Goal takes a look at Lionel Messi's teammates from his international debut for Argentina…
Argentina's blue-eyed boy Lionel Messi made his international debut on August 17, 2005, in an international friendly match against Hungary at the Puskas Stadium in Budapest.
Messi was introduced into the match as a substitute in the second half. He replaced forward Lisandro Lopez in the 64th-minute of the match. Despite going down to 10 men, Argentina won the tie 2-1 thanks to Maxi Rodriguez and Gabriel Heinze's strikes.
What was supposed to be a dream debut for the then Barcelona prodigy, turned into a nightmare soon as he was sent off within two minutes of coming on to the pitch.
But things have turned out pretty well since the horrible debut as Messi is now the most-capped Argentine player of all time with 151 matches in his kitty and also the country's all-time leading goalscorer with 76 goals to his name.
Let us take a look at the players who had donned the Argentina jersey on the day Messi made his international debut.
Getty Images1Lionel Messi – FW (Sub)The Argentine superstar recently won his first-ever international trophy as he guided La Albiceleste to Copa America 2021 triumph. Messi's contract with FC Barcelona got over in 2021 but he is very close to sign a fresh five-year contract with the club.AdvertisementGetty Images2Mario Santana – MF (Sub)Mario Santana spent most of his professional career in Italy and played for clubs like Fiorentina and Napoli. After spending the last two seasons at Palermo, Santana retired from professional football.Getty Images3Pablo Zabaleta – DF (Sub)Zabaleta joined Manchester City in 2008 where he spent the better part of his career and became a legend at the club. He left City in 2017 and spent the final three seasons of his professional career at West Ham United. He retired in 2020.Getty4Hernan Crespo – FW
The legendary Argentine forward played for clubs like Inter Milan and Chelsea in his long and illustrious professional career. He retired from football after spending two seasons at Serie A side Parma in 2012.
Crespo joined Brazilian giants Sao Paulo as their head coach in February 2021 on a two-year deal. He won the Campeonato Paulista, the club's first trophy in eight years.