For the last few years,
Lionel Messi has been the best footballer around. Week in week out,
he has wowed football fans around the world with his talent, desire
and remarkable attitude, and has broken almost every goalscoring
record in the book in the process. But for some reason, some people
still question his right to the title of 'Greatest of all time'.
Messi is often compared with his Argentine compatriot, Diego Maradona and Brazilian,Pele who were spoken of in similar superlatives in their day. Pele and
Maradona didn't only perform at the highest level with their clubs, they
also led their countries to World Cup glory. And in Maradona's case,
basically doing it on his own. The argument often put forward is that
until Messi wins the World Cup like Pele and Maradona, he can only be
referred to as one of the greatest but not the greatest.
But this theory has too
many flaws. Pele, for example, was an incredible goalscorer and all
round entertainer but in terms of overall contribution to the team,
there isn't much worth talking about. And even in terms of
goalscoring, Pele's biggest claim to fame, Messi recently surpassed
Pele's incredible record of 75 goals in one season and has gone on to
beat Gerd Muller's tally of 85 in a calendar year.
When compared with Maradona, Messi's stats are off the scale. Messi has already scored
more goal than Maradona did in his entire career and apart from a
World Cup triumph, has eclipsed his countryman in terms of honours.
Messi has three Champions League medals to his name, 5 La Liga
titles, two Copa del Reys and even an Olympic Gold Medal in football
from the 2008 Olympics. Maradona did win the World Cup but only has
one La Liga title, one Copa del Rey, two Serie A titles, one Coppa
Italia and one UEFA cup. Maradona never won The European Cup, which
was the previous incarnation of The Champions League.
Messi has also been
raised in Barcelona's academy to value his team mates, something he
has repeatedly shown in public - especially when he is being awarded with personal accolades. His legacy when his career is over will not
just be of his ability on the pitch but about his personality off the
pitch and how he valued everyone else around him as much as he valued
himself. That is what greatness is all about.
Whether or not Messi
goes on to win the World Cup, I don't think that should have any
bearing on his claim to the title of the greatest footballer in
history. He has delivered on a level beyond what anyone has ever seen
or imagined. And when you consider that he is doing this in an age
when footballers are fitter and healthier than ever and teams are
more tactically aware, it only fills you with even more wonder. All
hail Lionel Messi – The Greatest of all Time
Perhaps the only
realistic question left to as is whether he could do the same thing
he has been doing in Spain on a rainy Tuesday in Stoke.
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