1.
Rosario, Santa Fe
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Rosario is the largest city in the province of Santa Fe, in central Argentina. It is located 300 km northwest of Buenos Aires, on the shore of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third most populous city in the country, and is also the most populous city in Argentina that is not a provincial capital, with a growing and important metropolitan area, Greater Rosario has an estimated population of 1,276,000 as of 2012. One of its main attractions includes the architecture that has been retained over the centuries in hundreds of residences, houses. Rosario is the city of the Rosario Department and is located at the heart of the major industrial corridor in Argentina. The city is a railroad terminal and the shipping center for north-eastern Argentina. Ships reach the city via the Paraná River, which allows the existence of a 10-metre-deep port, the Port of Rosario is subject to silting and must be dredged periodically. Exports include wheat, flour, hay, linseed and other oils, corn, sugar, lumber, meat, hides. Manufactured goods include flour, sugar, meat products, and other foodstuffs, the Rosario-Victoria Bridge, opened in 2004, spans the Paraná River, connecting Rosario with the city of Victoria, across the Paraná Delta. Because it plays a role in agricultural commerce, the city finds itself at the center of a continuing debate over taxes levied on big-ticket agricultural goods such as soy. Along with Paraná, Rosario is one of the few Argentine cities that cannot point to an individual as its founder. The citys patron is the Virgin of the Rosary, whose feast day is October 7, the asteroid 14812 Rosario was named in its honor. In 1689, captain Luis Romero de Pineda received part of the lands of the Pago de los Arroyos by royal decree, before that, the area was originally inhabited by Calchaquí tribes in reducciones, a kind of missions founded by Franciscans. These missions were attacked and destroyed by hostile tribes of the Chaco region. Romero de Pineda established the first permanent settlement, an estancia — intended as farmland, in 1719 the Jesuits bought another part and established Estancia San Miguel. The area was still so scarcely populated that it had no authority, it was ruled from the provincial capital. In 1724, another settlement was initiated by Santiago de Montenegro, who set up a mill, drew plans for the future town, built a chapel. The area of control of local government extended northward from todays Rosario
2.
Santa Fe Province
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The Province of Santa Fe is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Buenos Aires, Córdoba, together with Córdoba and Entre Ríos, the province is part of the economico-political association known as the Center Region. Santa Fes most important cities are Rosario, the capital Santa Fe, Rafaela, Villa Gobernador Gálvez, Venado Tuerto, Reconquista, and Santo Tomé. The adult literacy rate in the province is 96. 3% The aboriginal tribes who inhabited this region were the Tobas, Timbúes, Mocovíes, Pilagás, Guaycurúes and they were nomadic, lived from hunting, fishing and fruit recollection. In 1573 Juan de Garay founded the city of Santa Fe in the surroundings of present town Cayastá, but the city was moved in 1651 and 1660 to its present location. In 1812 the lawyer and general Manuel Belgrano created and displayed for the first time the Argentine flag on the banks of the Paraná River and this period was short lived, since that same year Candioti died and central government reestablished the dependent government. However, in 1816, the caudillos Mariano Vera and Estanislao López deposed the governor delegate and proclaimed the sovereignty of the province, during the civil strifes of 1820, Santa Fe troops were decisive in the defeat of Buenos Aires centralist army. So, in time, López gradually became the Federations Patriarch, after Lópezs death it was his secretary and right hand, José María Cullen the one elected governor. These two parties had many strong electoral contests with the conservative parties. After the Electoral Reform of Roque Sáenz Peña in 1912, the UCR reached the government, during this time, more precisely in 1919, the National University of the Littoral was founded. In 1932 it was the PDP who got the governors seat, the contentious 1958 elections brought an ally of President-elect Arturo Frondizi to power in Santa Fe, Dr. Carlos Sylvestre Begnis. The tunnel, most of which runs under the massive Paraná River, is the longest in Argentina, forced to resign after conservative pressure drove Pres. Frondizi from office in 1962, Begnis had the satisfaction of seeing Hernandarias open in 1969, Santa Fe suffered the violence of the late 70s and the depression of the 1980s more than most other provinces. It continued to languish economically during the prosperous 1990s, as the revalued Argentine peso put pressure on its productive sectors, touching bottom around 2002, its economy has grown by 7% a year since then. Most of the consists of green flatlands, part of the humid Pampas. There are low sierras to the west, the south presents lower temperatures, averaging 14 °C, and slightly less precipitations. Thunderstorms are common, and so are heat waves what can bring temperatures up to 40 °C and these are often interrupted by cold fronts that bring crisp, cool weather from the south. March brings cooler nights in the south, and April brings comfortable weather, with highs ranging from 22 °C in the south to 26 °C in the north, winter is dryer in the west of the province and wetter in the east
3.
