I agree with you on the fsct his personality changed
That’s because today’s game is for fannies... Back then, men had hair on their chests and ate lumps of coal.I love how dirty those defenders are in those clips, trying to foul him when he's dribbling. One dribble had about 4-5 red card offences in them, in today's game.
If you name Best and Cruyff then you definitely have to nominate Beckenbauer, too.
Yes. Obviously Maradona is in the GOAT discussion but other GOAT's have achieved much more at club level and others have achieved much more at International level. So for me he isn't the GOAT, he also had some negative aspects that shouldn't go unnoticed.
As someone who has actually seen both of them (Messi and Maradona) live: Maradona was better imho.
Yes of course it is R9, peak R9 was untouchable. Rivaldo I feel is the forgotten Brazilian amongst other stars and he is at Ronaldinho's level imo, I know he is before Ronaldinho's generation and was past his peak in the 2002 WC but he was amazing. If i discuss the time I have been alive then if I had to pick in order it would be:
Don’t forget his cheating!
Yes mate your opinion is all that matters inside your own head. Hope it doesn't swell up too much.
Sure they were. Until the 88/89 seasons there were only 30 games. The season before Maradona joined Platini scored 20 goals which is like scoring 25 goals in a 38 game season. Maradona scored 15 when he was top scorer which was below par for Italy but not like we haven't seen those numbers elsewhere like the joint top scorers in the PL 98 and 99. At least the PL had the backpass rule by then which wasn't implemented unti 1992, mostly thanks to an incredibly dull World Cup 2 years prior. You also have to take into consideration that back in those days you got 2 points for a win so the difference between a win and a draw was less so that plays into it all.
Far far better. Its not even close. Statistics worship and modern balon d'or wins blind people to the truth.
Uruguay were also one of the favourites to win the tournament. In the league he had contested with arguably the greatest club side of all-time, absolutely stacked with all-time great talent (van Basten, Baresi, Gullit, Rijkaard, Maldini & co.) – as well as Inter with peak Matthäus, Brehme & Klinsmann. Look at any average Serie A team of that day and you'll find at least one legend.
Mostly, he had lost his motivation, as well as most of that Juve side, after Heysel. All of them talked about how football was just never the same after the tragedy – imagine winning the biggest trophy of your career (at the club level at least), and then finding out that dozens of people died because of that game*
Yes, he was. Maradona's legacy is not just his 1986 performances though – it was also his domination in Serie A in the late 80's. Platini was seen as a better player than a hot-head youngster Diego at the time, even though it was clear already that he was an all-time great talent.
no doubt HarryStats are the worst thing ever brought into football, they can skew the truth for any discussion
Same can be said about nostalgia.
I am 5years older and apart from that would say very similar. I would say part of the magic and mystery of Maradona for us in those days was the fact we didnt get to see him play much. Football coverage wasnt like nowadays of course.
Agree.
My Uncle says the likes of Zico and Ruminigge were the very best. Youngsters, including young footballers, consider Messi and Ronaldo to be the 2 greatest ever. I think there's no avoiding bias in these discussions (which themselves are silly as there is rarely a single greatest footballer as it's impossible to compare across 30-40 years).
And don't forget they had never won the league before, and have never won it since. There is a reason he is still a hero in Naples to this day.
I often hear Zico's name from people who saw all the greats. And George Best. My list only goes as far back as Maradona, so he is number one, followed for a very brief period by R9, followed by Messi.
Well put. Peak R9 was a monster without any weaknesses.
Those AZ and Twente teams were very good and both clubs were relatively rich when they won the league. Both also fell down again after it became apparent they came into these riches in a shady way. But Twente and AZ were not underdogs when they won the title.
Tbf i think people mainly talk avout the negative aspects these days rather than anything else
you could make a compilation video that make Rio & Vidic or Terry & Carvalho look rubbish
I tend to agree with this but do wonder why Cruyff is never mentioned in these discussions......
Don't disagree with a word of that.
Better than both and though his character is/was maybe morally weak and somewhat unhinged, the bravery and strength of character it took to play with that many injections and through so much pain is not the kind of professional test almost anyone on this forum would ever have to endure. So not really a weak character.
I see Cruyff as the perfect exponent of a particular system. He took the system to the next level, but (not a criticism) that's all he ever did. I see Messi the same way although he took it even further and did it for a lot longer. Once another stat monster comes along I think Messi will quickly slip down these lists, much as players like Cruyff and Platini have done.
