Messi beats Maradona hands down if greatness is judged solely on numbers. Before Maradona, Pele was the undisputed greatest in most people's eyes. Who is the only soccer player in the same league as Messi? In 2011, he scored 121 goals in all competitions but was accused of deliberately losing matches because he did not want to be chosen as goalkeeper Sergio Romero's backup. Every time Maradona played for Argentina, he carried the burden of a nation. No one seems to know how to split the two, and in many ways it's a redundant debate; it's near impossible to compare football in the 1980s and 90sto football nowadays., Near impossible, but not entirely. The Argentina international has been on a sensational run of form this year, scoring 105 goals in 150 appearances for his club and country. He won six league titles and two Copa Libertadores with Santos. But the latter fell at the final hurdle. Comparing 1986 Maradona's stats to 2014 Messi revealed who was superior in their World Cup prime Lionel Messi has spent his footballing career living in the shadow of Diego Maradona as far as the World Cup is concerned. His second goal, however, after he dribbled several opponents including the goalkeeper- was considered by the Fdration Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) the best goal of the century. He is a product of the famous La Masia youth system at FC Barcelona. Lowe says its very hard to look beyond the significance of Maradona particularly when considering his impact at the 1986 FIFA World Cup, but does concede Barcelonas Messi is the best player Ive ever seen and will ever see. However because of the emotional peaks associated with Maradona its difficult for Messi to compete when compared in terms of iconic status.#ESPNFC Subscribe to ESPN FC on YouTube: http://bit.ly/SUBSCRIBEtoESPNFC ITV drops Jeremy Clarkson's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? With seven Ballon d'Or titles and a world record for the most goals scored in a calendar year, there's good reason to think that Messi has surpassed Maradona overall, but the little genius seems destined to forever be negatively compared to his compatriot at the World Cup. While Messi is quiet, Maradona was boastful. Csar Chelala is a physician and writer born in Argentina and living in the U.S. Along the way, he scored his wonder goal against England Argentinas arch rivals because of The Falklands War. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Messi is the first Argentine to captain the side to glory since Maradona, Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup replicating his idol Diego Maradona, among the greatest sports stars to ever live, Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). What Maradona was doing, instead, was trying to see who was the best placed among his companions, sent him the ball and so it was easy for his teammate to score. Lionel Messi was proclaimed the indisputable King of Football this week by Budweiser after scoring a record-breaking 644th goal for Barcelona. Furthermore, Barcelona have been built around Messi for the best part of the last decade. During his 17 years at the Nou Camp, he scored 672 goals in 778 appearances. I felt I was pick pocketing the English.. This is debatable. Q: Who is better Messi or Maradona A: Maradona. Although I believe Messi could be remembered as the best, by the posterity. Because one generally t 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. On seeing this, those from the opposing team moved aside. Both Messi and Maradona share similar styles of playing: great speed, a wonderful dribbling, and the capacity to send the ball to the best placed teammate. As I said before: Maradona was a phenomenon in his own time but I doubt he'd have the mentality to play in the current era and make the lifestyle s Let's be honest; this is a debate that doesn't really need to be had. While Maradona was a fighter against the world, Messi seems to be a naturally timid, even modest person. But, over four World Cups, Messi hasnt scored a single goal in the knockout rounds. For Maradona, it was revenge after Argentinas defeat by the British in the Malvinas/Falklands war. I like this goal. At club level, Messi established himself with Barcelona, before infamously leaving on a free transfer in the summer of 2021. Manage Settings Even the Ballon dOr awards were initially not focused on the Argentine, who was delivering the goods with the likes of Boca Juniors and Argentinos Juniors. WebLionel Messi is Argentina's second great superstar after Diego Maradona (Owen Humphreys/PA) Maradona's heir-apparent, Messi has yet to hit the levels of adulation in 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. One of the crucial successes of Maradona is bringing a lot of stricter rules and regulations with regard to challenges. Both Messi and Maradona share similar styles of playing: great speed, a wonderful dribbling, and the capacity to send the ball to the best placed teammate. