Is Messi the best ever Football player

[f3d0r]

Lets put this debate to rest. Did anyone see hiw goal against the decent Athletico Bilboa? He makes very very good players look like crap.

I think Ronaldo is the most Athletic player, but Messi for me is so skillful.

Do you rate George BEST or Marradonna higher?

 

[frederic38]

yes he is, i don't know many people who would say otherwise
a few years ago people were saying that he was nothing without xavi and iniesta, but now they have stepped down and he's better than ever, does more things
it is unreal how often he makes the difference for his team

 

[ThePhilosopher]

yes he is, i don't know many people who would say otherwise
a few years ago people were saying that he was nothing without xavi and iniesta, but now they have stepped down and he's better than ever, does more things
it is unreal how often he makes the difference for his team

Point very well made.And yes,Messi is the best in the world!:high5:

There's hardly a record left to be broken now,is there?

 

[Matra2]

He may well be the best of all time...but...I suspect that if Diego Maradona at Napoli or George Best with Man United were in the same shoes as Messi during that goal against Athletic Bilbao both would've been hacked down well before they got to the penalty box. Forwards have much more protection from defenders these days. (BTW I think that is good thing, but one must always keep in mind the differences between generations when doing these comparisons).

 

[ThePhilosopher]

He may well be the best of all time...but...I suspect that if Diego Maradona at Napoli or George Best with Man United were in the same shoes as Messi during that goal against Athletic Bilbao both would've been hacked down well before they got to the penalty box. Forwards have much more protection from defenders these days. (BTW I think that is good thing, but one must always keep in mind the differences between generations when doing these comparisons).

Glad to have one of the older,wiser heads offer their valuable perspective.I can never watch the games of those legends as I simply cannot stand Black & White.Plus there's never enough time!So in addition to your observation,I always felt that the overall fitness levels of players are much higher now,due to multiple reasons,enabling them to play many more games.How true is that?

 

[Ambrose]

I realize many are spelled by Mesi's ball carrying abilities, and he's a good shot, but when smart coaches want to beat a team he's of, they, by marking Mesi, mark the whole team. What I mean by that is Mesi tries to do too much himself, he doesn't often spawn plays or ricochet a pass through a gang to make a man a lone threat. Zidane did that. Another way to describe him is he's a ball masturbator. With his head down he runs around deking man after man until he either loses the ball, takes a good shot, or misses a shot. That is how every World Cup he has ever played in has turned out. I can't say he's the best ever because I haven't seen excellent vision and excellent play creation from him. That doesn't mean he's not amazing at what he does well.

 

[ThePhilosopher]

I realize many are spelled by Mesi's ball carrying abilities, and he's a good shot, but when smart coaches want to beat a team he's of, they, by marking Mesi, mark the whole team. What I mean by that is Mesi tries to do too much himself, he doesn't often spawn plays or ricochet a pass through a gang to make a man a lone threat. Zidane did that. Another way to describe him is he's a ball masturbator. With his head down he runs around deking man after man until he either loses the ball, takes a good shot, or misses a shot. That is how every World Cup he has ever played in has turned out. I can't say he's the best ever because I haven't seen excellent vision and excellent play creation from him. That doesn't mean he's not amazing at what he does well.

Zidane did what you idiot?ound:

 

[f3d0r]

I realize many are spelled by Mesi's ball carrying abilities, and he's a good shot, but when smart coaches want to beat a team he's of, they, by marking Mesi, mark the whole team. What I mean by that is Mesi tries to do too much himself, he doesn't often spawn plays or ricochet a pass through a gang to make a man a lone threat. Zidane did that. Another way to describe him is he's a ball masturbator. With his head down he runs around deking man after man until he either loses the ball, takes a good shot, or misses a shot. That is how every World Cup he has ever played in has turned out. I can't say he's the best ever because I haven't seen excellent vision and excellent play creation from him. That doesn't mean he's not amazing at what he does well.

hes got the most assists this season....

 

[Porthos]

He may well be the best of all time...but...I suspect that if Diego Maradona at Napoli or George Best with Man United were in the same shoes as Messi during that goal against Athletic Bilbao both would've been hacked down well before they got to the penalty box. Forwards have much more protection from defenders these days. (BTW I think that is good thing, but one must always keep in mind the differences between generations when doing these comparisons).

I would agree and would still put Maradona in front. For several reasons - Maradona played in weaker teams than today's Barcelona. 1980s Napoli and the 1970s Argentina were nowhere near the quality of today's Barca... just try to remember any players from these teams from the top of your head. Also Maradona was not protected so much by referees as Messi is today and took massive punishment from the defenders of the day (got his leg broken). Not sure if Messi could endure such butchery today. Messi also did not win a World Cup (yet), so he still has some way to go. As for George Best, he definitely was a great player, but just did not accomplish as much as Messi or Maradona and was too distracted by "extracurricular activities".

