Who is the next Maradona?

[Moishe]

Freddy Adu.

No scratch that. Roy Lassiter.

Most of the youngsters are unfamiliar with the greatness that was Roy Lassiter;)

[MaRoC-2007]

The bEst is Ronaldinho....C.Ronaldo is an idiot who only has one trick

[gumbacicc]

Why is "none of the above" not an option?

Out of the players mentioned, the only one that has an opportunity to even be close is Messi. Ronaldo is quality, but he'll never be on the Maradona level. As for Ibrahimovic, I'm sure that if you asked him, he already believes he is better than Maradona; unfortunately, he is the only one that is of that opinion.

[nvot9]

Nvm.

[TKORL]

None of these guys are enganches or midfielders at least.

Kaka is a certain possibility.

[brassmonkey]

Also, it's great how in the poll, none of the options are midfielders. Like Maradona.

??? Cristiano is a winger, and Ronaldinho is a CAM. Messi plays midfielder and supporting striker, like Maradona.

[TKORL]

Maradona wasn't a winger. Ronadinho doesn't play CAM for Barcelona, and neither does Messi. Not to mention, Ronaldinho is not at his best when playing CAM. Both play inside forwards in the 4-3-3. None of them are CAM.

[bosterosoy]

Aside from the hand ball, what has Messi done that even warrants his being mentioned in the same breadth. Don't get me wrong, Messi is brutally talented but he hasn't shown me that much yet.

Messi so far has been just an invention of the press.

Everyone talks about how he was as good as Maradona. He isn't even an undisputed starter on his team.

How he won a CL already, but yet Barcelona won that CL with Messi not playing the quarters, semis or finals

[brassmonkey]

Maradona wasn't a winger. Ronadinho doesn't play CAM for Barcelona, and neither does Messi. Not to mention, Ronaldinho is not at his best when playing CAM. Both play inside forwards in the 4-3-3. None of them are CAM.

It doesn't matter if Maradona was a winger, a winger is a midfielder. In a Dutch style 4-3-3 the two guys playing outside up front are considered wingers. Last season Barca were playing with three at the back and Ronaldinho as a CAM for a good part of the season.

[roykeanes_safc]

Messi so far has been just an invention of the press.

Everyone talks about how he was as good as Maradona. He isn't even an undisputed starter on his team.

How he won a CL already, but yet Barcelona won that CL with Messi not playing the quarters, semis or finals

There will never be a another maradonna or anyone else, you are the new you.

Ronaldo as great a player he is, has a limited game imo take away his speed if he was ever to suffer a serious injury and his game would suffer badly.

Messi a very good young player but as been mentioned has produced very little for his club side to warrant that category.

The next maradonna could very well be a player we may not see for 6 months - a year. Football always springs players who make a burst on the scene but at the moment nobody comes close to Kaka

[TKORL]

It doesn't matter if Maradona was a winger, a winger is a midfielder. In a Dutch style 4-3-3 the two guys playing outside up front are considered wingers. Last season Barca were playing with three at the back and Ronaldinho as a CAM for a good part of the season.
A winger is a midfielder only on some interpretations. Ronaldinho has not been at his best playing as a CAM, so that doesn't strengthen your argument.

[JumpinJackFlash]

Only one of those players on the poll plays in a style remotely similar to Maradona and that is Messi. However, I don't believe he or anybody else for that matter is or will ever be the "New Maradona".

[TKORL]

Only one of those players on the poll plays in a style remotely similar to Maradona and that is Messi. However, I don't believe he or anybody else for that matter is or will ever be the "New Maradona".
Messi is an inside forward, whose weakness is his passing.

Maradona was a CAM, whose strength was his passing.

I fail to see how Messi plays similar to Maradona.

So out of this list, the next Maradona would be Kaka.

[indestructible]

There will never be a next Maradona

[Volrath]

Messi isn't a playmaker and will never be a playmaker so he can't be compared to Maradonna.

Kaka comes close but even his style is more direct and European then the playmakers of old.

[bosterosoy]

Messi is an inside forward, whose weakness is his passing.

Maradona was a CAM, whose strength was his passing.

I fail to see how Messi plays similar to Maradona.

So out of this list, the next Maradona would be Kaka.

the main reason for the comparison are the following:

1) They are both small (height wise)
2) They are both exceptional dribblers
3) They are both left footed.

But I still agree that none of the players will be as good as Maradona

[TKORL]

Messi isn't a playmaker and will never be a playmaker so he can't be compared to Maradonna.

Kaka comes close but even his style is more direct and European then the playmakers of old.
Well styles change regularly, but a complete CAM is probably closest to Maradona.

[TKORL]

the main reason for the comparison are the following:

1) They are both small (height wise)
2) They are both exceptional dribblers
3) They are both left footed.

But I still agree that none of the players will be as good as Maradona
Correct, but those points have essentially been developed by watching about 2 minute videos of Diego.

[bostonsoccermdl]

How he won a CL already, but yet Barcelona won that CL with Messi not playing the quarters, semis or finals

Which in my opinion, makes the "how many of <insert championships> teams has he been on" a rather useless gauge of the player..

For example, there are plenty of worldclass players whose countries will never do well in a worldcup b/c the rest of the team is poor. And soccer isnt like say basketball, where single players can dominate the game with alarming frequency..

It seems like a cop out statistic, for the exact reason you mentioned.

[Dr. Know]

Messi is an inside forward, whose weakness is his passing.

I think Messi's biggest weakness are his FK's. Maradona was a FK specialist and scored loads of goals from FK's. I don't think I've ever seen Messi actually take a shot on goal from a FK.