At the age of 11, Messi was given his first blow by fate. It was a scene of being robbed on a luffa trellis, a trip of a lifetime, but going to Disney Land park was painful. You must know that this is the most desired destination of every child.

25 years ago, Jorge Koval organized a trip for 170 children practicing football at Newell’s football academy, which has trained the world’s best players, among them La Pulga. However, an administrative incident occurred that caused Messi to sit at home, hugging his face and crying.

Jorge and Nestor were assigned by Newell’s to plan the trip, create a member list, control and supervise so that the US tour went well. The trip planning was perfect, except for one detail that ruined the dream: misspellings. Messi is not on the list but instead is a certain Melzi.

“Nestor Rozin is the director of the Malvinas academy and my son played in the 1985 batch. At that time I had a travel company. In 1996, we brought students born in 1984, 1985, 1986 and some children born in 1987 to America. There are about 150 children and 40 parents. We divided into 2 groups, went to America for a friendly match and then went to Disney Land. The price for each serving is 1000 USD.

“In 1998, we did a similar tour again. Jorge Castelli was Newell’s first team coach, so I arranged the matches against the Palm Beach opponents. Néstor wanted to do the same thing as in 1996 and again entrusted me with organizing the trip, but things were quite dramatic. 

From the beginning of his life, Messi was very unlucky

At that time, Lan Peru Airlines went bankrupt and everything had to resume with Aerolineas Argentinas. That time there were more children going: 170 children and 60 parents. It all took place in December, about two weeks before Christmas. At that time I asked my secretary to contact Jorge Messi, because his son had been selected.

But instead of calling Jorge Messi , the other girl called Jorge Melzi. On the list of parents, my secretary saw Jorge Melzi so he called him. Jorge Melzi’s son is Julian and he is also a member of Newell’s, but does not travel because he has no money. 

Hearing that, Jorge Melzi thought he was invited by Nestor Rozin to go for free, so he said OK. Everything happened like that without anyone noticing the mistake. My secretary did everything herself. Julian Melzi’s father had arrived and everything was prepared for his son. 

Everything has been transferred like plane tickets, documents… A week before traveling, Nestor called me and said: Is Messi available yet? Only then did I know it was the wrong person, but there was no place to put it anymore,” Jorge Koval said about this confusion taking on another dimension.

And that is why Lionel Messi – unwittingly – was left out of his first trip to America and the very land where he is shining today as captain of Inter Miami. To correct that mistake, some time later, Messi participated in a tournament in Peru with the Newell’s youth team. 

It was Jorge Koval who gave the ticket to Messi. Then Messi went to Barcelona, ​​and the rest is history.. “It’s unbelievable that Jorge Melzi exists. What a trick of fate. It would be great if it was Messi, but instead Julian Melzi went to America,” Koval said.

This mistake caused “heavy losses” to a teenage boy. Messi was unable to enjoy a bit of the glamor he has become so accustomed to these days. First is flying VIP class, next is eating spaghetti in a limousine…

“In America, we stayed in a hotel that no longer exists. Ten blocks away there was a pasta place with limousines, and I ordered a combo for each child of pasta, a soft drink, and a dessert for $8, a price that could last us a week there. Roisario. After that, the limousine arrived and took 14 children back to the hotel,” Koval said.

For Jorge Koval, the memory of the 2022 world champion is still very fresh: “Lionel Messi was a very loved kid in Malvinas. This boy arranged the mannequins vertically and then held a ball and ran zigzagging past each mannequin. On the pitch, it’s a monster.”

The organizer of the US trip at that time revealed that Messi still kept in touch with his classmates at Newell’s Academy and they even had an “old school” group on WhatsApp.