 

[frederic38]

when i said "he does more things" i was referring to how this season he became more of a playmaker while still making the difference in the final third at an incredible rate
http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/3277...marvels-in-playmaker-role-for-five-star-barca

as for the fouls, he takes a lot of them and never dives
at the last world cup he almost got injuried against bosnia

https://youtu.be/kTtzfuWYBNA?t=5m57s

so he is protected but still takes a lot of fouls

maradona has also played for barcelona
honeslty what barcelona is today is because of messi at 90%

 

[Porthos]

Messi is roughed up here and there, but the level of violence in football today cannot be compared with the 80s. Maradona's ankle was broken by a guy nicknamed "the butcher of Bilbao" (Andoni Goikoetxea) who also virtually ended the career of the German international Bernd Schuster. This type of player would simply not be allowed on the pitch today. It's incredible how Maradona came back from such a horrendous injury just in several months.

[video=youtube;N8_JYHtvTS8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8_JYHtvTS8[/video]

He did play for Barcelona, but Barca then was nowhere near what they are today and Maradona was injured/sick for extended periods of time, so he didn't manage to leave an inprint while playing there. His crowning achievements are the 1986 World Cup which he won almost single-handedly (as mentioned - Argentina's team was not very strong then - anyone remembers Jorge Burruchaga or Ricardo Giusti?), and the serie A titles with Napoli (again - won almost single handedly - the best Napoli players of the time were Salvatore Bagni, Ciro Ferrara, Fernando di Napoli, virtual unknowns today). What was impressive with Maradona is - first of all - his bravery as a player (one of the most kicked and beaten-up players ever) and the capacity to win single-handedly in a team sport which is amazing. Messi definitely does have some of the second (winning games almost single-handedly), but in my opinion, not yet at the same level.

One thing that is strange with Messi (but also with Ronaldo) is how few injuries these high profile players pick up today, even with all the protection allowed to them by the referees. They are either made of rubber or the medical staff in Barca and Real perform absolute miracles on them.

 

[frederic38]

yes this season messi played all the matches, incredible, 2 years ago he wasn't that lucky and was injuried for the most important matches of the season, like against bayern munich for example


obviously i didn't see maradonna play back then but i think that it's impossible to be as consistent as messi, he makes the difference for his team at almost every game, multiple times per match

he is also the best ever in 1vs1 situations with the goalkeeper, this i am sure

 

[frederic38]

barcelona before messi had 2 champions league, now they have 4 and maybe 5 in a few days
before messi they had 18 league title, now they have 23
each time messi was the best player by far
and in both competitions he faces the most powerfull club, real madrid

 

[Porthos]

barcelona before messi had 2 champions league, now they have 4 and maybe 5 in a few days
before messi they had 18 league title, now they have 23
each time messi was the best player by far
and in both competitions he faces the most powerfull club, real madrid

Barca at the time when Maradona was playing for them - did not win any Champions League titles ("European Cup" as CL was called then). Zero. A proof that the Barca team then was not yet a top European team, but second tear at best. Maradona played for Barca from 1982 to 1984. Barcelona won their first CL title in 1992, 8 years after Maradona left. They only really became a "football superpower" in the mid-2000s with Messi, but also with all the other great players of that generation (Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol, Pique, Busquets etc.). Messi is a great player, one of the top 3-4 players ever. By winning a WC he may move to indisputed #1. However, he is still very dependent on the support from his teammates in Barca. The proof is his relatively modest contribution to the Argentinian national team (until the last WC where he did pretty well), a team that was not playing for him the way Barca plays.

 

[frederic38]

Barca at the time when Maradona was playing for them - did not win any Champions League titles ("European Cup" as CL was called then). Zero. A proof that the Barca team then was not yet a top European team, but second tear at best. Maradona played for Barca from 1982 to 1984. Barcelona won their first CL title in 1992, 8 years after Maradona left. They only really became a "football superpower" in the mid-2000s with Messi, but also with all the other great players of that generation (Iniesta, Xavi, Puyol, Pique, Busquets etc.). Messi is a great player, one of the top 3-4 players ever. By winning a WC he may move to indisputed #1. However, he is still very dependent on the support from his teammates in Barca. The proof is his relatively modest contribution to the Argentinian national team (until the last WC where he did pretty well), a team that was not playing for him the way Barca plays.

like i said most of the spanish players from that generation have stopped playing now or are not as good as they used to be (even iniesta this season was criticised) yet messi is better than ever and barcelona is very dominant