Meet Valentino Acuna, teenager who acted as Lionel Messi in documentary, is shining at U17 World Cup for Argentina
Valentino Acuna played the role of a young Lionel Messi in the latter's documentary, released in 2014. Acuna is attracting eyeballs with his performances for Argentina in the Under-17 World Cup.
Acuna brilliantly did his part as Messi's stunt double in the documentary. Little did fans know that he would go on to set the stage on fire in the 2023 edition of the Under-17 World Cup in Indonesia.
Born on Jan. 27, 2006, Acuna is a part of Messi's former club, Newell's Old Boys' academy. He scored his first goal in the Under-17 World Cup, in a Group D clash against Japan on Nov. 14. La Albiceleste's youth side won 3-1.
Acuna was also a part of the team in the Under-17 South American championships and scored once in nine appearances. A left-footed attacking midfielder by trait and adept in taking free-kicks, there are similarities in Acuna's playing style and Lionel Messi's.
With his performances at the youth level, Acuna is putting top teams across Europe on notice. The 17-year-old's deal with Newell's Old Boys' youth side runs out at the end of the 2024-25 season.
What Valentino Acuna's teammate Claudi Echeverri said about comparisons with Lionel Messi
Apart from Valentinao Acuna, Claudio Echeverri is another player in Argentina's Under-17 World Cup squad who is drawing attention. The River Plate youngster is the captain of the team and has scored once in two games.
Echeverri has also been compared with Lionel Messi at times. The youngster, though, has dismissed the comparisons, saying that he is more similar to Pablo Aimar, telling FIFA's website:
“I always said that my idol was Messi, but I’m nowhere near Messi! I also really liked Pablo Aimar, who’s part of the national-team staff, and he’s spoken to me many times.
"He’s a great person, and he gives me useful pointers about what I need to correct in my game. I’d probably say ‘Pablito’, then – he was a talented player and loved to take on defenders like me.”
Lionel Messi has often shown his appreciation towards Aimar. In a recent interview with Zinedine Zidane, Messi pointed out how Aimar was a classic No. 10 (via Marca):
"The position that I had before reflected that I was the hook, now with the 4-3-3 or 4-2-2-2, it is true that there are few left. Our 10, which characterized the Argentine 10, Riquelme, Aimar, there are few or none."