MATCH! -julkaisun 20-Jun-2017 -irtonumeron sisällysluettelo

To celebrate LIONEL MESSI turning 30 on Saturday, we’ve gone Leo crazy in this week’s issue! The footy megastar’s asked Barcelona for some ace birthday presents, too – four new team-mates! Get a load of the top talent Messi has told Nou Camp bosses to go and sign! HECTOR BELLERIN Arsenal Messi used to love combining with Dani Alves on the right wing, but Barça never really replaced the Brazil RB when he joined Juventus in 2016. Ex-Barcelona academy player Bellerin could fill the void left by Dani, and might fancy a move back to his home city . Watch this space! MARCO VERRATTI PSG At the peak of his powers, Leo had pass masters Xavi and Iniesta pulling the strings behind him, but one of them’s left and the…

JACK HARRISON FACTFILE Age: 20 Position: Winger Club: New York City FC Country: England AMERICAN DREAM Harrison was born in Stoke, grew up in Bolton, and spent seven years at Man. United’s academy. When he was 13, he left The Red Devils to attend a top-quality high school in the United States – a move that’s definitely paid off! DISASTER DEBUT Injury meant Harrison had to wait five months for his debut, and his first game was a 7-0 defeat to city rivals New York Red Bulls! The wonderkid impressed in his 30 minute cameo though, and scored his first NYCFC goal 12 days later! FIRST PICK MLS clubs don’t have academies in the same way Prem clubs do. Instead, they take part in the SuperDraft where teams compete to…

STEP 1 Tap the ball with the inside of your foot, then at the same time, hop in that direction. STEP 2 As your hopping foot lands, use the outside of the opposite foot to step behind the ball. STEP 3 Then use the outside of the opposite foot to push the ball and accelerate away! NOW WATCH THE VIDEOS! Go to the MATCH website to see how to do the Reverse Drag Push, plus check out loads more cool ball mastery and mirror move videos linked to this skill… www.matchfootball.co.uk…

SPORT SWITCH! Which sporting legend has the Barcelona man become in this picture? 5 QUESTIONS ON... LIONEL MESSI 1 How many caps for Argentina does Messi have – over 100 or under 100? 2 How old does the megastar turn this week – 25, 30 or 33 years old? 3 Which Argentina side did Lionel start his youth career at – Newell’s Old Boys or Newell’s Young Boys? 4 Messi bagged last season’s La Liga top scorer award, but how many goals did he finish ahead of team-mate Luis Suarez – seven, eight or nine? 5 Which awesome boot make does Leo wear – Adidas, Nike or Puma? CLOSE-UP! Name Leo’s team-mates we’ve zoomed in on!…

GK New Bournemouth stopper Asmir Begovic was the last goalkeeper to score in the Premier League! He scored from his own penalty box against Southampton in 2013! Man. City’s £43 million man Bernardo Silva was nicknamed ‘Messizinho’ when coming through Benfica’s academy. How’s that for pressure? 1,200 Cristiano Ronaldo was the only player to play every minute of the 2016-17 Champo League! 158 Wayne Rooney is the only current player to have scored more Premier League goals than Jermain Defoe ! Brazil and Barça superstar Neymar has got some sick tattoos, but we aren’t sure about the inking of his sister on his arm! What was he thinking? Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain wasn’t actually born in the South American country! The Juve man was in fact born in France! striker…

“He’s versatile, so gives us different options at the back. His strengths are the quality of his game going forward and his determination going into challenges. He also contributes to crosses and assists, which will make us more dangerous going forward.”Arsene Wenger , Arsenal manager HOW DOES IT FEEL TO BE A GUNNER, SEAD? KOLASINAC SAYS: “It feels good. I’m happy to have signed at Arsenal for five years and I’m really pleased.” WHY DID YOU PICK ARSENAL? KOLASINAC SAYS: “Arsenal has a huge tradition, and I followed the club as a young and Jens boy Lehmann in the days . Arsenal of Thierry has Henry always been a club recognised in Europe and I’m pleased to be here.” WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT THOSE PLAYERS? KOLASINAC SAYS: “Jens Lehmann…

UEFA U21 CHAMPIONSHIP England’s final group game will be their toughest, with host nation Poland standing in their way of the semi-finals. It’s already been a good summer for The Young Lions, with England’s U20 side bagging their World Cup! If Abraham, Redmond and co. get through here, MATCH reckons they’ll start to believe they can go all the way too ??! ?? ONES TO WATCH! Tammy Abraham– England U21 Bartosz Kapustka – Poland U21 UEFA U21 CHAMPIONSHIP This is one of the biggest rivalries in international footy, even at under-21 level! The neighbouring countries are super competitive, so this will be a big game whatever bearing it has on the final standings! They’ve both picked strong squads with bags of talent, so we can’t wait for it! ONES TO WATCH!…