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times . Argentina had won the 1978 World Cup on home patch all right, but fixing allegations, against Peru, tainted their success. Unsurprisingly, a person of such calibre has only gone through an uptrend throughout his career. MX23RW : Wednesday, March 1 21:25:10| >> :120:5639:5639: ID:423852:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:14064: Get the latest transfer news, match previews and news direct to your inbox. Messi doesnt need to win the World Cup to be the best player in the world, Maradona told reporters six years ago. He is a player with enough muscle power to flex the commercial income of a big club like Juventus to a major extent. Maradona on the other hand? He featured for some of Europe's top clubs, winning trophies with all of them, won two World Cups and by the age of 23 had scored more than 200 goals for club and country, although serious knee injuries blighted his later career. He loves to play sports and has a knack for managing people. Continue with Recommended Cookies. 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. Barcelona, the football club, tweaked its system and formation to suit him. If Argentina wins for the third time, he says, it'll be as good as Maradona or Messi scoring three goals in a game. However, not all fans love Messi. For standing goals that he has scored throughout his career, Messi has been a disappointment at international level. In 2011, he became the first player to score 100 international goals. (Photo by Mike King/Allsport/Getty Images). But the question remains: who is faster, Messi or Maradona? Furthermore, although Maradona is now in retirement, he continues to influence football matches through interviews and presentations. The consent submitted will only be used for data processing originating from this website. Juventus considering move for Marcel Sabitzer? Marvin has a degree from one of the top universities in America and offers his services as a sports manager. "We engaged the students in a very heated discussion about the judicial status of the Jedi," says Braun, who encouraged his friend to make the jump from Harvard to Southern California. To make a comparison is perhaps unfair. His first two seasons with Barcelona in 2004 and 2005 were largely an introduction for the defenders to sit up and take notice. Lionel Messi is an Argentina national team and FC Barcelona soccer player. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Whereas Maradona was brash and brutally charming, Messi was introverted, clean-cut and unemotional. WebWho is faster Messi or Ronaldo? He wrote for leading newspapers all over the world and for the main medical journals, among them The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, The Japan Times, The China Daily, The Moscow Times, The International Herald Tribune, Le Monde Diplomatique, Harvard International Review, The Journal of the American Medical Association, The Lancet, Annals of Internal Medicine, and The British Medical Journal. He scored in each of their five successive European Cup victories and single-handedly drove them to their first league triumph in 20 years in his first season at the club, one of eight he would win at the Bernabeu in addition to his two Ballons d'Or. "Borges is a genius," says Moreno Ocampo, adding an expletive, who served as legal counselor to another Argentine [expletive] genius, Diego Maradona, the football superestrella. 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 You could say Napoli vs. Barcelona is the Maradona derby. EastEnders 'to introduce major new family'. With all his off-field controversies, it's easy for the modern football fan to overlook just how much of an inspiration Maradona was to everyone he played with, but he was no stranger toquite literally dragging his team-mates along; something Messi has never had to do.. 15 How many goals did Maradona scored in his career? "No one knew what this tribune would end up being like, whether it would be a total failure or a roaring success," says Raustiala. They are both equally talented, each one a great player and both of them a glory to the game. No other footballer has earned so much during their career. The club also would go on to hand over Messi with the first of his many titles like the Champions League and La Liga. The issue is, who is today supporting a mob rebellion against the Congress?". That's not quite true, to be fair; if 70 goals in 138 caps isn't 'doing it' then what is?, The criticisms aren't entirely without merit, however. It remains the first and only permanent international body granted jurisdiction to prosecute individuals for genocide, war crimes, crimes of aggression and crimes against humanity. In other words, we can indeed find out the winner of 2014 Messi vs 1986 Maradona as far as the data is concerned, taking what we consider to be some of the most important metrics that they've analysed and comparing the numbers to see what happens. Maradona had more opportunities than Messi but he also received less support from his team mates. "Spielberg is an actor in U.S. life because he defines narratives. Lionel Messi has been able to break numerous scoring records, win several collective honours with Barcelona, and take up more Ballon dOr awards than any other player. But despite his penchant for passionate outbursts "It's crazy, it's insane!" Supremely effective and hugely prolific at Ajax, where he won three European Cups, eight league titles and, individually, three Ballons d'Or. WebMessi had to play with players who are more professional, competitive and the game is now much more complex than when maradona played. To view the purposes they believe they have legitimate interest for, or to object to this data processing use the vendor