– Kelechi Decca’s theory of geography and destiny
If Messi remained in Argentina, the medical feat that propelled him to world fame wouldn’t have been happened, says polyglot Kelechi Deca. Messi led the Argentina squad that won the World Cup yesterday, capping his well celebrated journey to the top of the round leather game.
If Lionel Messi remained in Argentina, we wouldn’t have had such prodigiously talented footballer to enjoy.
This is because nobody could have provided money needed to take care of his medical bills for treatment of stunted growth. And that talent may probably not get the opportunity it needed to manifest.
Messi was diagnosed with a growth hormone disorder, or GHD. It is often called idiopathic short stature, but there are problems that go beyond being shorter than average. The treatments were expensive, a $900 monthly expense that his modest family could not afford.
Nobody in Argentina was willing and ready to help him. That’s environmental determinism. Geography.
River Plate and Newell’s Old Boys, passed on that expense despite the promise of a very young Messi. The treatments were injections of human growth hormone. For someone with GHD, this is a life-changer, allowing them to not only develop greater height, but also help deal with a variety of internal issues, such as pituitary function, skin and teeth problems, poor vision and lower immunity.
So moving to Spain at the age of 13 changed his story. Barcelona took a big gamble of faith by signing on a 13 year old “sick” kid with hope he would be cured and be fine. That’s environmental possibilism. Geography and Destiny.
Second, Messi is damn too lucky a chap, it appears all things worked together for his manifestation at the time he happened to the world. If another kid, even if doubly talented as Messi has same disease today, he may not receive the treatment even if funding is made available.
This is because the use of HGH has been banned in almost all sports, amateur and professional, it would be too controversial a decision and FIFA may not grant a waiver.
However, WADA did not begin tests for enhancement hormones until 2004 and by that time Messi’s treatment was almost concluded, even though till date Barcelona has refused to make it public.
Even at that, Messi did not use HGH as a performance enhancer. Messi was using a prescribed treatment, monitored by physicians, in order to overcome a medical condition. The result is that he’s a normal human being today, fourteen years after the treatments were made possible.
Presently, there’s a window a player with a diagnosed medical condition, can use especially if such player is as well-documented as Messi’s case, they call it a therapeutic use exemption.
A therapeutic use exemption (or TUE) is granted for a player’s use of a banned substance when that substance is considered medically necessary. Section 46 of FIFA’s anti-doping code contains provisions for TUEs.
Third advantage he has is that having grown from 4’7″ to present 5’7″ which though is closest to average height for most Argentinian male, he still has a very low centre of gravity. Being closer to the ground, it is far easier for him to run rings around taller players, achieve some mesmerising turns and the tendency for him to fall is lower.
And I do hope and think he may still play active football till 40 because of his smaller frame. Small framed people have longevity advantage in life because their metabolism rates and energy expended are lower.
Moreso, their frames support lower weights than bigger people, maybe that’s why you hardly see a big fat old man. But there are hundreds of smallish old men all over the place.
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