Albion Soccer Club’s Noah Gins Meets Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi wins 2015 FIFA Ballon D’Or – FIFA’s awards for the top football player in the world. Few youth soccer coaches in America have ever had the chance to meet the soccer legend – San Diego’s Albion Soccer Club technical director Noah Gins and his coaching staff have chatted with the legend and watched him train as well.
Noah Gins, Executive Director and Wayne Crowe, Director of Soccer at Southern California’s premier youth soccer club, traveled to Spain last year with their U11/U12 team to compete in the prestigious Mediterranean International Cup (MIC). Not only did the Albion SC coaching team enjoy coaching their players in the international youth soccer tournament but Gins and Crowe enjoyed meeting the greatest soccer player in the world, Lionel Messi.
The winners of FIFA’s awards for the top football players in the world, the Ballon D’Or, were just announced on January, 11 2016 and Messi reclaimed the coveted title. In 2013 and 2014, Messi lost the battle for the Ballon d’Or to soccer super star Cristiano Ronaldo.
“Meeting Messi was a very special moment,” said Gins who has also talked soccer with Mario Balotelli and other soccer stars.
“Not only did we meet Messi, but we had the opportunity to watch him train, and spend time with him after training,” Gins said.
Unlike many other superstars, the famous Argentine pro soccer player Lionel Andrés “Leo” Messi is known for being humble. Messi plays as a forward for Barcelona and the Argentina national team.
“We also met Neymar, Iniesta, and the whole Barcelona team including the coaches.”
“We received full access to Barcelona and now we have a strong in road to Barcelona, in particular with Pepe Costa and Messi,” said Gins. “I was introduced to them and was expecting a 3 minute hi-and-bye type session – we ended up spending the day with them. They were more than hospitable and felt like family.”
“I feel very privileged to have met the world’s best player,” said Gins.
Although Messi is one of the most recognizable names in history, the FIFA Ballon D’Or winner does not let the fame go to his head, as many celebrities do. While Messi has inhuman soccer skills on the field, off the field, he is a human, just like us. As Neymar has said of Messi “He’s a great player and a great human being.”
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