In football, some encounters begin years before the opening whistle, and their details remain etched in memory no matter how many tournaments pass and roles change. Among those stories stands the tale that first brought together Lionel Messi and Luis de la Fuente in 2004, when one was a teenage prodigy forging his path to glory and the other was a coach for Sevilla's youth team. Twenty-two years later, the two men face each other again, but this time on the biggest stage in world football: the 2026 World Cup final.

It was on May 15, 2004, when Luis de la Fuente led Sevilla's youth team against Barcelona in the second leg of the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey Juvenil, at the Mini Estadi. At that time, everyone was talking about a 16-year-old boy named Lionel Messi, who was beginning to establish himself as one of the brightest talents from La Masia academy.

The match ended with an extraordinary performance by the young Argentine star, who scored all four of Barcelona's goals against Sevilla, leading his team to victory and leaving de la Fuente helpless to find any way to stop him. It was one of the first nights that revealed to the world the magnitude of the talent possessed by the boy from Rosario.

More than two decades later, the two men stand face to face again, but the scene is completely different. Messi has become one of the greatest footballers in history, while de la Fuente now leads the Spanish national team. This time, they are competing for the World Cup title in the final match scheduled for Sunday in New York.

The Spain coach recalled that memory with a smile during the pre-final press conference, saying: "I met Lionel Messi when I was coaching the youth team at Sevilla. I had heard a lot about a boy named Messi. At first, we put a tight mark on him, but in the 70th minute, the player assigned to mark him received a yellow card, so I decided to substitute him. After that, Messi scored four goals in 15 minutes. This time, we won't assign a man-marking job on him, even though they will also be watching our players," he said jokingly.

That four-goal haul was not just an exceptional match; it was part of a stunning season that began to shape a new football legend. In the 2003–2004 season, Messi played 37 official matches for Barcelona's youth teams (Barcelona B, Barcelona U19, Barcelona C, and Barcelona B) along with his first friendly appearance for the first team, scoring 35 goals in the process.

He was also one of the standout stars of the Copa del Rey Juvenil, not only scoring four against Sevilla but also adding two goals against Osasuna in the first leg of the semi-final, even though Barcelona were eliminated from the tournament and did not reach the final, according to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

That season was the true launching point in Messi's career, as shortly afterward he received his first call-up to represent Argentina's U20 national team, playing two matches and scoring three goals, announcing the beginning of a journey that would lead him to the pinnacle of world football.

Today, 22 years after that first encounter, the paths of Messi and de la Fuente cross again. No longer is one a teenage player dreaming of glory, nor the other a coach at a youth academy. Messi, who has cemented his place as one of the greatest players of the game, aims to win the World Cup for the second time in his career, while de la Fuente seeks to lead Spain to their second world title.

The question that the World Cup final will answer remains: Will 'La Roja' coach succeed in avenging the memory of that four-goal performance still stuck in his mind, or will Messi write a new chapter in a story that began 22 years ago?