Argentina has a new hope. It comes in the 7-year-old Leonel Angel Coira, who this week signed a contract with Spanish giants Real Madrid to join the club's youth academy. Already being tipped as the next Lionel Messi, the young Coira begins training with the youth squad on September 6. Coira hopes to follow the path of the elder Messi, who joined Barcelona from the Argentine club Newell's Old Boys as a teenager and has gone on to win the World Player of the Year award two times. “(My) dream is to meet Messi, play in the first division with Madrid and for Argentina in the World Cup,” Coira told the Spanish newspaper ABC. Coira's family moved to Madrid three years ago after his father, Miguel, was offered a job in the Spanish capital. Miguel Coira coaches a local youth club where Leonel played and first caught the eye of a Madrid scout. The 7-year-old was then invited to a trial with Madrid and signed a one-year contract with the club's youngest team, the “Benjamin” squad, made up of mostly under-9 players. Madrid reportedly made the push to sign Coira because Atletico Madrid was also pursuing the youngster. “After tryouts with both clubs, he felt more comfortable with (Real) Madrid,” Miguel Coira told ABC. “I trust the club a lot. I know they will take good care of him.” Club spokesman Juan Tapiador said Coira wasn't the youngest player ever to sign with Madrid, although he couldn't name anyone younger. He said players of any age can join Real Madrid, with one stipulation. “They only have to be a standout,” he said. “We look for something different, that quality or talent that makes them stand out from the rest.” Miguel Coira said his family receives no financial compensation from Madrid, but the team does “pay for transport.” “The contract is for one year and if everything works out it can be renewed for another,” he said. “When he is 16 years old, he can play in the first division and then the terms are different.” BM
