Maradona RIP 1960-2020

[Duchene2MacKinnon]

Is this a really genuine question ? If you have two to three players focused on keeping one player out of the game then it allows the others more space and time on the ball. And who delivered the final rapier thrust ? Messi is a very good player but there have been others in Argentina like Sastre, Moreno and Corbatta who would be as good as him. Diego is on another level.

This is just false... i wont say anything because it isnt the place to do so.

 

[Evilo]

Independiente and River Plate were World Club champions having beaten Liverpool and Real Madrid. So those players in the Argentine squad were not scrubs. Many like Ruggieri are still underrated by a Eurocentric bias which also ignores some of other great Argentine players outside of the holy triumvirate.

Nonetheless it took Bilardo adopting a pragmatic attitude and the extra special ingredient of Diego to win the title. I am surprised Evilo mistakes Diego's contribution. His presence alone tied up Germany something that coaches have failed to utilize with Messi in the recent decade.Without Diego there is no World Cup medal.

I'm not. I always said Maradona was amazing those WC weeks.
I'm just tired of the narrative that it was Maradona and a bunch of amateurs. It wasn't. Same with his Napoli teams.
That doesn't diminish his talents, which is, as I said, the most outrageous ever.

But Maradona hardly had the best career ever. He didn't get the career he should have had.

 

[Islay1989]

Independiente and River Plate were World Club champions having beaten Liverpool and Real Madrid. So those players in the Argentine squad were not scrubs. Many like Ruggieri are still underrated by a Eurocentric bias which also ignores some of other great Argentine players outside of the holy triumvirate.

Nonetheless it took Bilardo adopting a pragmatic attitude and the extra special ingredient of Diego to win the title. I am surprised Evilo mistakes Diego's contribution. His presence alone tied up Germany something that coaches have failed to utilize with Messi in the recent decade.Without Diego there is no World Cup medal.

And how would he fare in the modern game ? He would be almost unplayable given that the thugs as with Brazil in 82 and Italy and throughout his career would not be able to foul at will. He was a consummate team player elevating his comrades and inspiring confidence. You cannot teach that intelligence, the ball control and technique or extra special spatial awareness. And given how players are supported now I doubt he would have fallen off the rails as he did back then. He was already an extra special talent as a child, teenager and young man and he has said the opposition were lucky he became an addict. Imagine the player he could have become.

Rugierri is rated by anyone who knows a damn thing. He was a brilliant player. Burruchaga is someone I like as well.

I think the 86 squad was better than the one that won one against Cruyff, that won because the refs let them butcher everyone on the way. That Final was worse than Sweden - Brazil where Sweden basically low kicked Brazilians for 90 mins. But I do love Kempes, he was a joy to watch.

 

[Pavel Buchnevich]

Can everyone please stop debating whose better? It degrades the forum in a moment like this to be debating which player is better.

 

[Theokritos]

Can everyone please stop debating whose better? It degrades the forum in a moment like this to be debating which player is better.

If a player's death leads to a debate on whether he was the best player ever or not, then that sounds like a pretty nice eulogy to me.

 

[Luigi Habs]

My childhood hero

RIP to the legend who made me love the game

When you see footage from Argentina you understand what this man represents. Very few are adored by their people like him.

 

[Albatros]

Same for his Napoli years. Napoli finished 4th in 82. That wasn't a no name team that Maradona put on the map.

Garella (0/0)
Renica (0/0), Ferrara (49/0), Ferrario (1/0), Volpecina (0/0)
Romano (0/0), Bagni (41/4), De Napoli (54/1), Maradona (90/34)
Caffarelli (0/0), Giordano (13/1)

The '87 winning team and their career international caps/goals for reference. A couple of names there, but overall it's a mediocre team at best without Maradona.

 

[Incubajerks]

Napoli avoided relegation the year before Maradona's arrival. Napoli had never won the Scudetto in its history.

 

[Fighter]

Same for his Napoli years. Napoli finished 4th in 82. That wasn't a no name team that Maradona put on the map.

LULZ, stick to your knowledge of french or whatever league you follow. Napoli was fighting to not be relegated right before Maradona came, compare Napoli with juve's roster and you will see the differences.

As for the Messi debate, in which WC was he outstanding? Someone claimed it, but as far as I can remember he wasn't "Messi" in any of the WCs he played and that's a pretty big black mark for me when it comes to debating who is the GOAT but this doesn't mean he's among the very best 3-4 players I had the pleasure to watch.

 

[Evilo]

Lol, the ignorance of their 4th place finish is quite something.
People will only see what they want.

 

[Power Man]

 

[Fighter]

Lol, the ignorance of their 4th place finish is quite something.
People will only see what they want.

The ignorance of claiming that Napoli was a notable squad in 1984 is beyond unbelievable. In 83 they finished 10th, in 84 ended up 11th, fighting to not be relegated (exactly 1 point over relegation).