Argentina
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Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a federal republic in the southern half of South America. With a mainland area of 2,780,400 km2, Argentina is the eighth-largest country in the world, the second largest in Latin America, and the largest Spanish-speaking one. The country is subdivided into provinces and one autonomous city, Buenos Aires. The provinces and the capital have their own constitutions, but exist under a federal system, Argentina claims sovereignty over part of Antarctica, the Falkland Islands, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. The earliest recorded presence in the area of modern-day Argentina dates back to the Paleolithic period. The country has its roots in Spanish colonization of the region during the 16th century, Argentina rose as the successor state of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata, a Spanish overseas viceroyalty founded in 1776. The country thereafter enjoyed relative peace and stability, with waves of European immigration radically reshaping its cultural. The almost-unparalleled increase in prosperity led to Argentina becoming the seventh wealthiest developed nation in the world by the early 20th century, Argentina retains its historic status as a middle power in international affairs, and is a prominent regional power in the Southern Cone and Latin America. Argentina has the second largest economy in South America, the third-largest in Latin America and is a member of the G-15 and it is the country with the second highest Human Development Index in Latin America with a rating of very high. Because of its stability, market size and growing high-tech sector, the description of the country by the word Argentina has to be found on a Venice map in 1536. In English the name Argentina probably comes from the Spanish language, however the naming itself is not Spanish, Argentina means in Italian of silver, silver coloured, probably borrowed from the Old French adjective argentine of silver > silver coloured already mentioned in the 12th century. The French word argentine is the form of argentin and derives of argent silver with the suffix -in. The Italian naming Argentina for the country implies Argentina Terra land of silver or Argentina costa coast of silver, in Italian, the adjective or the proper noun is often used in an autonomous way as a substantive and replaces it and it is said lArgentina. The name Argentina was probably first given by the Venitian and Genoese navigators, in Spanish and Portuguese, the words for silver are respectively plata and prata and of silver is said plateado and prateado. Argentina was first associated with the silver mountains legend, widespread among the first European explorers of the La Plata Basin. The first written use of the name in Spanish can be traced to La Argentina, a 1602 poem by Martín del Barco Centenera describing the region, the 1826 constitution included the first use of the name Argentine Republic in legal documents. The name Argentine Confederation was also used and was formalized in the Argentine Constitution of 1853. In 1860 a presidential decree settled the name as Argentine Republic
4.
Kit (association football)
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In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sports Laws of the Game specify the minimum kit which a player must use, footballers generally wear identifying numbers on the backs of their shirts. Professional clubs also usually display players surnames or nicknames on their shirts, Football kit has evolved significantly since the early days of the sport when players typically wore thick cotton shirts, knickerbockers and heavy rigid leather boots. The Laws of the Game set out the equipment which must be worn by all players in Law 4. Five separate items are specified, shirt, shorts, socks, footwear, goalkeepers are allowed to wear tracksuit bottoms instead of shorts. While most players wear studded football boots, the Laws do not specify that these are required, shirts must have sleeves, and goalkeepers must wear shirts which are easily distinguishable from all other players and the match officials. Thermal undershorts may be worn, but must be the colour as the shorts themselves. Shin pads must be covered entirely by the stockings, be made of rubber, plastic or a similar material, and provide a reasonable degree of protection. The only other restriction on equipment defined in the Laws of the Game is the requirement that a player must not use equipment or wear anything that is dangerous to himself or another player. In the event of a match between teams who would wear identical or similar colours the away team must change to a different colour. The England national team plays in red shirts even when it is not required. Many professional clubs also have a kit, ostensibly to be used if both their first-choice and away colours are deemed too similar to those of an opponent. Most professional clubs have retained the basic colour scheme for several decades. Teams representing countries in international competition generally wear national colours in common with other sporting teams of the same nation, shirts are normally made of a polyester mesh, which does not trap the sweat and body heat in the same way as a shirt made of a natural fibre. Depending on local rules, there may be restrictions on how large these logos may be or on what logos may be displayed, competitions such as the Premier League may also require players to wear patches on their sleeves depicting the logo of the competition. The captain of team is usually required to wear an elasticated armband around the left sleeve to identify him as the captain to the referee. Most current players wear specialist football boots, which can be either of leather or a synthetic material. Modern boots are cut slightly below the ankles, as opposed to the high-ankled boots used in former times, studs may be either moulded directly to the sole or be detachable, normally by means of a screw thread
5.
