Image source, ShutterstockImage caption, Tom Iorpenda has been with Notts County on loan from Huddersfield Town this season
ByAndrew AloiaBBC Sport, East Midlands- Published2 hours ago
Footage of Lionel Messi's Wembley masterclass that took Barcelona to Champions League glory against Manchester United in 2011 is something Tom Iorpenda has watched on repeat for years.
For the 21-year-old, it is the definition of greatness on England's grandest stage.
And it is the first thing the London-born Notts County midfielder thinks of when asked about what it would mean to play at the national stadium on Monday. The Magpies face Salford City in the League Two play-off final – the opposition being a club with strong links to that Manchester United team through the stakes held by members of the Class of '92.
"Watching Messi and knowing what he did on that pitch and now thinking I'm about to go and play on the same pitch is definitely exciting for me," Iorpenda told BBC Sport.
"I still watch it back to this day. I just love Messi.
"Any game at any level in that stadium gets lots of exposure, and I think it's just a great opportunity."
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Messi was just a little older than what Iorpenda is now when he dazzled for Pep Guardiola's Barca in the that famous 3-1 win against the Red Devils 15 years ago.
Iorpenda does not bring up the eight-time Ballon d'Or-winning Argentine in way of comparison, although the way the Magpies midfielder swivelled near the halfway line then nutmegged an opponent as he set off on a solo run to score Notts County's goal of the season, external against Cheltenham was the most Messi-esque moment in England's fourth division.
"I've always sort of tried to do special things on the pitch, express myself, play with freedom," Iorpenda said.
"But I'd much rather score a lot more goals than special goals."
The recognition Iorpenda got for that goal completed a hat-trick of club prizes, including both the players' player and fans' player of the season awards, in what has been a breakthrough season for the Huddersfield Town loanee.
It has all come just a few years after he was doubting his future in the game, having been released by Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion as a 15-year-old.
After spending eight years of his junior development with the Seagulls, he was left to look for a new start - one which took him him more than 400 miles north to Huddersfield.
It was a time in his career when he had to rely on the care and understanding of his father Kingsley, who is a youth coach in Brighton, and mother Kate, who is among the founders of No1Fan Club, external – a platform set up to help families navigate football's notoriously challenging and fickle youth system.
"My mum's everything. Literally, I wouldn't be anywhere like this, I wouldn't be here without her," Iorpenda said.
"She's helped me so much, from being released from Brighton and moving up to Huddersfield and then being here. She's supported me the whole way through. And the same goes for dad.
"It definitely knocked my confidence [being released by Brighton] because I'd never really had a setback like that. All the way through Brighton from the age of seven to 15 it was pretty much perfect - playing loads of games, enjoying my football - and then suddenly I wasn't good enough.
"And it was something new for me, which I found hard, but that's why having my parents and friends around me really helped me."
Why first pro deal came with a pledge
Relocating to Huddersfield while his career was still in its infancy would appear to have been a daunting step, but Iorpenda never saw it that way.
For him it was "just a four-hour drive" from the south coast to the foothills of the Pennines.
"It changed my thinking to be more positive. I could go somewhere else and show people what I can do," he said.
"I was laid back about things and didn't stress too much. I enjoyed it."
It is with the Terriers that he added to his reputation as a player capable of breathtaking moments. The audacious free-kick he scored from his own half for Huddersfield's B team against Brentford's second-string side in 2023 was the finest example.
It was a year earlier that he signed his first professional deal.
But even when he did that, he revealed a lot about himself when he immediately signed away part of his earnings to the Common Goal cause - a charity initiative made famous when World Cup-winning Spain midfielder and former Manchester United and Chelsea player Juan Mata became the first to take the 1% pledge in 2017.
When Mata got involved, he was reportedly earning £7m a year. Hundreds of footballers worldwide, as well as clubs and companies associated to the game have made donations to the cause.
So why, when earning his first real pay cheque, did Iorpenda do the same?
"I just thought it was the right thing to do," he said.
"My mum's really into that stuff with charities through football. So it think it's mainly the way I've been brought up."
It was also at Huddersfield when Iorpenda first worked under Martin Paterson.
When the former Terriers assistant coach was named as boss of Notts County this term, he was quick to make a case for bringing the inexperienced Iorpenda to Meadow Lane.
"He likes to remind me that I was rubbish before I came here," Iorpenda said, with a laugh, when asked about his relationship with the head coach.
"He has put his trust in me from the first game and I'm just trying to repay that with good performances.
"Whatever happens, I'm forever grateful for what this club's done for me and hopefully I - me and the team - can help repay Notts with a win on Monday."
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Figure caption,Pre-Wembley podcast
