-scorer.
On 4 August 2005, José Pekerman called Messi up to the senior Argentine national team. He made his debut on 17 August against Hungary at 18 years and 54 days, but it was a forgettable occasion. He was substituted on during the 63rd minute, but was sent off after just 40 seconds because the referee, Markus merk, found he had elbowed defender Vilmos Vanczák, who was tugging Messi's shirt. The decision was contentious. Maradona even claimed the decision was pre-meditated. Messi then had his first international start on 3 September in Argentina's 0-1 World Cup Qualifier away loss against Paraguay. Ahead of the match he had said "This is a re-début. The first one was a bit short."
FIFA World Cup 2006
The injury that kept him from playing for two months at the end of the 2005–06 season jeopardised his presence in the World Cup. Nevertheless, Messi was selected in the Argentina squad for the tournament on 15 May 2006. He also played in the farewell match against the Argentinian U-20 team for fifteen minutes and a friendly against Angola from the 64th minute.
He witnessed Argentina´s opening match victory against Ivory Coast from the bench. In the next match against Serbia, Messi became the youngest player to represent Argentina at a World Cup when he came on as a substitute for Maxi Rodríguez in the 74th minute. He assisted Hernán Crespo's goal within minutes of entering the game and also scored the final goal in the 6-0 victory, that made him the youngest scorer in the tournament and the fifth youngest goalscorer in the whole World Cup. Messi started in Argentina's following 0-0 tie against the Netherlands In the following game against Mexico, Messi came on as a substitute in the 84th minute, with the score tied 1-1. He appeared to score a goal, but was ruled offside in a dubious decision, Argentinaina needing an extra time winner to proceed. Coach José Pekerman controversially left Messi on the bench during the quarter-finals match against Germany. Argentina lost 4-2 on penalties and Messi, who was visibly upset during the game, declined to speak to reporters afterwards.
Copa America 2007
When Copa started Leo was the youngest player in the tournament. Messi played his first game in Copa America on 29 June 2007, when Argentina defeated United State 4-1 in the first game. In this game, Messi showed his capabilities as a playmaker. He set up a goal for fellow striker Hernán Crespo and had numerous shots on target. Tevez came on as a substitute for Messi in the 79th minute and scored minutes later.
His second game was against Colombia, in which he caused a penalty that Crespo converted to tie the game at 1-1. He also played part in Argentina's second goal as he was fouled outside the box, which allowed Juan Roman Riquelme to score from a freekick, and increase Argentina's lead to 3-1. The final score of the game was 4-2 in Argentina's favor and guaranteed them a spot in the tournament's quarterfinals.
In the third game, against Paraguay the coach rested Messi having already qualified for the quarter-finals. He came off the bench in place of Esteban Cambiasso in the 64th minute, with 0-0. In the 79th minute he created a goal for Javier Mascherano. In the quarterfinals, as Argentina faced Peru, Riquelme made a pass to Messi and the latter scored the second goal for Argentina, which advanced to the semifinals after a 4-0 win. During the semi-final match against Mexico, Messi scored a fine lob over Oswaldo Sanchez to see Argentina through to the Final.Argentina went on to lose to Brazil in the Final, and Messi won the Young Player of the Tournament award.
Messi in the game against Brazil in the 2008 Olympics.Having originally been barred by Barcelona from playing for his country in the 2008 Olimpic in Beijing, Messi joined the Argentina squad to score the first goal in a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast. He then scored the opening goal and assisted in the second to help his side to a 2-1 extra-time win against the Netherlands. He gave another strong performance in Argentina's match against rival Brazil, in which Argentina took a 3-0 victory, thus advancing to the final. In the gold medal match, Messi assisted Ángel Di María for the only goal in a 1-0 Argentine victory over Nigeria.
source: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lionel_Messi
http://lionelmessi.org/
http://www.blogfutbolero.com/
http://noticias.biboz.net/