Football in Argentina
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Football is Argentinas most popular sport, the one with the most players and is the most popular recreational sport, played from childhood into old age. The percentage of Argentines that declare allegiance to an Argentine football club is about 90%, Football was introduced to Argentina in the later half of the 19th century by the British immigrants in Buenos Aires. The first Argentine league was contested in 1891, making it the fifth oldest recognised league of a FIFA member, the Argentine Football Association was formed in 1893 and is the eighth oldest in the world. The Argentine national team is one of the eight to have won the football World Cup, having done so in 1978 and 1986, and also being runner-up in 1930,1990, and 2014. They have also won the top tournament, the Copa América, on fourteen occasions. The nations Olympic representative has won two Gold Medals, while the team has won a record six U-20 World Cups. At club level, Argentine teams have won the most Intercontinental Cups, womens football has a national league since 1991, the Campeonato de Fútbol Feminino. In turn, the national representative qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 2007. In futsal, Argentina were FIFUSA/AMF Futsal World Cup champions in 1994 and they also compete in the FIFA code of futsal, where they finished third in the 2004 FIFA Futsal World Cup. The team also won the FIFA Futsal Copa América in 2003, moreover, Argentina was world champion in futsal for the visually impaired in 1998. Argentina also compete in the beach football World Cup, where their best finish was third in 2001. British citizens founded social and sports clubs where they could practise their sports, such as bowls, cricket, football, golf, horse riding, rugby union and tennis amongst others. Two English immigrants Thomas and James Hogg organized a meeting on 9 May 1867 in Buenos Aires where the Buenos Aires Football Club was founded. The first recorded match in Argentina took place on this pitch on 20 June 1867. This newspaper, published in Argentina, was the first one to cover football matches in the country, the game was played between two teams of British merchants, the White Caps and the Red Caps. In the 19th century it was practice for teams to be distinguished by caps rather than jerseys. The teams consisted of 8 players each as the organisers were unable to more players for the match. The line-ups were, Thomas Hogg, James Hogg, William Forrester, T. B. Smith, J. W. Bond, Smith, William Heald, T. R. Best, U
6.
Argentine Football Association
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The Argentine Football Association is the governing body of football in Argentina. It organises the Primera División and lower divisions, the Argentine Cup, Supercopa Argentina, the association is based in the city of Buenos Aires. Secondly, it organizes the amateur leagues for women, children, youth, Futsal. The Argentine Association Football League was founded on 21 February 1893 by Alexander Watson Hutton, the Argentine Association is the oldest in South America and one of the oldest to be formed outside Europe. In 1906 Florencio Martínez de Hoz became the first Argentine-born President of the Association, some teams moved to the FAF were Gimnasia y Esgrima, Independiente, Estudiantes de La Plata and Atlanta. The league lasted until 1914 when rejoining Asociación Argentina de Football forming a league for the 1915 season. The second dissident league was formed in 1919 and named Asociacion Amateurs de Football, the first round of the recently created professional championship was on 31 May 1931. With 75 presidents of different Argentine clubs voting, the day of the elections something went wrong when the final count resulted in a draw of 38 to 38, the explanation given was that one of the electors put a double vote and that mistake was not reported. As a result, the committee decided to postpone the election. After some meetings to put an end to the conflict, both agreed to have another election in June 2016. In June 2016, AFA president Luis Segura was charged with aggravated administrative fraud, Segura has been replaced on an interim basis by the AFAs executive secretary, Damián Dupiellet. The body has been renamed several times since its establishment in 1893,3 Expelled by the Argentine military dictatorship. 5 Then translated into Spanish as Asociación del Fútbol Argentino in 1946, official site Argentina at FIFA site
7.
