jurgen lineker
Radek Cerny
Add Messi to the team we had a few years back and we'd have been title contenders.
Maradona played football at a time when the World Cup was the pinnacle and he dominated it.
Messi plays football at a time when the Champions League is the pinnacle and he dominates it.
I agree with a post by Jurgen in another thread -- that Messi is the best ever player in club football, but is behind Maradona and Zidane for International Tournament football.
Then again, he's behind Miroslav Klose in international tournament football too. I'm not sure how many would be putting Klose in their team ahead of Messi though.
It's the hyperbole around players like Maradona that gets me though. He is certainly in the conversation for best ever, but to say that "Messi isn't in his class" is nonsense that so many top football coaches (Wenger, Cruyff to name but two) would disagree with. They are in the same category, as two of the best players of all time and the best players of their generation. Discounting the European Cup/Champions league because that happens to favour Maradona is as ridiculous as discounting the World Cup/Copa America because it favours Messi.
No ... Maradona lifted both club and country to heights neither had achieved before.
Messi's CLUB dominates CL, it would be hard to say without Messi, Barca wouldn't be successful.
Said it in other thread, Messi in a Barca team is one of the greats, outside of it, he has failed to live up to that expectation
Yes. And Pele. And Kruyff. And Zidane. And Best. ETC. ETC. ETC.Did you ever see Maradona play?
Anyone else think the Messi Maradona debate is a bit boring at this stage. It's almost impossible to compare really as there are too many other factors at play.
Maradona played football at a time when the World Cup was the pinnacle and he dominated it.
Messi plays football at a time when the Champions League is the pinnacle and he dominates it.
I have that magazine.Seems crazy that we don't have a thread dedicated to the greatest player, to ever grace the game (IMHO).
This thread isn't intended to spark a Ronaldo/Messi debate, more to celebrate the fact that we are able to witness a living legend at the height of his powers.
I for one, am immensely grateful that in this era of HD games, widespread media coverage and internet access into their lives, training sessions and behind the scenes, we are witnessing history in the making.
I remember a FourFourTwo cover about a decade ago when Ronaldinho was causing stirs at Barcelona and they asked him how he felt about being the best player in the world. His response was that he's not even the best player at Barcelona. At that point in time Messi was about 17 years old and had barely made an appearance for the first team.
Bit judgmental, but for some time I've reacted in a "you obviously know nothing about football" manner to people claiming that Ronaldo is better than Messi. Or even that Ronaldo is as good as Messi.
Best in the world since Maradona seems undisputed to me. Comparisons with Pele are difficult, particularly for me as I've never seen Pele. But I think Messi is the best ever
there was a time when they equally impacted their team