Maradona age

Lionel Messi has finally emulated the great Diego Armando Maradona by leading Argentina to World Cup glory.

Throughout his astonishing club career, Messi has been spoken of as one of the greats, having shattered records for Barcelona. Despite all that, many felt he lived in Maradona&#;s shadow, having been unable to match the greatest idol of the Argentinian game.

For all his success, Messi endured the heartbreak of losing the World Cup final in , and the Copa America finals of and After losing in a third final in as many years, Messi briefly quit the national team, before being convinced to return.

“For me the national team is over.

Gol messi e maradona biography A rgentina and the whole world always wanted to compare Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. But the two legends are incomparable: two unique and perhaps unrepeatable geniuses. We review how the relationship between them was. We have to go to the junction point, because Argentina was able to enjoy them both at the same time. Between and , Maradona was the coach of Argentina and had Messi at his disposal.

I’ve done all I can. It hurts not to be a champion,” he told reporters after losing on penalties to Chile in the Copa America final.

But Messi eventually got his hands on a trophy with the Albiceleste in , shining as Argentina won the Copa America at the Maracana in Brazil.

And now he&#;s gone one better, proving Argentina&#;s talisman and leading as captain as they won the most coveted prize in football at Qatar

&#;Messi should be the centre of attention and it feels right that he has won a World Cup,&#; Gary Neville told ITV.

&#;It feels like destiny was there for him and he&#;s contributed enormous amounts during this tournament.

&#;During his whole career, he&#;s lit up every game he&#;s played in. If you&#;ve watched Lionel Messi play live you are truly blessed. The passion, emotion, fight and spirit of Argentina &#; their nastiness to the very end with Emi Martinez in goal &#; was absolutely amazing.

&#;You can just feel the emotion through the stadium.&#;

A huge part of the reason that many consider Maradona to be one of the all-time greats is due to his incredible performances at the World Cup in Mexico.

He was their standout player by a distance as they lifted the trophy that year.

It&#;s considered to be the best any individual player has ever been in any World Cup in history, and ensures that he will forever be one of the most loved figures in Argentina.

&#;His performances in remain the greatest by any individual at a World Cup,&#; wrote Jonathan Wilson, author of Angels With Dirty Faces: The Footballing History Of Argentina, in The Guardian.

&#;He didn’t just score goals, he didn’t just score brilliant goals, but scored brilliant goals with gambetas, the slaloming dribble characteristic of the pibe.

Gol messi e maradona biography youtube Thank you for using Footballcritic. Start by talking about your audience, not yourself. FC casts an analytical eye on the broadness of the impact of two of the best players ever to play the game. It is a debate that has been raging between fans of Diego Armando Maradona and Lionel Messi for the best part of a decade — which of the two Argentine legends is greater? It's largely impossible to sway people on this issue; people seem set on being either Team Diego, or Team Messi.

He had come from the potreros, he still played the game of the potreros, and he had won a World Cup by doing so; even better, he had done it against England.&#;

Maradona was 25 and at the peak of his powers at Mexico &#; Messi has gone a different route, eventually winning at a fifth attempt as a five-year-old – Maradona had retired at that age.

Messi undoubtedly isn&#;t quite as physically dynamic as he was once was, but he remains one of the greatest players in the world – and deservedly lifted the Golden Ball award for best player – and has grown into his role as national team captain, becoming vocal and inspirational as he leads by example.

We&#;ve crunched the numbers to compare the two eternal legends of Argentinian football.

Lionel Messi

Games: 26
Starts: 24
Sub appearances: 2

Goals: 13
Assists: 8
Penalties scored: 4

Minutes per goal:
Minutes per non-penalty goal:
Minutes per goal or assist:

World Cups: Five

Three appearances, one goal, one assist.

Quarter-final.

Five appearances, no goals, one assist. Quarter-final.

Seven appearances, four goals, one assist. Runner-up.

Four appearances, one goal, two assists.

Gol messi e maradona biography wikipedia Argentine professional footballer. An advanced playmaker who operated in the classic number 10 position , Maradona's vision, passing, ball control, and dribbling skills were combined with his small stature, which gave him a low centre of gravity and allowed him to manoeuvre better than most other players. His presence and leadership on the field had a great effect on his team's general performance, while he would often be singled out by the opposition. In addition to his creative abilities, he possessed an eye for goal and was known to be a free kick specialist. A precocious talent, Maradona was given the nickname El Pibe de Oro "The Golden Boy" , a name that stuck with him throughout his career.

Round of

Seven appearances, seven goals, three assists. Champion.

Diego Maradona 

Games: 21
Starts: 21
Sub appearances: 0

Goals: 8
Assists: 8
Penalties scored: 0

Minutes per goal:
Minutes per non-penalty goal:
Minutes per goal or assist:

World Cups: Four

Five appearances, two goals, no assists.

Second group stage.

Seven appearances, five goals, five assists. Winner.

Seven appearances, no goals, two assists. Runner-up.

 Two appearances, one goal, one assist. Round of 16 (banned after second game after testing positive for ephedrine).

---

READ NEXT: Comparing Lionel Messi and Pele’s international goalscoring records

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Argentina’s Xl from Lionel Messi’s debut in ?