By Dan Fresh
Lionel Andrés Messi has been making all the headlines in the soccer world recently, he is undoubtedly the best footballer in the world at the moment, but such is the media obsession with the 22 year old genius from Rosario, Argentina, that some pundits are actually starting to say that Messi is now the greatest player of all time. Is this possible? Or is this just media hype?
There is no doubting that Messi has achieved an awful lot in terms of club football at such an early age. He was nominated for several FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or nominations by the tender age of 21, and then won both at the age of 22. Messi's playing style, skill and ability have drawn many comparisons to fellow countryman, Diego Maradona, who has himself declared Messi as his "successor". However, can we seriously consider Messi to be a better player than the Argentinean legend?
Let us look at the facts. Diego Maradona also had a tremendous club football career, for Boca Juniors, Barcelona and in particular, Napoli. It was at Napoli that he elevated the team to the most successful era in their history. Led by Maradona, Napoli won their only Serie A Italian Championships in 86/87 and then in 89/90. They also came second in 87/88 and 88/89, as well as winning the Coppa Italia in 87, the UEFA Cup in 89 and the Italian Supercup in 90. Also Maradona was the top scorer in Serie A in 87/88.
Meanwhile, although Messi is winning every trophy in sight with Barcelona, it is arguable that they would do so anyway whether he was in the team or not. This is possibly the greatest club side that there has ever been and includes two of the other top 5 players in the world, in Xavi and Iniesta. However good Messi has been for Barcelona, he has not had the impact that Maradona had at Napoli.
Although at club level, there is not much in it between the two Argentinean geniuses, that is not the case at international level. Messi's record is average to say the least when he plays with Argentina, whereas Maradona's record with Argentina was second to none. Maradona won the World Cup in 1986 with a very average side, putting in unbelievable performance after performance. He then took an even worse team to the final in 1990, although they ended up losing to Germany.
Yes, Messi is the best player in the world. Yes, he is still young and who knows, one day he may well challenge Maradona as the greatest player ever. However, to compare Messi to Maradona at this stage is sheer nonsense and is clearly just media hype. Can we even compare him to the likes of Pele, Zidane, Cruyff and Platini at the moment? I doubt it to be honest, but World Cup 2010 could be the stage where he starts to put forward his credentials.
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