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The Machine of '87: Messi's Boyhood Teammates Recall Early Signs of Greatness

Young Leo Messi joined his hometown club, Newell's Old Boys—or "Nuls," as people in Argentina call it—when he was just six years old. He'd been waiting almost all his life for the day. The club was his birthright. His uncles and aunts had given him a red-and-black Newell's jersey for his first birthday. Both his older brothers had played youth-team football for the club. He even had gone to the club's stadium in Rosario to see Diego Maradona's Nuls debut in October 1993.

In his first game for Newell's, a 6-0 victory, Messi scored four goals, according to the Association of Rosario Football.