Fabio Capello confessed how a teenage Lionel Messi terrorized Juventus defense at the Joan Gamper Trophy on August 2005.
When the legendary manager saw the teenager tearing apart Patrick Vieira and the Juventus defense at the Joan Gamper Trophy, he didn't even wait for the final whistle to make his move. He walked straight up to Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard mid-game and asked bluntly: “Can you give him to me for a year at Juventus on loan?”
Capello didn’t just see a promising academy prospect; he instantly recognized a fully-formed phenomenon who was already too good to be kept off the pitch.