 

[Evilo]

Nope, I said Maradona didn't put Napoli on the map. They finished 4th in 82. That's beyond stupid to say they didn't exist before him.

 

[Power Man]

They were 4th but there was a huge gap of talent between that Napoli team and the top teams

Context matters

 

[Evilo]

Not true. Only two teams lost less than them. They were three points of third. They couldn't challenge Juve sure, but they certainly weren't bad. This is a year where Milan got relegated (that's for people acting like OMG Maradona went to Napoli which had just escaped relegation!!111!!!!) and Inter finished behind Napoli.
The year Napoli got close to relegation, they finished tied for 11th. It was a tight league and only 16 teams in it. They were six points of 6th place. Maradona's impact was that the year after, they were 3 points out of 6th.
Not before the team got better did Napoli win the title.

It was never Maradona by himself. That's just for footix and tabloid stuff. Maradona was easily the best player in the league when they won the title (note that Platini slowed down for his last year of his career).

 

[Troubadour]

Diego always reminds me of my grandma who used to be curiously entertained by his mere personality and looks.

I have him up there with Pelé and Cruyff. And my grandma.

 

[Jussi]

 

[Fighter]

Nope, I said Maradona didn't put Napoli on the map. They finished 4th in 82. That's beyond stupid to say they didn't exist before him.

I repeat, you know NOTHING about Italy. Before Maradona, south Italy soccer didn't exist on the map: there were teams, yes, but serious contenders? Nada, it was all about North and Center with the excemption of Gigi Riva's Cagliari lone Scudetto, but Sardinia isn't south, it's a case on its own.

LMAO, the Milan who got relegated was before Maradona and it was first due to the betting scandal (Totonero), go watch some footage of players jumping around trying to avoid the ball on purpose, it's utterly pathetic! Get some context before talking nonsense, Napoli without Maradona was middle of the pack, granted that Serie A was the strongest league in the world as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Evilo]

You're not even reading what I wrote, right?
I DID write it was before Maradona. I wrote it was in 1982.

AND YET, YOU are saying I know nothing about italian football while saying Milan got relegated because of the Totonero WHICH WAS 3 YEAR BEFORE
Milan got relegated in 82, pure and simple.

So please, stick to what you know and italian football isn't apparently one of your fortes. Maybe you weren't born? Would explain.

 

[Fighter]

You're not even reading what I wrote, right?
I DID write it was before Maradona. I wrote it was in 1982.

AND YET, YOU are saying I know nothing about italian football while saying Milan got relegated because of the Totonero WHICH WAS 3 YEAR BEFORE
Milan got relegated in 82, pure and simple.

So please, stick to what you know and italian football isn't apparently one of your fortes. Maybe you weren't born? Would explain.

Both times Milan got relagated before Maradona era, which is my point, nothing to do with your argument: after the Totonero scandal Milan got into his dark years, bringing it up don't add nothing to the discussion. Certainly it isn't an excuse to justify a one year wonder Napoli team which came second and then disappeared from the map once again before Maradona made it relevant again.
I was born already during Maradona era so keep your shit for yourself, Napoli wasn't ever a contender until Maradona arrived, even Udinese finished third one year, didn't ever make it a contender in anybody's book except delusional know-nothing dudes which only read the final rankings and say "Oh Udinese finished third that year, they were contenders!!1!1!). LMAO!

 

[Evilo]

Did I say they were contenders?
Look, come on look.
The only laugh is here is you commenting on Milan's relegation and crashing on the ground while pretending to know.
I merely said the constant "Maradona put Napoli in the map, before that they were nothing except relegation candidates" is just plain wrong.

Frankly nothing surprising, no player can do it all by himself.
But it's Maradona's fans motto for decades. He won the scudetto by himself. He won the UEFA cup by himself. He won the WC by himself.

It's just not true.

 

[Albatros]

He was the reason why those teams won, without him it would never have happened. Which is not to say that other members do not deserve any credit, but they were only supplemental pieces around Maradona at best.

 

[Evilo]

Nobody says he wasn't by far their best player.

 

[robertmac43]

Later on the Boca game Tevez also honored Maradona with his celebration:

 

[gary69]

Did I say they were contenders?
Look, come on look.
The only laugh is here is you commenting on Milan's relegation and crashing on the ground while pretending to know.
I merely said the constant "Maradona put Napoli in the map, before that they were nothing except relegation candidates" is just plain wrong.

Frankly nothing surprising, no player can do it all by himself.
But it's Maradona's fans motto for decades. He won the scudetto by himself. He won the UEFA cup by himself. He won the WC by himself.

It's just not true.

I wonder what's their reasoning for Napoli not winning the title in 1984/85 when Maradona had statistically one of his best seasons during his time in Italy. And much better stats than anyone from the champions Verona.