Apart from the Olympic success in 2008, Messi has had little joy while wearing the national team colours. Now, we are in a situation where players can pick up yellow cards for a single bad tackle and receive straight red cards for tackles which were commonly inflicted on Maradona. Published on February 15, 2021 (Photo by Mike King/Allsport/Getty Images/Hulton Archive). Still, Messi's honours list is outrageous. Manage Settings Although he does have some excellent assists to his name, they are often followed by poor results for Argentina or Barcelona. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. He has set He'll be at the Oscars ceremony on March 12. While the club career was able to provide a reasonable amount of success with Italian Serie A and Copa del Rey titles to his credit, Maradona was able to influence much more at international level. During his time at Barcelona, Andoni Goikoetxea, the Butcher of Bilbao, almost ended Maradonas career. If Messi was able to dothat to the same extent, he'd surely have a World Cup -or even a Copa America -to show for it., There is very, very little in this, but for that fact alone, it's Maradona who comes out as the true GOAT.. ", "I never cried when I was looking for the evidence. On being asked who was the better footballer between the two, the Napoli legend brushed aside the question smartly. Barcelona, the football club, tweaked its system and formation to suit him. There has never been, nor will there ever be, a better pure goalscorer than Lionel Messi. After starting out as a relatively unknown at Manchester United, Ronaldo forced Sir Alex Ferguson to give him a free role and Ferguson is a manager who has always put the team ahead of a player. When you answer this question, I believe you should take into account the best argument of the opposite side. Marco Scognamiglio wrote a very inter In 2011, he became the first player to score 100 international goals. Whereas Maradona was brash and brutally charming, Messi was introverted, clean-cut and unemotional. Real Madrid planning move for Antonio Silva? This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Messi is known for his speed and agility, while Successful dribbles: Messi 63%-59% Maradona. WebA seven-time Ballon dOr winner, Messi has produced countless moments of genius throughout his illustrious career with Barcelona, Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain. Let's be honest; this is a debate that doesn't really need to be had. Yet, Maradona shined in an era where players were given little protection against physical challenges. Maradona, on the other hand, had three league championships and a Uefa Cup to his credit. Maradona retaliated and got a red card. The Argentina international has been on a sensational run of form this year, scoring 105 goals in 150 appearances for his club and country. Many football fans can count themselves lucky to have witnessed two icons at the peak of their powers. Messi. First, Messi plays in better era of football, in terms of how advanced it is and he is consistent for last 14 years. He is also a prolific s In 142 appearances for Argentina, Messi has scored 71 goals as against Maradonas who operated from a deeper position 34 in 91 international matches. The claim was made by former teammate Javier Mascherano who said: "If you ask me if Messi hates Romero, then yes, he does.". At least, that's what it feels like after Argentina's 36-game unbeaten run was ended in humiliating fashion with a 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in what will surely be Messi's final evert attempt at winning FIFA's showpiece tournament. Unlike many of the South American stars from his generation, Maradona was able to command a lot of respect in the European football scene. He kept his word. WebLionel Messi will never be able to better Diego Maradona "even if he wins four World Cups in a row", according to Argentina legend Mario Kempes. Argentina has been lucky to have had two players like Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi to grace its national team. We and our partners use data for Personalised ads and content, ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. There's more to his game, but626 goals in 715 games for Barcelona is nuts., Don't get me wrong, Maradona was never shy from hitting the back of the net. On the pitch, Maradona hardly had any protection from match officials. His talents took him to management, working with Messi while in charge of the national team. Csar Luis Menotti, who managed the Argentine team that won the 1978 World Cup defined Maradonas talent this way, I am always cautious about using the word geniusThe beauty of Diegos game has a hereditary element his natural ease with the ball- but it also owes a lot to his ability to learn: a lot of those brushstrokes, those strokes of genius, are in fact a product of his hard work. He became the second-youngest player behind Johan Cruyff to score their first goal for the club when he found the net against Levante UD on 8 December 2004. It is difficult to put a price on this contribution from Maradona, who is truly the greatest the world has seen. He is a product of the famous La Masia youth system at FC Barcelona. In his 172 Argentina games, he has scored 98 times which averages at around a goal every other game. Moreno Ocampo saw it while working on the trial depicted in "Argentina 1985. That remains the last time they won the famous trophy, despite Messi having a few cracks at the whip since. So if he were Merrick Garland, would he make the 45th U.S. president take the stand? You despair to think about how good a player Maradona might have been if he was pushed to meet 21st century standards of professionalism and had a Cristiano Ronaldo alongside him all the way. An Italian friend told me that when Maradona was playing a game for Napoli, he feigned that he was going to fall forward while still holding the ball. Pictures would attest how Italian defender Claudio Gentile resorted to rugby tackles to stop Maradona during the 1982 World Cup. However, barring a dramatic turnaround to bounce back from opening day humiliation that Spain in 2010 have demonstrated is indeed possible, we might just have to find solace in the fact that 2014 will forever endure as Messi's finest ever World Cup. The World Cup was his jam. Maradona managed Messi with Argentina between 2008 and 2010 and never shied from speaking about Messi's status as a world-beater. In terms of pure skill Maradona was even more magical than Messi. His ball control, the precision of his shots and the things he did in training ar If fans had thought that the best of Ronaldo came at Manchester United, they were in for a shock. Along with Brazilian legend Pele, Maradona is considered as the greatest footballer ever. Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Wayne Rooney are his top three choice for the best soccer player of all time. For other inquiries, Contact Us. 18 Who is the most capped Scottish footballer of all time? "I knew Maradona very well. Both players gave their all (still giving, in Messi's case) and have nothing left to prove to anyone. "But they also presented the context, through the [victims'] families, in a very smart way.". Hisstrike rate does fall some wayshort of his own stupendous standards, and he has never scored at a World Cup outside of the group stage despite competing at four of them.. The other Brazilian to make it to the top of the all-time greats list, Ronaldo at his peak was a goalscoring machine but with the talented touch of a boy who had grown up playing on the streets of Rio de Janeiro. Supremely effective and hugely prolific at Ajax, where he won three European Cups, eight league titles and, individually, three Ballons d'Or. Messi might come out on top in a number of the passing metrics and even completed more successful dribbles, but the defensive side of Maradona's game really shone through and he went toe-to-toe with his successor on finishing despite not being renowned for his goalscoring. But the latter fell at the final hurdle. 17 Is Celtic Irish or Scottish? While Messi is quiet, Maradona was boastful. He won a league title with Barcelona, where his lasting legacy was to come in the brand of football they played with him going on to manage the club and become one of the most influential people in football. He's on track to finish as the top scorer in Spain for a seventh season, and is La Liga's all time leading goalscorer., ?#Messi is now the outright top scorer in #LaLigaSantander! An ultra-consistent performer, Messi has scored almost 800 career goals for club and country. Its probably near-impossible to come to a conclusion as regards to who is better, Maradona or Messi. He is a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award and two national journalism awards from Argentina. Who is a better player, Messi now or Maradona then? Diego Maradona claims that he was humiliated by Italian The Argentine lawyer Luis Moreno Ocampo, who has put the screws to genocidal strongmen and placed dictators behind bars, isn't sure whether Donald Trump should be tried for the Jan. 6 riot. For the most part, Ronaldo and Messi have been competing for the major trophies while playing for Spanish clubs. Hi handsome fanboys. Not to belittle messi. He is the best of his generation. Current football system , billion and trilion marketing and cheque ma He is a player with enough muscle power to flex the commercial income of a big club like Juventus to a major extent. Messi's body structure is what that helps him to change his pace so quickly and it helps him to change his direction of dribbling without having to bleed away momentum- unlike Ronaldo. Messi also plays around 50 matches per year while maradona played around 35-40 with one season around 50. He did come close to winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2014 when the team finished as the runner-up. However, he was able to achieve success at a time when science was just making its presence felt in the game. That was the kind of influence he exercised on the team.". If we take talent as well as effort into account, it becomes clear that Maradona is the superior player. WebHowever because of the emotional peaks associated with Maradona its difficult for Messi to compete when compared in terms of iconic status. While Maradona was a fighter against the world, Messi seems to be a naturally timid, even modest person. His two goals against the British team in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico City are now legendary. He has to go to jail. And that for me was a huge thing.". Messi not only wins Maradona's average, but he's also the all-time top scorer for the Argentina national team in the World Cups with 13 goals. In just six seasons at Old Trafford, Ronaldo transformed himself from an unpolished diamond into a global star, but his transformation was not yet complete. ITV drops Jeremy Clarkson's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? However, it also brings incredible pressure due to the expectations, which come along with wearing the white shirt. He flew back to the capital in December to watch Argentina win the World Cup final with his kids. Collectively, Ronaldo has won 32 senior trophies in his career. Lionel Messi is an Argentina national team and FC Barcelona soccer player. The issue is, who is today supporting a mob rebellion against the Congress?". I saw awful things I never cried. There is a huge drop in Messis goal tally for Argentina even when the team has been built to suit his personality. ", "All the scenes in the court are absolutely verbatim," Moreno Ocampo says. Messi has won 10 league titles and four Champions League titles. It's no surprise that Messi has been so often compared to Maradona seeing as they're both left-footed, diminutive Argentinean males considered by many to be the standout player of their generation. One argument in case of Messis poor performances for Argentina would be the lack of raiding fullbacks, as the best of Messi came when Dani Alves was at his peak. Right then, well, let the data do the talking as we see who the statistics think had the better World Cup prime out of Messi and Maradona down below: Shots on target per game: Maradona 1.9-1.1 Messi, Goals from outside the box: Messi 3-0 Maradona, Key passes per game: Maradona 3.9-3.3 Messi, Long ball accuracy: Messi 79%-71% Maradona, Football - Argentina v Bosnia-Herzegovina - FIFA World Cup Brazil 2014 - Group F - Estadio do Maracana, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 15/6/14, Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his team's second and his first goal, Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Jed Leicester, Crossing accuracy: Messi 29%-24% Maradona, Successful dribbles: Messi 63%-59% Maradona, Was fouled per game: Maradona 7.6-2.6 Messi, Possession lost per game: Messi 20.9-21.7 Maradona, Possession won per game: Maradona 0.6-0.6 Messi, Interceptions per game: Maradona 0.9-0.3 Messi, Average match rating: Maradona 8.39-7.86 Messi, MEXICO CITY, MEXICO - JUNE 29: Argentina captain Diego Maradona holds aloft the trophy after the FIFA 1986 World Cup final match against West Germany at the Azteca Stadium on June 29th, 1986 in Mexico City, Mexico. 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