NWR Diego Maradona RIP

The Asif Kapadia documentary on him was v good. As much as his actual talent, his capacity to lift otherwise mediocre teams made him great.

From the movie: this graffito on a Napoli cemetery wall, following their first ever Serie A championship made me laugh:

b3237-15864519604045-800.jpg
 
Yes a great second goal. Why if you're that good do you need to cheat? Perhaps that's a cultural thing or a sign of his character. That game "learnt" me about a few of life's truths, and destroyed my dreams.
Oh well. Time to get over it.
 
Great player. My team, Dundee, had and old, unfit Caniggia for a short spell and he left an incredible memory on the fans. Can only imagine how good Maradona was.

The leap for the hand of god goal was amazing . Shilton was much taller and no top keep should have lost that duel. Real-time I never thought it was handball. That 2nd goal is one of the greats - it’s like Higgins break in the semi-final against Jimmy. There have been better goals/breaks since, but at the time it was spellbinding and will never be forgotten.

I think incidents like that help make football so popular. It unites a world, never mind a country. It shows that life is imperfect and unfair. I have no interest in watching the current EPL or top football as it tries to make the perfect decision. It’s killing the soul of the game.
 
Saw him in 1984 at Old Trafford playing against United for Barcelona. My one and only time in the Stretford End. He didn’t get a great reception from the home supporters! Great player, severely flawed character, but my all-time vote goes to Pele.
 
Last edited:
Sad news but not surprising, given his lifestyle choices, a prodigiously talented footballing genius. But not the greatest ever. That accolade goes to his - similarly diminutive in stature - fellow countryman Lionel Messi. These modern prodigies are a lot fitter and more consistent. Like George Best, Maradonna lit up the footballing world for just a few years, before off the pitch excesses took their toll. Messi - and Cristiano Ronaldo - have done so for the better part of two decades.
 
Last edited:
Ian Hampsted said:
Sad news but not surprising, given his lifestyle choices, a prodigiously talented footballing genius. But not the greatest ever. That accolade goes to his - similarly diminutive in stature - fellow countryman Lionel Messi. These modern prodigies are a lot fitter and more consistent. Like George Best, Maradonna lit up the footballing world for just a few years, before off the pitch excesses took their toll. Messi - and Cristiano Ronaldo - have done so for the better part of two decades.
Click to expand...
I would also give Zlatan Ibrahimović a mention, even though he rates himself very highly. Still playing at the top at 39 years old.
 
For what it’s worth my my view is Maradona is the GOAT by miles. He could do with a tennis ball what Messi couldn’t do with a football. As others have said he dragged Argentina to not only the World Cup in 86 but also to the final in 90 in Italy under ridiculous pressure from his adoring Napoli fans to throw the semi final to the Italians. What he did for Napoli and it’s people is immeasurable and has no parallels anywhere in sport.

In my view the second best of all time is Ronaldo. Clearly different players but he dragged Portugal to the Euros in 2016, not quite in the same way but still he had that same impact on the side that Maradona had. He took them beyond their capability. He was practically coaching them in the final after he went off.

Players like Messi and Best are great players but they aren’t leadersin the way Maradona and to a lesser extent Ronaldo are. They have not had the same impact on the game.

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top