Who is the next Maradona?

[JuveFE]

I'm totally against over-hyping young players as the end result is that they usually get looked upon as failures even if they have solid careers.


Very true..

Let me ask you guys on here that think messi is a better player than Diego.

If messi for some reason(god forbid) had to hang up his boots early and retire, would you still think he was a better player than maradona?

[TKORL]

Well, I'm comparing Maradona in his prime to Messi at 20, but Messi's shooting is not as good as Maradona's yet, especially on free kicks, and Messi's passing isn't at Maradona's level, although just recently he's started busting out some Maradona passes. I'm hoping for more of that when he comes back. Dribbling, check. Outrageous touch, check. Hand of God, check. Hunger, desire, check.
Messi is also very inconsistent, he may well surpass Maradona, but Maradona was a superior player earlier, very few players develop as fast as he did to the point where he was a finished product by the time he was at Boca. Due to this rapid development and physical strength, he got to have an extended peak as a player.

Javier Saviola developed about as fast as Maradona, and it's a shame that due to some poor form and some bad career decisions he didn't continue his developlment.

[TKORL]

Very true..

Let me ask you guys on here that think messi is a better player than Diego.

If messi for some reason(god forbid) had to hang up his boots early and retire, would you still think he was a better player than maradona?
Nope. Much of messi's reputation is built around his potential as a player and that he is one of the few players who have actually answered overblown hype with worthy performances.

[Moishe]

Nope. Much of messi's reputation is built around his potential as a player and that he is one of the few players who have actually answered overblown hype with worthy performances.

No question he's provided some outstanding and often brilliant performances but is that alone enough for that kind of hype? More importantly how worthy and meaningful were all of those performances. I know he's done some of that greatness at Barca but what has he done with the national team that is so awe inspiring aside from a couple of beautiful gols?

[mexicanplayer#19]

Maradona was very quick, Messi may be faster, but definitely not WAY faster as you say. Messi and the ball are one, ok, but so was Maradona and the ball. Messi is a great dribbler, but I still would give that advantage to Maradona. Then not to mention other thinks like shooting (adv: Maradona), passing (adv: Maradona), heart (adv: Maradona), free kicks (adv: Maradona), intelligence (adv: Maradona), vision (adv: Maradona) you see how this is going?


You also forgot to say that maradona used steroids. Messi doesnt need steroids and all that kicking and passing will come to Messi.

[Moishe]

You also forgot to say that maradona used steroids. Messi doesnt need steroids and all that kicking and passing will come to Messi.

Wow! That may be one of the dumbest posts I've ever read. Maradona was a coke addict not a steroid user. Furthermore as part of Messi's treatment for a growth hormone issue, he's likely taken some form of a steroid. Get your story straight before you offer up some bullshit like that.

[gmonn]

No question he's provided some outstanding and often brilliant performances but is that alone enough for that kind of hype? More importantly how worthy and meaningful were all of those performances. I know he's done some of that greatness at Barca but what has he done with the national team that is so awe inspiring aside from a couple of beautiful gols?

That kind of "hype" is built around the pure enjoyment of watching him at Barca the last couple of years. He used to be the second most exciting player in the world behind his teammate, and now he's the first. I noticed that even on the Man United boards they're conceding that he's probably more talented than CRonaldo (and Kaka). Of course he hasn't done anything anywhere close to Maradona for your national team yet. But he's definitely part of their taking over as the world's favorite national team.

[Dr. Know]

He also needs to start scoring more goals to be on par with Maradona. By the time Maradona was 21 he had already scored over 100 goals for Argentinos Juniors as a midfielder.

At Barca where everyone always says that he underperformed he still scored 38 goals in 58 matches which again are incredible numbers for a midfielder.

[TKORL]

No question he's provided some outstanding and often brilliant performances but is that alone enough for that kind of hype? More importantly how worthy and meaningful were all of those performances. I know he's done some of that greatness at Barca but what has he done with the national team that is so awe inspiring aside from a couple of beautiful gols?
True, the fact that he has performed does not alone make him deserving of such hype.

However, the fact that he has answered his expectations is really something.

[Moishe]

True, the fact that he has performed does not alone make him deserving of such hype.

However, the fact that he has answered his expectations is really something.

Has he answered them? I think when healthy he does one hell of a job of working towards those expectations but if what he has achieved is the barometer of his greatness then the bar is pretty low. Believe me I'm not dismissing what he has accomplished to this point but he still has a ton to show to be mentioned in the same vein as El Diego.

[TKORL]

Has he answered them? I think when healthy he does one hell of a job of working towards those expectations but if what he has achieved is the barometer of his greatness then the bar is pretty low. Believe me I'm not dismissing what he has accomplished to this point but he still has a ton to show to be mentioned in the same vein as El Diego.
Those are two different statements for two different points.
(i) No, he hasn't done enough to be mentioned in the same breath as Diego.

