Ceremony
blahem
- Jun 8, 2012
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If it was Messi in the 80s he'd be 5 foot 4 living in a hut somewhere in Argentina.
Diego Armando Maradona
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I think the goals are strikingly similar, only at a faster pace in the case of Messi's goal. The defenders scarcely get near him either.
But from memory, the Messi goal did not occur in a game played in the height of the Mexican summer, in the sun's full glare. Those factors helped Maradona, and made the defenders look even weaker than they were.
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- Mar 25, 2011
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I suppose this is the old-timer's version of "but can he do it on a cold, wet Wednesday night in Stoke"
Incubajerks
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YNWA14
Onbreekbaar
- Dec 29, 2010
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I mean...I can understand if people truly believed that Maradona was the most talented player of all time (though even then...) but the 'greatest' player of all time has to be a combination of talent and achievement, no? I'm not just talking about team trophies either (though those are very important). Like I don't know how you can compare someone like Maradona to someone like Messi and conclude that Maradona is the best of all time (in a vacuum, or even adjusting for era) when you see the difference in their exploits, even if you think Maradona was marginally more talented.
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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If you're going to put words in my mouth in future, please note that I can forgive the inaccuracy, but I consider the use of cliche unpardonable.
Ceremony
blahem
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I was wondering if it was some sort of Hoddleism* for trying to pass off the historic track record of Englishmen being unable to defend. "You see Clive, we don't have the sun like that in Premier League so when those players are facing it they don't know how to react properly."
*being compared to Glenn Hoddle is surely worse than cliché, I know
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Sorry, let me rephrase:
But can he do it while roided out of his mind as opposing defenders kick him mercilessly .
I'd rather be compared to Hitler, Stalin, or even Dan Brown than Glenn Hoddle.
I don't know if you've read this account of Scotland at the 1986 World Cup. But if you run your eye over it, you'll note the effects that the heat had on Graeme Souness.
Booze, togas and a persistent Mariachi band: The story of Scotland at Mexico 86
And lest we forget, Souness had played the previous two years in the warmer climes of Italy. He was also good at football.
Ceremony
blahem
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I know all about Scottish football players being too useless to deal with the weather: BBC SPORT | Football | Internationals | Macedonia 1-0 Scotland
And that wasn't even against a good team that could make it to a World Cup.
cgf
FireBednarsSuccessor
cgf
FireBednarsSuccessor
Swap them and Maradona becomes the one who hasn't win s*** over Spain & Germany. Barca is undoubtedly stronger than Napoli, but that doesn't make Messi as over-rated as Maradona.
Duchene2MacKinnon
In the hands of Genius
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Either your opinion of Matt Le Tissier is significantly higher than most people's, or your brain is shutting out all the complimentary remarks this thread features about Maradona, even by many of those who dispute the claim he's the best ever.
If you think we're a bunch of big meanies, bear in mind that had an HF Boards existed in the summer of 1984, the soccer forum would have been full of arguments about whether Maradona was the most overrated player in history.
The reasons for that would have been pretty obvious: his underwhelming performances at the 82 World Cup allied to his disappointing, albeit injury-marred, couple of years with Barcelona, despite his having the great Bernd Schuster for a sidekick.
It wasn't until Maradona was 25 years old that the explosion came, and after his thirtieth birthday he was more walking soap opera than footballer of substance. His case to be the greatest of all time rests on how we judge a four year window lasting between the summers of 86 and 90. This thread posts the perfect opportunity for anyone who disagrees with that assessment to say why. Then again, so did the previous thread about the same subject, and no one had much to say about Maradona's achievements pre-86 or post-90 then, either.
sr edler
gold is not reality
- Mar 20, 2010
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I don't even have a chihuahua in this fight, I'm born 1981 so I didn't see Maradona at his best. My dad was impressed by him though but disliked him at the same time. When I struggled tying my shoelaces at kindergarten he told me "do you think Maradona get help tying his shoes?" I guess this was around 1986–1987 when the hype was at its Auston Matthews-level.
Vasilevskiy
The cat will be back
If you get the chance to see footage of Maradona around then, you should seize the chance. His all-round game was wonderful, but his dribbling made him the schoolboy's ideal of a great footballer made flesh. 86 and 87 are his equivalent years to 91 and 92 for Mario Lemieux.