Copa Libertadores
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The CONMEBOL Libertadores, named as Copa Libertadores de América, is an annual international club football competition organized by CONMEBOL since 1960. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, the tournament is currently sponsored by Bridgestone and is thus known as the CONMEBOL Libertadores Bridgestone. The competition has had different formats over its lifetime. At the beginning, only the champions of the South American leagues participated, in 1966, the runners-up of the South American leagues began to join. In 1998, Mexican teams were invited to compete, and have contested regularly since 2000, today at least three clubs per country compete in the tournament, while Argentina and Brazil each have five clubs participating. Traditionally, a stage has always been used but the number of teams per group has varied several times. In the present format, the tournament consists of six stages, the six surviving teams from the first stage join 26 teams in the second stage, in which there are eight groups consisting of four teams each. The eight group winners and eight runners-up enter the four stages, better known as the knockout stages. The winner of the Copa Libertadores becomes eligible to play in the FIFA Club World Cup, Independiente of Argentina are the most successful club in the cups history, having won the tournament seven times. Argentine clubs have accumulated the most victories with 24 wins, while Brazil has the largest number of different winning teams, the cup has been won by 24 different clubs,13 of which have won the title more than once, and won consecutively by six clubs. The clashes for the Copa Río de La Plata between the champions of Argentina and Uruguay kindled the idea of a competition in the 1930s. In 1948, the South American Championship of Champions, the most direct precursor to the Copa Libertadores, was played and organized by Chilean club Colo-Colo after years of planning, held in Santiago, it brought together the champions of each nations top national leagues. The tournament was won by Vasco da Gama of Brazil, in 1958, the basis and format of the competition was created by Peñarols board leaders. On March 5,1959, at the 24th South American Congress held in Buenos Aires, the competition was approved by the International Affairs Committee. In 1966, it was named in honor of the heroes of South American liberation, such as José Gervasio Artigas, Bernardo OHiggins, José de San Martín, Pedro I, the first edition of the Copa Libertadores took place in 1960. Seven teams participated, Bahia of Brazil, Jorge Wilstermann of Bolivia, Millonarios of Colombia, Olimpia of Paraguay, Peñarol of Uruguay, San Lorenzo of Argentina, all these teams were domestic champions of their respective leagues in 1959. The first Copa Libertadores match took place on April 19,1960 and it was won by Peñarol, who defeated Jorge Wilstermann 7–1. The first goal in Copa Libertadores history was scored by Carlos Borges of Peñarol, the Uruguayans won the first ever edition, defeating Olimpia in the finals, and successfully defended the title in 1961
8.
Rosario Central
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Club Atlético Rosario Central is a sports club based in Rosario, Argentina, that plays in the Argentine Primera División. The club was officially founded December 24,1889 by a group of railway workers, originally member of the Rosarios Football Association, the club affiliated to the Argentine Football Association in 1939. Since then, Rosario Central has won the Argentines First Division four times, in addition, Rosario Central won the Conmebol Cup once, in 1995, being the only team in Santa Fe province which has won an official international title recognised by FIFA. In 2012, the club was considered by FIFA as one of the 11 most classical clubs in Argentine football, Rosario Central has a strong rivalry with Newells Old Boys. The matches played between them are named El Clasico Rosarino, and is amongst the most heated rivalries in Argentina due to teams and due to Rosario Centrals local popularity. Rosario Centrals home stadium is Estadio Dr. Lisandro de la Torre, the club was founded as the Central Argentine Railway Athletic Club on December 24,1889, by 16 British railway workers of the British-owned Central Argentine Railway company as a football club. They wanted to be unlike Rosario Cricket Club which was focused on rugby union, both the first president and the first vice-president were British. The recently created club played its first match with the crew of a British ship, the game ended 1–1 so a new game was played, that was won by the Argentine club by 2–1. During many years Central Argentine played only internal matches or faced the Rosario Cricket Club occasionally, the British-owned railway did not allow people from outside the company to become a member. In 1904 the railway companies Central Argentino and Buenos Aires merged so the members decided to modify the name of the institution. The club changed to Club Atlético Rosario Central and also decided to accept new members with no restrictions, the Liga Rosarina de Football was created in March 1905, formed by teams from the city of Rosario, Santa Fe. The first tournament managed by the league was the Copa Santiago Pinasco, named that way because the Mayor of Rosario, Santiago Pinasco, Central debuted on May 21,1905, defeating Rosario Athletic by 3–1. On June, Central played a match against English team Nottingham Forest. Rosario Central won its first regional title in 1908, in 1913 the club disaffiliated from the Liga Rosarina, founding with other clubs the dissident Federación Rosarina de Football. Central won this league in 1913, in 1914 Central would return to Liga Rosarina, winning the championship after playing 20 matches, winning 19 games with 1 draw. The team scored 99 goals and only conceded 10, being Harry Hayes the top scorer of the tournament with 51 goals, the squad also would win the 1915,1916 and 1917 regional titles, becoming four-champion of the Rosarian League. In 1919, Central won the Rosario´s league title again, winning 3–2 the final match against their rivals, Newells Old Boys. In 1920 Rosario Central left the again, and joined other clubs to form the Asociación Amateur
9.
