Messi "best player of all time"

[Billysgingham.]

[/QUOTE]

Phil Babb.

Yep bang on forgot all about him.

 

[JammyP]

Maybe. He was a fantastic player. Matbe the passage of time will grant him God-like status.

Not much Big Dunc could teach him

 

[JammyP]

Just on beer - unlike Maradona

 

[davek]

Just on beer - unlike Maradona

Diego did what he did despite the drugs, not because of them. They were performance diminishing drugs.

Imagine how much better he could have been without cocaine?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Leadership qualities of a blancmange. Can't even criticise him for it really as it's just not in his nature.

GoaT means a player that puts the team on his back, in the most desperate of times, and Leads them to victory. Let's be honest he's nowhere near that conversation.

I agree that Messi isn't a leader, but when did Pele show leadership qualities? He's widely regarded as the best ever. Even Maradona when tasked with being a leader rather than relying on his own outrageous playing abilities (ie as a coach) was downright awful. I'm not sure it's much of a leader getting thrown out of a World Cup for doping either tbh, but he always seems to get a pass for not only cheating with his 'hand of god' but being a drugs cheat as well. That's apparently the behaviour of the best ever.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Maradona was the best ... maradona carried average players - Messi can't do that. Ronaldo and Messi aren't comparable either IMO, I prefer Messi as a player, Ronaldo is a better athlete and has more will to win but ultimately neither are close to Diego.

If Maradona played in the Barca team of a few years back you are talking 4 nil wins every game..... not even joking.

Maradona played in an Argentina side stuffed full of players from sides that won the World Club Championship. Real cloggers them lot. Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't make them rubbish, it just makes your knowledge of football rubbish. 1984 saw Independiente beat Liverpool, 1985 saw Argentinos Juniors draw against Juve (before losing on penalties) and in 1986 River Plate beat Steaua. They must be dead crap to have done all that without the great Diego winning it singlehandedly for them.

 

[JammyP]

Diego did what he did despite the drugs, not because of them. They were performance diminishing drugs.

Imagine how much better he could have been without cocaine?

Would Best have been better without beer?

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Yep Messi has indeed scored in a champions league final and played in teams that included the likes of Iniesta, Xavi, puyol, alba, neymar, busquets, David villa, abidal, eto, yaya toure, Thierry Henry


Tell me the notable players in the napoli slide that maradona played in?

Are you going enough to have seen maradona?

His Napoli side had, I think, 7 Italian internationals in it, plus the likes of Alamao and Careca. They had finished 3rd and 4th in the seasons prior to Diego joining them. Quit whilst you're behind if I were you.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Diego did what he did despite the drugs, not because of them. They were performance diminishing drugs.

Imagine how much better he could have been without cocaine?

You seriously think he was just on cocaine? There is a whole lot out there about players from that era being riddled with stuff, but testing was non-existent, so none got caught. Even Gary Neville said players were queuing up outside the doctors room for magic injections during the Hoddle World Cup, yet absolutely nothing is made of it.

 

[JammyP]

You seriously think he was just on cocaine? There is a whole lot out there about players from that era being riddled with stuff, but testing was non-existent, so none got caught. Even Gary Neville said players were queuing up outside the doctors room for magic injections during the Hoddle World Cup, yet absolutely nothing is made of it.

Maradona’s first serious punishments over his drug use came in 1991 when he was banned for 15 months by Napoli for testing positive for cocaine – this lasted from April 1991 – June 1992. Later in the same year he was arrested in Buenos Aires for possessing half a kilo of cocaine and was given a 14-month suspended sentence.
Maradona was back in the Argentina team for the 1994 World Cup in America, scoring a cracking goal against Greece in the group stage, leading to a wild celebration into a camera lens. However, his tournament came to an end before the end of the group stage when he was expelled for testing positive for five variants of ephedrine, a banned substance - because ephedrine is a sympathomimetic and a central nervous system stimulant, it is commonly used as an energy enhancer. This decision was made by the Argentine FA before FIFA could step in, although FIFA went on to ban Maradona for 15 months, ending his international career.


"Intense"

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Maradona’s first serious punishments over his drug use came in 1991 when he was banned for 15 months by Napoli for testing positive for cocaine – this lasted from April 1991 – June 1992. Later in the same year he was arrested in Buenos Aires for possessing half a kilo of cocaine and was given a 14-month suspended sentence.
Maradona was back in the Argentina team for the 1994 World Cup in America, scoring a cracking goal against Greece in the group stage, leading to a wild celebration into a camera lens. However, his tournament came to an end before the end of the group stage when he was expelled for testing positive for five variants of ephedrine, a banned substance - because ephedrine is a sympathomimetic and a central nervous system stimulant, it is commonly used as an energy enhancer. This decision was made by the Argentine FA before FIFA could step in, although FIFA went on to ban Maradona for 15 months, ending his international career.

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"Intense"

That's what he was caught for. Various German players have come out saying it was pretty common during the 80s.

http://www.espn.co.uk/football/news/story/_/id/1528292/hypocritical-deny-doping

Maybe Maradona was actually clean and not someone who would bend the rules to get an edge.

 

[pedro1976]

Maradona played in an Argentina side stuffed full of players from sides that won the World Club Championship. Real cloggers them lot. Just because you haven't heard of them doesn't make them rubbish, it just makes your knowledge of football rubbish. 1984 saw Independiente beat Liverpool, 1985 saw Argentinos Juniors draw against Juve (before losing on penalties) and in 1986 River Plate beat Steaua. They must be dead crap to have done all that without the great Diego winning it singlehandedly for them.

"Stuffed full".... no it wasn't. 1 player from interdependiente played in the final.... one who was there the previous year a d moved on, valdano was at real Madrid but the rest of the side apart from pumpido weren't anything of note.

 

[davek]

I watched the Premier Sports highlights of that Brazil v Argentian match last night.

'kin ell. He's utterly shot. Finished.

Didn't touch the ball for the first 8 minutes of the game and was restricted to two free kicks.

 

[Papa Shango]

I agree that Messi isn't a leader, but when did Pele show leadership qualities? He's widely regarded as the best ever. Even Maradona when tasked with being a leader rather than relying on his own outrageous playing abilities (ie as a coach) was downright awful. I'm not sure it's much of a leader getting thrown out of a World Cup for doping either tbh, but he always seems to get a pass for not only cheating with his 'hand of god' but being a drugs cheat as well. That's apparently the behaviour of the best ever.

Maradona was absolutely a leader. He took teams by the scruff of their necks and raised their game. Pele was the same.

Can the best players really be judged on their behavior? That's more to do with being a role model than a great player. If you can get both in one then great...

 

[Papa Shango]

His Napoli side had, I think, 7 Italian internationals in it, plus the likes of Alamao and Careca. They had finished 3rd and 4th in the seasons prior to Diego joining them. Quit whilst you're behind if I were you.

I think Maradona is the best ever personally but you are right with the Napoli thing. Maradona was a massive part of the team obviously but it's not like they were a bunch of part timers. They also had the likes of Carnavale, Di Napoli, Ciro Ferrara, Luca Fusi, Bagni and even a very young Zola for a bit. They were a good side.