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.

Recalling Messi's Impact

"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."

Messi was just a little older than what Iorpenda is now when he dazzled for Pep Guardiola's Barca in 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, 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 Road to Recovery

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 campaign 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 more than 250 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 – 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."

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."