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Messi's captured the hearts of the casual World Cup fan unlike anyone else. I don't know a whole lot about soccer -- more or less all I know is that the World C
by sweettea 4y ago
Messi's captured the hearts of the casual World Cup fan unlike anyone else. I don't know a whole lot about soccer -- more or less all I know is that the World Cup happens every few years, is played by national teams, and Messi makes impossible plays. What I do know is all because of Messi, whose wholesome relatability and exceptional ability brings casual viewers like me; I generally avoid sports because the players are hard to relate to or have personal flaws, but I love Messi's strong family roots. I would propose that merely for being a truly exceptional face of the sport he's the GOAT.
Maybe Maradona was that way in his day -- I'm barely aware that he was a good player of yesteryear -- but his drug problems (and the fact that his heyday was so long ago) make him much less relatable or exciting to investigate as a inspiration.
- bhrgunatha 4y ago> I'm barely aware that he was a good player of yesteryear As an English football fan, that cheered me up (it still hurts). I suspect no English football fan could accept Maradona as the greatest. Do you know about Pelé? When I was a kid, it seems everyone (even non fans) knew Pelé was the greatest.
- cryptonector 4y agoLol, yeah. That game in 1986 must have hurt. One of the most beautiful goals of all time (which Messi has replicated twice), then that awful hand-of-g-d goal (which Messi, sadly, has also replicated twice).
- heywhatupboys 4y ago> then that awful hand-of-g-d goal everyone celebrates this goal. No fan has ever given him shit about it
- cryptonector 4y agoI care, what can I say. I want clean fútbol.
- phlakaton 4y agoSoccer is played by gloriously messy human beings. A bit of schmutz now and then is not so terrible a thing.
- cryptonector 4y agoThat adds to Messi's greatness, since he's not "gloriously messy".
- mongol 4y agoIt was opposite order. Hand goal, then dribble.
- nickcox 4y agoThe second goal should also never have stood. Clear foul on Glenn Hoddle.
- andrepd 4y ago36 years on and still seething x) The Hand of God is a clear foul, but the Goal of the Century is clean as a whistle. Funnily, these two goals alone — both so different — are pretty much the summary of Diego Maradona
- cryptonector 4y agoI like that take.
- mayankkaizen 4y agoI am not interested in sports but when I was in my teens, no other name was associated with any sport as was the name of Pele with football. As you said, it seemed no one was interested in football but everyone knew Pele was the god of his game.
- wslh 4y agoHave you watch this? “Diego Maradona Goal of the Century | Argentina v England | 1986 FIFA World Cup” [1] [1] https://youtu.be/Da_CDPRG2j0 https://youtu.be/Da_CDPRG2j0
- laurencerowe 4y agoI was too young to remember the game but I still remember the cultural impact of that goal in England as a kid. The fact we still talk about Maradona surely places him as one of the greats! I'm not sure it makes sense to compare greats of different generations. In athletics we can clearly see the improvement from generation to generation so if you plucked them out at their heights Messi is probably a better player than Maradona and Maradona a better player than Pelé, but had they all played at the same time who knows?
- qsort 4y agoAnswers to "who is the GOAT" that won't upset hardcore soccer fans are the exactly the following set: {Maradona, Pele, Cruyff}.
- Scarblac 4y agoNah, Messi was already part of that set for many years, and today he added the only thing missing in his career. Messi is the sole GOAT.
- cryptonector 4y agoMessi or Pelé, then the other, and only then maybe Maradona.
- andrepd 4y agoOnly if you have very short memory x) he is part of the greats, but he is not the GOAT of the sport.
- radiator 4y agoRonaldo Luis Nazario de Lima
- kamarg 4y agoHealth issues cutting his career short ensured he won't be in consideration for most people. That said, he truly was phenomenal. Absolutely one of the most amazing to ever play the game.
- SSJPython 4y agoHe would've been the GOAT had he stayed healthy. Consistency and longevity are very important in this debate.
- radiator 4y agoDepends on the definition of GOAT. When he was at his peak, he played the best football ever played. By the way, both Maradona and Messi when previously asked, have answered something along the lines that that he was the greatest.
- ardit33 4y agoNah. I am C. Ronaldo fan. For many he was an inspiration as well. CR7 was unlucky this WC, due to his manager's poor decisions with the Morocco game.
- fnord123 4y ago> wholesome relatability Nice one. I think this post will go over most peoples' heads but I had a good laugh.
- andrepd 4y ago>Messi's captured the hearts of the casual World Cup fan unlike anyone else. I don't know a whole lot about soccer How on earth do you reconcile these two sentences lol x)