I don’t follow soccer, but the story of Lionel Messi, boy genius, includes this fascinating tidbit:
An Argentine, Messi was not born into these tensions [between Barcelona and Madrid]. He came to Barcelona at 13, when the club agreed to pick up the costs of treatment for a growth-hormone deficiency. As the story goes, his contract was written on a napkin. At the time, he was about 4 feet 7 inches. He now stands 5-7. If his lack of size made him shy and self-conscious as a boy, his low center of gravity made him spectacularly elusive as a soccer player.
Just how skilled to you have to be — as a spindly, undeveloped, 4’7″ boy — for Barcelona to pay attention and then to pick up the tab for your growth-hormone treatment?