Argentina national football team
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The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentinas home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti in Buenos Aires, la Selección, also known as the Albicelestes, has appeared in five World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost 4–2 to Uruguay. Argentina won in their final appearance in 1978, beating the Netherlands at extra time. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany and they again made the World Cup finals in 1990, and lost 1–0 to West Germany following a controversial penalty call in the 87th minute. Argentina made their appearance in a World Cup final in 2014, again losing to Germany. Argentinas World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, Argentina has been very successful in the Copa América, winning it 14 times and also winning the extra South American Championships in 1941,1945 and 1946. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and the Argentine olympic team won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Argentina, Brazil and France are the national teams that have won the three most important mens titles recognized by FIFA, the World Cup, the Confederations Cup. They have also won their continental championship. Argentina is known for having rivalries with Brazil, Uruguay, England, the first match ever recorded by Argentina was against Uruguay. The game was held in Montevideo on 16 May 1901 and Argentina won 3–2, during the first years of its existence, the Argentina national team only played friendly matches against other South American teams. The reasons for this varied, including long travel times between countries and World War I, la Selección, also known as the Albicelestes, has appeared in five World Cup finals, including the first final in 1930, which they lost, 4–2, to Uruguay. Argentina won in their final in 1978, beating the Netherlands. Argentina, led by Diego Maradona won again in 1986, a 3–2 victory over West Germany and their most recent World Cup final was in 2014, which they lost 1–0 to Germany. Previous to this their last World Cup final was in 1990, argentinas World Cup winning managers are César Luis Menotti in 1978, and Carlos Bilardo in 1986. Argentina has been successful in the Copa América, winning it 14 times. The team also won the FIFA Confederations Cup and the Kirin Cup, both in 1992, and an Argentina team won the Olympics football tournaments in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008. Argentina also won six of the 14 football competitions at the Pan American Games, in March 2007, Argentina reached the top of the FIFA World Rankings for the first time
10.
FIFA World Cup
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The championship has been awarded every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The current champion is Germany, which won its title at the 2014 tournament in Brazil. 32 teams, including the qualifying host nation, compete in the tournament phase for the title at venues within the host nation over a period of about a month. The 20 World Cup tournaments have been won by eight different national teams, Brazil have won five times, and they are the only team to have played in every tournament. The worlds first international match was a challenge match played in Glasgow in 1872 between Scotland and England, which ended in a 0–0 draw. The first international tournament, the edition of the British Home Championship. After FIFA was founded in 1904, it tried to arrange an international football tournament between nations outside the Olympic framework in Switzerland in 1906 and these were very early days for international football, and the official history of FIFA describes the competition as having been a failure. At the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, football became an official competition, planned by The Football Association, Englands football governing body, the event was for amateur players only and was regarded suspiciously as a show rather than a competition. Great Britain won the gold medals and they repeated the feat in 1912 in Stockholm. With the Olympic event continuing to be contested only between teams, Sir Thomas Lipton organised the Sir Thomas Lipton Trophy tournament in Turin in 1909. The Lipton tournament was a championship between clubs from different nations, each one of which represented an entire nation. Lipton invited West Auckland, a side from County Durham. West Auckland won the tournament and returned in 1911 to successfully defend their title, in 1914, FIFA agreed to recognise the Olympic tournament as a world football championship for amateurs, and took responsibility for managing the event. This paved the way for the worlds first intercontinental football competition, at the 1920 Summer Olympics, contested by Egypt and 13 European teams, Uruguay won the next two Olympic football tournaments in 1924 and 1928. Those were also the first two world championships, as 1924 was the start of FIFAs professional era. On 28 May 1928, the FIFA Congress in Amsterdam decided to stage a championship itself. With Uruguay now two-time official football world champions and to celebrate their centenary of independence in 1930, indeed, no European country pledged to send a team until two months before the start of the competition. Rimet eventually persuaded teams from Belgium, France, Romania, in total,13 nations took part, seven from South America, four from Europe and two from North America
11.
