Maradona or Messi?

[S-H]

[The hayfield]

Maradona for me . Messi is fantastic but he's playing in an era where the tackle from behind is a thing of the past . And attacking players are vastly more protected . And most importantly the pitches are far better.

[norse]

Imagine if Maradona didn't break his leg when he arrived in Europe and didn't have his entourage who got him hooked on gear within months. He could have been even better than what he was without the serious injury, the drugs and the influence of the group of bad "friends" and "advisers".

[Larrakeyah Hammer]

Maradona for me is the greatest ever

Statistics can be misleading as can trophies won

Maradona played in an era with virtually no protection from referees where it was the done thing to smash through the striker or best player in first 5 minutes
Often from behind

He played when defenders rarely got yellow cards
Messi has played in an era where yellow cards are given out like confetti. This results in defenders playing on egg shells as they can’t risk another tough tackle

Messi would have played against far more teams down to 10 men or unable to get stuck in due to the risk of another card . He played in an era where compared to Maradona he barely got touched

Maradona played in teams which weren’t the best or richest to buy up lots of star players
Messi played in Europes best team for around a decade with unbelievable players

The Italian League in the 1980’s was the best league in the world with all the top players paying the big wages compared to many other leagues at that time
Taking Napoli too two titles is like taking a good premier league team but not a recent top 4 or 5 team to the title

Pitches were terrible compared to the billiard tables Messi played on even the balls have become lighter and more dynamic

Player health, fitness, sports science and understanding of the body has improved significantly as has the care and welfare of players. Messi has always received the absolute best

Maradona as anyone who watched the documentary can see yes he was self destructive but was not protected and had often the worst , influences, advice or care for such a top sportsman

He did all the amazing skills whilst partying, drinking & substance abuse going on

No player to me with all things taken into consideration was a game or tournament changer , had the best balance to ride tackles I’ve ever seen and a wand of a left foot

Arguably didn’t reach his longevity potential due to serious injuries and poor mismanagement & personal judgement at times

But a genius

[RexBanner]

Messi played in Europes best team for around a decade with unbelievable players

But the point overlooked that’s screaming out here was that Barcelona were Europe’s top team precisely because of Messi. You’re completely forgetting that Pep shipped out Ronaldinho to build that team around him. The Ronaldinho that was given a standing ovation at the Bernabeu - the previous year or two before Pep took over - after single handedly destroying Real with a virtuoso goal.

Ronaldinho even admitted that Messi was better than him, he was an incredible magician of a player the likes of which has rarely been seen but Pep felt he was dispensable because he had Messi.

On the way to the Champions League title in 2015 who was it who finally unlocked the door through a stubborn Bayern Munich defence in the first leg of the semi final and then two minutes later scored a goal of breathtaking audacity that ranks as one of THE iconic champions league goals? Messi. Who was it who put on a man of the match 10/10 display in the final against United 4 years earlier at Wembley? Messi. I could go on with this..

Saying that Messi was only that good because of his teammates is getting it completely the wrong way round in my opinion.

[Larrakeyah Hammer]

But the point overlooked that’s screaming out here was that Barcelona were Europe’s top team precisely because of Messi. You’re completely forgetting that Pep shipped out Ronaldinho to build that team around him. The Ronaldinho that was given a standing ovation at the Bernabeu - the previous year or two before Pep took over - after single handedly destroying Real with a virtuoso goal.

Ronaldinho even admitted that Messi was better than him, he was an incredible magician of a player the likes of which has rarely been seen but Pep felt he was dispensable because he had Messi.

On the way to the Champions League title in 2015 who was it who finally unlocked the door through a stubborn Bayern Munich defence in the first leg of the semi final and then two minutes later scored a goal of breathtaking audacity that ranks as one of THE iconic champions league goals? Messi. Who was it who put on a man of the match 10/10 display in the final against United 4 years earlier at Wembley? Messi. I could go on with this..

Saying that Messi was only that good because of his teammates is getting it completely the wrong way round in my opinion.

At no point did I mention he was only good because of his teammates
I mentioned he played in Europe’s best team for a period
That’s fact also in my opinion he played with better players team wise overall in Barcelona than Maradona in Napoli
Messi is without doubt one of the greatest

Anyway Maradona for me irrespective of any arguments

[Daniel1895]

Unless the question is "who did less cocaine" the answer to almost every question involved should be "Maradona".

[WestHamLyallStyle]

Maradona. A no-brainier.

[Wilko1304]

Messi, for me. The tactical evolution is much more a leveller than defenders were rough and pitches were bad.

Moreover, and more importantly, I just think he’s better all round. He’s a playmaker, a dribbler, goalscorer, leader, even defender.

[Larrakeyah Hammer]

I’d rather play against a tactical team than a team that’s trying to break my legs on pitches that are Sunday park

Add in the sports science today etc

Maradona all day long