After having a discussion with some Caftards in the Messi thread a few weeks ago, I realized that some just can't truly appreciate the magnitude of his talent and achievements because of his relatively meager trophy cabinet.
I grew up when Diego was the talk in the town and everyone tried to emulate his every move. I had the privilege of watching live a number of exceptional playmakers spanning from Laudrup, Bergkamp, Hagi, Baggio, to Zidane, Ronaldinho and Messi, just to name a few. Others like Cruijff, Zico, or Platini retired shortly before I truly was able to appreciate their outstanding talent.
Aside from the futility of comparing players across different eras, my firm opinion is that numbers, something that a lot of people live and die for in an age where stats reign supreme, will never be able to translate the true worth of a player.
Maradona played in an era where goals and trophies were truly hard to come by. The Serie A was renowned for its toughness, focus on defense and the quality of the opposition with 8-9 teams able to compete for the title. Capocannonieri like Platini or Van Basten, and we're talking here about absolute football legends, would average less than 20 goals a season.
The Champions League (formerly known as the European Cup) neither was a yearly opportunity to shine, nor had the same format and aura it has today. To put things in context, Maradona only played 6 Champions League matches, all of them knock-out games, and the Ballon d'Or was still exclusively reserved to European players throughout his career.
Despite his up and downs, his off-field antics, and there were many, Maradona truly was a one of a kind player and a larger than life character. His flaws paradoxically made him relatable to many who watched him work his magic on the field. It's truly hard to really grasp what he represented for the Argentinians and especially the Neapolitans, if one didn't witness it.
To me he was one of the most skilfull and most complete footballers I've ever seen, he simply had it all.
Speed, strength, balance, first touch, close control, dribbling, passing, playmaking, finishing, heading, freekicks, leadership, everything. One thing one could point at was his "one-footedness". Left-footed players tend to be this way, but he was truly on another level. The other being his relative inconsistency, which given his weekly alcohol and drug binges from 1984 on is hardly surprising.
There's a few videos I compiled to show younger football aficionados who didn't get to live the age where he shone the brightest, what he meant for the people of his generation, and why he's unanimously seen as a football god. Music is to be muted in most of the cases.
The first I wholeheartedly recommend takes a broader look at his life, and put a much needed context to understand how his career unfolded and ultimately ended in a relative disgrace. The author knows his stuff and every single documentary of his is absolutely worth watching.
Here's a short overview of his overall skills:
His peak at Napoli and how (and why) the city worshipped him.
A sample of the fouls he's been subjected to in his career. To his credit, he always took it on the chin and hardly complained even when scythed down.
Another thing I found out, to my astonishment, is that a lot of people underrate his passing range and ability. This compilation is roughly 45 minutes long and contains only passes and assists. The footage quality (80's) isn't always there, but this should put to bed any claim that he wasn't all that when it came to it.
For the hell of it, a compilation of his free style and training sessions
Feel free to comment and post other videos.
I grew up when Diego was the talk in the town and everyone tried to emulate his every move. I had the privilege of watching live a number of exceptional playmakers spanning from Laudrup, Bergkamp, Hagi, Baggio, to Zidane, Ronaldinho and Messi, just to name a few. Others like Cruijff, Zico, or Platini retired shortly before I truly was able to appreciate their outstanding talent.
Aside from the futility of comparing players across different eras, my firm opinion is that numbers, something that a lot of people live and die for in an age where stats reign supreme, will never be able to translate the true worth of a player.
Maradona played in an era where goals and trophies were truly hard to come by. The Serie A was renowned for its toughness, focus on defense and the quality of the opposition with 8-9 teams able to compete for the title. Capocannonieri like Platini or Van Basten, and we're talking here about absolute football legends, would average less than 20 goals a season.
The Champions League (formerly known as the European Cup) neither was a yearly opportunity to shine, nor had the same format and aura it has today. To put things in context, Maradona only played 6 Champions League matches, all of them knock-out games, and the Ballon d'Or was still exclusively reserved to European players throughout his career.
Despite his up and downs, his off-field antics, and there were many, Maradona truly was a one of a kind player and a larger than life character. His flaws paradoxically made him relatable to many who watched him work his magic on the field. It's truly hard to really grasp what he represented for the Argentinians and especially the Neapolitans, if one didn't witness it.
To me he was one of the most skilfull and most complete footballers I've ever seen, he simply had it all.
Speed, strength, balance, first touch, close control, dribbling, passing, playmaking, finishing, heading, freekicks, leadership, everything. One thing one could point at was his "one-footedness". Left-footed players tend to be this way, but he was truly on another level. The other being his relative inconsistency, which given his weekly alcohol and drug binges from 1984 on is hardly surprising.
There's a few videos I compiled to show younger football aficionados who didn't get to live the age where he shone the brightest, what he meant for the people of his generation, and why he's unanimously seen as a football god. Music is to be muted in most of the cases.
The first I wholeheartedly recommend takes a broader look at his life, and put a much needed context to understand how his career unfolded and ultimately ended in a relative disgrace. The author knows his stuff and every single documentary of his is absolutely worth watching.
Here's a short overview of his overall skills:
His peak at Napoli and how (and why) the city worshipped him.
A sample of the fouls he's been subjected to in his career. To his credit, he always took it on the chin and hardly complained even when scythed down.
Another thing I found out, to my astonishment, is that a lot of people underrate his passing range and ability. This compilation is roughly 45 minutes long and contains only passes and assists. The footage quality (80's) isn't always there, but this should put to bed any claim that he wasn't all that when it came to it.
For the hell of it, a compilation of his free style and training sessions
Feel free to comment and post other videos.
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. I think in today's game, we'd see a lot of red cards!