17 Messi was 17 years, three months and 22 days old when he made his senior Barcelona debut – the second-youngest player to ever wear the famous Blaugrana colours after Paulino Alcantara! WONDERKID ALERT Lionel scored eight goals combined at the 2005 FIFA U20 World Cup and 2008 Beijing Olympics as Argentina won both competitions! 18 Messi was just 18 when he made his World Cup debut , which is younger than footy legends Pele, Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney and Johan Cruyff! STATS UNDER PEP GUARDIOLA GAMES: 219 GOALS: 211 ASSISTS: 80 TROPHIES: 14 26 Nobody has scored more La Liga hat-tricks for Barcelona than Leo – 26! SPEED DEMON Messi’s optimum sprint speed has been clocked at 20.19mph , which is nearly 2mph quicker than Barça team-mate Neymar. That’s…

MATCH on the go! Get a load of Finn Blakemore ! He read his fave footy mag while going down the ‘Falls of Terror’ at Lightwater Valley theme park. What a hero! Super Imp! Look at Lincoln season ticket holder Sid Smith’s magazine collection! He must have over 50 copies there. Crazy! We’re seeing stars! Check out Liverpool fan Jamie O’Meara’s wicked bedroom – it’s covered in MATCH stuff! MATCHY made of Lego! Alex Hadden created MATCHMAN out of Lego! Top stuff, Alex – it looks just like him! Bangin’ Baggie! Arlen Keaney sent us this picture of him and West Brom stopper Ben Foster. Nice work, Arlen! MATCH VOTE! We asked our Facebook fans to vote on which Prem TOTS FUT card they’d rather get – Harry Kane or…

After a stunning breakout season, KYLIAN MBAPPE is being chased by tons of top sides! We reckon if anyone wants to land the Monaco star, they’ll have to get their wallets out though! Get a load of the clubs the awesome wonderkid could be at next season... MONACO? The Ligue 1 champs have already sold Bernardo Silva this summer, so they have enough cash to hold on to Mbappe and wait for a record-breaking deal. If they get a crazy offer though, they’ll find it hard not to accept! ARSENAL? Arsene Wenger is trying to prove his critics wrong by showing he’s prepared to splash the cash! Gossips say Arsenal have tabled a couple of bids over £100 million already, and they’re hoping he can be the next Thierry Henry!…

OCTOBER 2004 LA LIGA DEBUT Leo makes his La Liga debut at just 17 years old! He comes on as a second-half sub against Espanyol! MAY 2005 FIRST BARÇA GOAL Messi is mobbed by his team-mates after bagging his first La Liga goal for the Catalan club versus Albacete! MAY 2005 LA LIGA TITLE NO.1 The top dribbler wins his first La Liga title in his very first season! He played seven games in total, scoring one goal! AUGUST 2005 ARGIE BARGY On August 17 2005, he makes his international debut against Hungary as a 63rd-minute substitute, only to be sent off 40 seconds later! MAY 2006 CL HEARTACHE Leo gets injured in the CL quarters against Chelsea and misses the final! Barça win, but an upset Messi refuses to…

BEAT YOUR MARKER! The Reverse Drag Push is a jaw-dropping skill that Barcelona legend Lionel Messi uses to create space either side of his man-marker in tight situations. It’s perfect in 1 v 1s when the opponent is blocking Leo from in front or behind! MESSI IS THE MASTER! Barça and Argentina magician busts out the Drag Push and Reverse Drag Push all the time! When he wants to shoot, run with ball or play a killer through ball, ’ll use these 1 v 1 feint mirror moves to create an opening! TRY TO KEEP YOUR OPPONENT GUESSING! Lionel loves mixing up which moves to and when to do them! If your marker doesn’t know whether you’re going to the Drag Push or Reverse Drag Push, they won’t know which…

FLASHBACK  Can you name the Premier League hero in this mega ancient pic? Use these clues to work out the mystery star! I became a Premier League boss for the first time in 2015! I was at my previous club for seven seasons! I’ve still not won a trophy in England! TRANSFER TRACKER! Can you fill in the gaps in the career of West Brom goalkeeper Ben Foster? THE NICKNAME GAME! Can you match the Prem clubs to their awesome nicknames? SOCCER SCRABBLE  Which Prem baller’s name has been all jumbled up?…