2. The Kid's Dream

Lionel Messi finalmente tiene la oportunidad de ponerse la camiseta nacional de Argentina, pero algo no anda bien. Después de pasar un tiempo fuera del país, su estilo ha cambiado. Jugar con la Selección Argentina se vuelve aún más complicado cuando la leyenda del fútbol argentin ...  Show more

Lionel Messi finally gets a chance to put on Argentina's national jersey, but something is off. His time abroad has fundamentally changed the way he plays. Things get even more complicated when the Argentine soccer legend, Diego Maradona, becomes coach of Messi's 2010 World Cup t ...  Show more

It's bizarre how long it took Argentinians to learn to love Leo Messi. His exile from his declining homeland always made him suspect. The comparison with Maradona hung over him from the start. And why was he hardly ever as good for Argentina as he was for Barcelona? We tell the s ...  Show more

Soccer star Lionel Messi is currently hoping to lead Argentina to victory in the World Cup. His path to global fame was shaped by a crisis in Argentina's economy.This episode was made in collaboration with NPR and Futuro Studios's The Last Cup podcast.Subscribe to Planet Money+ i ...  Show more

In 2007, the two biggest soccer teams in the world met for another edition of one of soccer’s greatest rivalries: Barcelona vs Real Madrid, or El Clasico. Luckily for Barcelona, a certain tiny teenager in their starting XI took over the game and rescued the defending European cha ...  Show more

Peru finally qualified for the 2018 world cup after 36 years of failure. 36 years of suffering, terrorism, corruption and economic crisis. Footballer Paolo Guerrero and his teammates are breathing new life and hope into their country. What happens at the World Cup will have an im ...  Show more