(ii) He does deserve a decent amount of hype for being a youngster who has answered his expectations, and IMO he has answered them very well.

[Moishe]

Those are two different statements for two different points.
(i) No, he hasn't done enough to be mentioned in the same breath as Diego.

(ii) He does deserve a decent amount of hype for being a youngster who has answered his expectations, and IMO he has answered them very well.

What were those expectations though? I don't see him holding a World Cup. The U20 was nice and not to be discarded, but in the end it's not exactly what legends are made of.

[Mojam5]

What were those expectations though? I don't see him holding a World Cup. The U20 was nice and not to be discarded, but in the end it's not exactly what legends are made of.
Messi is still extremely young, what else do you expect, the only chance he got was when he was 19, and its a shame he wasnt used more that world cup. He is not at Maradona's level BUT HE HAS met all of the realistic expectations put on his shoulders.

On a side note, Anyone know anything about the real Maradona Jr.? The last I heard was he left Napoli, and has anyone seen him play?

[TKORL]

What were those expectations though? I don't see him holding a World Cup. The U20 was nice and not to be discarded, but in the end it's not exactly what legends are made of.
I don't think anyone expected a world cup from Messi last year...I'll admit I'm a Messi fanboy, but I certainly didn't.

[Moishe]

Messi is still extremely young, what else do you expect, the only chance he got was when he was 19, and its a shame he wasnt used more that world cup. He is not at Maradona's level BUT HE HAS met all of the realistic expectations put on his shoulders.

On a side note, Anyone know anything about the real Maradona Jr.? The last I heard was he left Napoli, and has anyone seen him play?

I don't think anyone expected a world cup from Messi last year...I'll admit I'm a Messi fanboy, but I certainly didn't.

My question was a simple one. What were/are the expectations of Messi? He is an excellent player who clearly when playing is on a different level than others but to say he's exceeded expectations makes no sense. Are his expectations for greatest less than others?

I certainly never expected a World Cup from Messi or from any one individual player. Messi has been a part of winning La Liga twice and a CL so what I'm trying to figure out is if that is all that was expected of him.

As far as Diego Jr, he isn't even close to being a millionth the player his father was. All I've seen are clips of his play and you can't really judge much by a video. From what I understand he'll never be a big name in futbol even though he has a big name.

[mexicanplayer#19]

put messi in maradonas place. I bet messi would do better, messi has more challenge these days. Better players.

[TKORL]

My question was a simple one. What were/are the expectations of Messi? He is an excellent player who clearly when playing is on a different level than others but to say he's exceeded expectations makes no sense. Are his expectations for greatest less than others?

I certainly never expected a World Cup from Messi or from any one individual player. Messi has been a part of winning La Liga twice and a CL so what I'm trying to figure out is if that is all that was expected of him.

As far as Diego Jr, he isn't even close to being a millionth the player his father was. All I've seen are clips of his play and you can't really judge much by a video. From what I understand he'll never be a big name in futbol even though he has a big name.
The only expectations of Messi are to play very well. I think he's done it. No one expects world cups out of him.

[bostonsoccermdl]

Messi is the only player around that has the potential to reach Maradona's level, others may have the talent (ie Ronaldo, Robinho) but dont possess the necessary footballing IQ.

Ronaldo has just as much football IQ as Messi, but I believe he has better physical tools to work with than Messi..

At this point its a tossup on who is better IMO.

[Moishe]

put messi in maradonas place. I bet messi would do better, messi has more challenge these days. Better players.

Does he really play against better defenders? I'd like to see you back that assertion up. Here is some more food for thought; Messi is injury prone and plays at a time when attacking players are overly protected by the refs while Maradona played in a era which had no such luxury. Do you think Messi would physically hold up to the abuse attackers had to put up with in the not so distant past?

The only expectations of Messi are to play very well. I think he's done it. No one expects world cups out of him.

Those were my only expectations and if many feel that way, then why the heck is he even being mentioned in the same breadth as Maradona? Maradona was expected to bring home a World Cup which is a very high expectation so if Messi isn't expected to do the same then he has no business being mentioned with Maradona.

[TKORL]

Does he really play against better defenders? I'd like to see you back that assertion up. Here is some more food for thought; Messi is injury prone and plays at a time when attacking players are overly protected by the refs while Maradona played in a era which had no such luxury. Do you think Messi would physically hold up to the abuse attackers had to put up with in the not so distant past?



Those were my only expectations and if many feel that way, then why the heck is he even being mentioned in the same breadth as Maradona? Maradona was expected to bring home a World Cup which is a very high expectation so if Messi isn't expected to do the same then he has no business being mentioned with Maradona.
Plenty of players are regularly mentioned in the same breath as Maradona...