Lionel Messi
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Lionel Andrés Leo Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish club FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. With Barcelona he has won eight La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions League titles and he has scored over 500 senior career goals for club and country. Born and raised in central Argentina, Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency as a child, at age 13, he relocated to Spain to join Barcelona, who agreed to pay for his medical treatment. After a fast progression through Barcelonas youth academy, Messi made his debut aged 17 in October 2004. His first uninterrupted campaign came in the 2008–09 season, during which he helped Barcelona achieve the first treble in Spanish football, at 22 years old, Messi won the Ballon dOr and FIFA World Player of the Year award by record voting margins. Three successful seasons followed, with Messi winning three consecutive FIFA Ballons dOr, including an unprecedented fourth and he again struggled with injury during the following two seasons, twice finishing second for the Ballon dOr behind Cristiano Ronaldo, his perceived career rival. An Argentine international, Messi is his countrys leading goalscorer. At youth level, he won the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship and his style of play as a diminutive, left-footed dribbler drew comparisons with compatriot Diego Maradona, who declared the teenager his successor. As the squads captain from August 2011, he led Argentina to three finals, the 2014 World Cup, for which he won the Golden Ball. On his fathers side, he is of Italian and Spanish heritage, the great-grandson of immigrants from Marche and Catalonia, a lifelong supporter of Newells Old Boys, Messi joined the Rosario club when he was six years old. However, his future as a player was threatened when, at age 10. As his fathers health insurance covered only two years of growth hormone treatment, which cost at least $1,000 per month, Newells agreed to contribute, but later reneged on their promise. He was scouted by Buenos Aires club River Plate, whose playmaker, Pablo Aimar, he idolised, as the Messi family had relatives in Catalonia, they sought to arrange a trial with Barcelona in September 2000. On 14 December, an ultimatum was issued for Barcelona to prove their commitment, in February 2001, the family relocated to Barcelona, where they moved into an apartment near the clubs stadium, Camp Nou. During his first year in Spain, Messi rarely played with the Infantiles due to a conflict with Newells, as a foreigner, he could only be fielded in friendlies. Without football, he struggled to integrate into the team, already reserved by nature, at home, he suffered from homesickness after his mother moved back to Rosario with his brothers and little sister, María Sol, while he stayed in Barcelona with his father. After a year at Barcelonas youth academy, La Masia, Messi was finally enrolled in the Royal Spanish Football Federation in February 2002, now playing in all competitions, he befriended his teammates, among whom were Cesc Fàbregas and Gerard Piqué. After completing his growth hormone treatment aged 14, Messi became a part of the Baby Dream Team
12.
Barcelona
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Founded as a Roman city, in the Middle Ages Barcelona became the capital of the County of Barcelona. Barcelona has a cultural heritage and is today an important cultural centre. Particularly renowned are the works of Antoni Gaudí and Lluís Domènech i Montaner. The headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean is located in Barcelona, the city is known for hosting the 1992 Summer Olympics as well as world-class conferences and expositions and also many international sport tournaments. It is a cultural and economic centre in southwestern Europe, 24th in the world. In 2008 it was the fourth most economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union, in 2012 Barcelona had a GDP of $170 billion, it is leading Spain in both employment rate and GDP per capita change. In 2009 the city was ranked Europes third and one of the worlds most successful as a city brand, since 2011 Barcelona has been a leading smart city in Europe. During the Middle Ages, the city was known as Barchinona, Barçalona, Barchelonaa. Internationally, Barcelonas name is abbreviated to Barça. However, this refers only to FC Barcelona, the football club. The common abbreviated form used by locals is Barna, another common abbreviation is BCN, which is also the IATA airport code of the Barcelona-El Prat Airport. The city is referred to as the Ciutat Comtal in Catalan. The origin of the earliest settlement at the site of present-day Barcelona is unclear, the ruins of an early settlement have been excavated in the El Raval neighbourhood, including different tombs and dwellings dating to earlier than 5000 BC. The founding of Barcelona is the subject of two different legends, the first attributes the founding of the city to the mythological Hercules. In about 15 BC, the Romans redrew the town as a castrum centred on the Mons Taber, under the Romans, it was a colony with the surname of Faventia, or, in full, Colonia Faventia Julia Augusta Pia Barcino or Colonia Julia Augusta Faventia Paterna Barcino. It enjoyed immunity from imperial burdens, the city minted its own coins, some from the era of Galba survive. Some remaining fragments of the Roman walls have incorporated into the cathedral. The cathedral, also known as the Basilica La Seu, is said to have founded in 343
