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Both Had Growth Problems
The Coincidence of Messi and Ginóbili
Manu Ginóbili es uno de los mejores penetradores
de la NBA. (Foto: REUTERS)
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Madrid. - A curious coincidence involving the most important
Argentinean athletes at the moment, Emanuel "Manu" Ginóbili and Lionel Messi,
was revealed with the publication in Buenos Aires of the biography of the NBA star: both
had growth problems.
To Ginóbili "the doctors said that he wouldn't grow to be
taller than 1'85 meters" as DPA was told by the journalist Daniel Frescó, author of
the book "The Sky with My Hands", already distributed in Argentina. Nonetheless,
the San Antonio Spurs player, who was awarded the two rings champion in the most powerful
Basketball league, “ had a growth spurt at the age of 17 when he reached a height of
1’98 meters, when even his father thought he would not be tall enough for
Basketball”, recalls Frescó.
Messi, who plays soccer for Barcelona, and will almost
certainly be included in the lineup of the Spanish team at the World Cup in Germany in
2006, also had growth problems. He was able to use growth-enhancing devices in Spain, that
transformed him into the outstanding player he is today.
The Argentinean arrived in
Barcelona when
he was 13, only 1'40 meters tall. He received hormonal treatment for his
growth problems, until reaching his current height of 1'70 meters.
"The Sky with My Hands" is an
investigation that "includes several chapters in a novel form" of the life of
Ginóbili, Olympic gold medalist in Athens and a descendant of Italians who arrived in
Argentina during the twentieth century in search of new horizons.
The book's chapters were written "in correlation to his growth,
from 51cm at birth to the nearly 2 meters of his current height", says Frescó.
"The Sky with My Hands" starts with Ginóbili's family history, recounting the
story of his great-grandparents who settled in the south of the province of Buenos Aires,
when the town of Bahía Blanca was taking its first steps. "Like all immigrants who
came during those years, these Italians where dreamers, very hard working and dedicated.
Emanuel inherited this diligence, which is reflected in his personality”, adds the
author.
The key to “Ginóbili's 'winner' personality” can be found in
his middle class background, as well as the neighborhood where he grew up and took his
first steps, obsessed with being taller and with playing Basketball, which has always been
one of the passions of Bahía Blanca.
In addition to his growth problems,
“Manu”, as he is affectionately known, suffered many other frustrations. For
example, at the age of 15, he was left out of the cadets’ league, because there were
others taller than him. In 1994, when he was 17 years old, Ginóbili made his first
appearance with the local Basketball club Bahiense del Norte, which declined a league
“It was a terrible disappointment, yet it served as a stimulus for him, because it
was followed by a physical development. From then on he never stopped” says Frescó.
Before he made it into the NBA, “Manu” Ginóbili played in the Italian Second
Division, between 1998 and 1999, showing the talents of a great player, although he had
“yet to show them in the big leagues”.
"The Sky with My Hands" contributes many stories as well as testimonies by
friends, family members, teachers and team-mates that reveal unknown aspects of the life
and personality of the Basketball player that has become one of the icons of the
Argentinean sport. One of the anecdotes that Frescó relates demonstrates Manu’s
obsession with height.
“You can find many marks on the walls of his parents' and grandparents' kitchens.
Ginóbili made those marks to chart his growth process." But, according to the
author, “behind the public image hides a modest guy, loyal to his emotions and ready
to confront any setback with the power of his intelligence and perseverance”.
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