Maradona or Messi?

[Pouya]

While I rank Messi higher than the named players, however, many if not all of them have achieved more with Argentina than Messi has. When playing for Argentina he has not lived up to his hype. Maradona has.

Messi took argentina to 2 south american cup finals (lost in penalty kicks) and a world cup final (lost at the 118th minute).... The difference between him having 2 south american cups and a world cup under his belt wasn't much. At the end of the day, one player can only do so much.

[KC McElroy]

Messi took argentina to 2 south american cup finals (lost in penalty kicks) and a world cup final (lost at the 118th minute).... The difference between him having 2 south american cups and a world cup under his belt wasn't much. At the end of the day, one player can only do so much.

Messi didn't do that. The Argentine team did that. In 1986 Maradona WAS the team.

[Babak agha]

Messi took argentina to 2 south american cup finals (lost in penalty kicks) and a world cup final (lost at the 118th minute).... The difference between him having 2 south american cups and a world cup under his belt wasn't much. At the end of the day, one player can only do so much.

The difference between the winner and the guy who becomes second is that most people won't remember or care about the guy who came second........

Argentina's Messi usually has one of the top scorer of each of the top leagues in it (Messi, Aguero, Higuain, Tevez, etc.) and has more than just one world class player on it's team (Zanetti, Di Maria, Dybala, Mascherano, Cambiasso, Riquelme, Milito, Veron, Samuel, etc.).

How many other players from '86 Argentina can you name without googling?

[GoIran]

Messi is incredibly consistent and we get the feeling that he has been in his prime for the past 10 years. Maradona was way more inconsistent.

[Azeem98]

The difference between the winner and the guy who becomes second is that most people won't remember or care about the guy who came second........

Hungary from the 50s, Netherlands from the 70s, That Brazilian side in 1982 greatest ever side not to have won the World Cup.

Argentina's Messi usually has one of the top scorer of each of the top leagues in it (Messi, Aguero, Higuain, Tevez, etc.) and has more than just one world class player on it's team (Zanetti, Di Maria, Dybala, Mascherano, Cambiasso, Riquelme, Milito, Veron, Samuel, etc.).

How many other players from '86 Argentina can you name without googling?

I don't think an average football fan will be able to name 4-5 players from the Dutch team of 74 other than Cyruff which doesn't mean he didn't had world class players around him.

[KC McElroy]

I don't think an average football fan will be able to name 4-5 players from the Dutch team of 74 other than Cyruff which doesn't mean he didn't had world class players around him.

I could.

[Azeem98]

Maradona was the deciding factor but all those stories about this being an average team are ridiculous.

[KC McElroy]

Messi is incredibly consistent and we get the feeling that he has been in his prime for the past 10 years. Maradona was way more inconsistent.

His consistent level is below Maradona and his impact on the Argentine team.

[Azeem98]

I could.

You are in your 20s ?

[Azeem98]

My argument is not about Messi is greater than Maradona but about that Messi failed for Argentina.

[KC McElroy]

Maradona was the deciding factor but all those stories about this being an average team are ridiculous.

The team was good but not a World champion team (without Maradona). Napoli was trash without him and a 2 time Serie A champion with him.

[KC McElroy]

My argument is not about Messiv s greater than Maradona but about that Messi failed for Argentina.

I don't think he failed. He just didn't have the same impact that Maradona did.

[KC McElroy]

You are in your 20s ?

Nope 40s.

[Babak agha]

I don't think an average football fan will be able to name 4-5 players from the Dutch team of 74 other than Cyruff which doesn't mean he didn't had world class players around him.

I think that some would be able to although you need to compare it to the Dutch team of the same era and people would know Guulit, Rijkaard, Van Basten, Koeman, etc

[Azeem98]

Mario Kempes in an interview with ESPN and later on Spanish radio about his autobiography and other things few days ago;

"Everytime Maradona opens his mouth it's a problem. He has no respect and to be honest, he's never had any respect for anyone other than himself and those few others nobody would even lift the tip of their cap to acknowledge, controversial people like himself, unsavoury to say the least."

"He always talks about Messi and it's almost like the words of a madman because one day he talks about Lionel as if he's a god, a saintly messianic figure and a week later in another interview he leaves Messi's name in the mud."

"Maradona doesn't seem to remember his own actions during his footballing career because they weren't all pretty shapes floating in fluffy clouds like his football was. How Argentina tumbled out of a World Cup because of cheating with drugs or all the other countless things he infamously done. He has always been respected in Argentina and never has anyone of note ever said a bad word about him, certainly not present or past players for Argentina. But yet he feels he is the judge and jury when the cables backfire in his head to say what he wants in any way he wants to say it."

"In sport and especially in football sometimes you win and sometimes you lose because otherwise it wouldn't be the sport loved by billions all over the world. There are times in life when you should shut your mouth and just enjoy the sport for what it is without moaning and looking for scapegoats in every corner while assuming unworthy godly purity for yourself."