list link below. He kept his word. He did come close to winning the World Cup with Argentina in 2014 when the team finished as the runner-up. Who is better, Messi now or Maradona then? India versus Australia: Cut shot proves to be fatal for Indian batsmen in Indore like the sweep was for Australia in Delhi, Cooperation amid conflict is India's burden for G20, 'I push myself to do things never thought I could even attempt': Divyanka Tripathi pens note on happiness, self love, Why HMD Global thinks DIY reparability could be the future of smartphones, Road Safety World Series: South Africa Legends file formal notice over the non-payment in 2nd season, 'Absolutely unreal': stunning image of aurora from space, Twitter rolls out Violent Speech Policy, asserts zero-tolerance approach, Targeting of Manish Sisodia presents an opportunity for Opposition to unite, A stagnant Congress has moved a little. Messi's great contemporary rival, their comparison is probably the easiest as for nine seasons they played in the same league at comparable clubs. There were also record breaking campaigns like the 2011-12 campaign when he scored 73 goals in all competitions from just 60 matches. "I was afraid of Luis at the beginning," Mitre says, laughing. Diego Maradona considers Lionel Messi and Diego Messi to be the greatest players of all time. ", For his part, Moreno Ocampo credits the film's courtroom verisimilitude to Mitre and Argentine producer Victoria Alonso, who "understand very well these John Ford movies on justice. (Photo by Mike King/Allsport/Getty Images/Hulton Archive). The 26-year-old already has five Ballons d'Or (World Player of the Year awards) and one FIFA World Cup winner's medal to his name.if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'sportsmanist_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_2',118,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-sportsmanist_com-medrectangle-3-0'); He is also the most expensive player in history when including transfer fees: 200 million ($272 million). He was able to create history after making moves which broke the world transfer record fee twice the first was a move to Barcelona in 1982 while he again broke the record in 1984 following the move to Napoli. The tension is rising and the spotlight is blinding as Messi feels the pressure to nail his fifth and surely last World Cup campaign in the way that Maradona achieved back in 1986. Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and Wayne Rooney are his top three choice for the best soccer player of all time. 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. The pain that Maradona had to endure is remarkable, but he still managed to push his teams to glory. Despite having the pressure of the entire Real Madrid political setup and a huge transfer fee on his shoulders, Ronaldo was able to deliver admirable results at the Santiago Bernabeu. Maradona won the Golden Ball for the player of the tournament at the 1986 World Cup. Football has been around for more than a century but only a handful of players have been able to achieve legendary status while transcending through different generations of fans. LIONEL MESSI cemented himself further as a footballing legend by becoming the first Argentine to lift the World Cup since Diego Maradona. Maradona was a leader on the pitch and his presence struck fear into the opposition. What This is quite different from the days of Maradona and Pele, as South American greats were competing in different eras. 17 Is Celtic Irish or Scottish? Maradona retaliated and got a red card. And Luis has very strong opinions [about] where he thought I should go. Although he has always been the teams poster boy, he didnt have to carry the team. the debate over which player is the greatest of all time was dominated by Pele and Diego Maradona. Diego Maradona claims that he was humiliated by Italian Four years later, they made a tame exit. Both players gave their all (still giving, in Messi's case) and have nothing left to prove to anyone. And luckily, the data gurus at SofaScore have made working that out very easy because they've trawled through the record books to retrospectively provide statistics for players and teams at World Cups dating back to 1966. Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi are two of the greatest footballers of all time. "It's like playing soccer with Messi.". FCRA licence of CPR suspended: What is FCRA, why licence matters, Stage set for Tripura poll results as BJP claims pole position, Bill Gates delivers the fifth Ramnath Goenka Lecture, Arbaaz Khan says equation with stepmom Helen developed over time: 'It was difficult for my mom but', Exclusive | Shahid Kapoor says Jersey failure broke his heart: 'The universe was not kind', 'Tom was the first one to lose his job': IAS officer shares old clip from Tom and Jerry that forecasts use of AI, 'Far-fetched idea' becomes reality: Story of proud dads to a girl and a boy melts hearts online. He racked up over 300 career goals for his slate of clubs (most of whom were never close to as good as theBarcelonateamsMessihas featured for, but we'll get to that later), but the stats don't lie on this one., If we're not here assessing the two greatest players to have ever played the game, then we're at least here assessing the two most effective dribblers. 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