Qatar World Cup 2022

Nah just a cranky fooker.

So, no actual players play in World Cups eh?

And please do a little bit of research on Maradona before you start saying he did fcukall outside of world cups. He won the Argentinian title with Boca Juniors. He then went to Barcelona for a world record fee. In Barcelona he scored 38 goals in 58 games even though during that time he suffered with hepatitis and a broken ankle. He then transferred to Napoli for another world record fee. Napoli hadn't won a Scudetto since 1950. Then along comes Maradona and they win two Scudettos in 86-87 and 89-90 and were second in the 87-88 and 88-89 seasons. He was top scorer in Serie A in the 87-88 season.

You can argue whether or not he's the best ever, but it's a pile of shyte to say that he only did it in World Cups and that he didn't do it "as an actual player".

In terms of greatest all around , two feet are a necessity. Greatest ever off both wings was ZZ. Zidane was an absolute maestro.

That might have been what you meant to say, but that's not actually what you said. Anyway, moving along.

You have to remember, we aren't comparing like for like. Messi has achieved a lot, don't get me wrong but it's very difficult to compare players from different generations based on statistics. Because, strange as this sounds, doing it solely on titles/statistics etc. isn't an accurate way of doing it. For example, if you are going by the number of trophies won, then Dani Alves is the best player ever. He won 44 trophies whereas Messi has 41.

And some of today's awards weren't open to players like Maradona as he didn't qualify for entry by the time they started taking 'foreign' players into account, e.g. Ballon d'Or.

If you're going on goals per game, then every striker ever is a far better player than Dani Alves, who, although he has won 44 trophies, his goal scoring record per game wouldn't be good.

Maradona was from a different era. He was fouled way more than Messi in a time where some of the fouls were akin to attempted murder. The game is much faster now but far less physical.

Messi joined Barcelona when they were a good team. He made them better for sure. But Barcelona were winning things when Messi joined. It's easier to be successful and win things when you are in a good team. Napoli weren't even winning the coin toss in the 30 years before Maradona joined. They went from being a shyte team to two championships and two runners up soon after he arrived.

Anyway, I'll leave it at this. If I was picking a team tomorrow and had the choice between Maradona at his best or Messi at his best, I'd go for Maradona.

Neither of us can be proven right or wrong so I guess we'll leave it there. Well, I'm leaving it there. Have fun.

What you actually said was this.

That is effectively saying you know fook all about how well he played in Italy or even Spain.

Too many young people think the world began when they started noticing it.

Pele was doing Cruyff turns before Cruff was even heard of.

Best was slaloming through defences on pitches that were akin to muddy ice rinks.

And our Johnny Guiles was doing Rabonas with a ball that weighed much more when wet or even damp than a modern ball.

And all of those lads operated in a culture where getting the sh** kicked out of you because you were talented was a 100% given.

The so called modern professionals would sh** their pants if they were transported back to the 80s never mind the 60s.

Yes, when they played each other in the last 16 in 2018, they both wore their normal shirts and it didn't look odd.

If anything, the French shirt now is darker - so even less of a clash.

(not that I'm discounting Morocco's chances mind you)

Again you are judging things that aren't equal. They were different times. And yes, you are 100% entitled to your opinion. We won't fall out no matter what happens.

But how do you reckon who the best player ever is? What criteria are you using?

If you go by goals, it's Pele who scored 1279 goals. Messi has 791 which is a good few less goals.

If you go by trophies, it's Dani Alves.

If you go by European Cups, it's impossible to compare like-for-like. In Maradona's time only one club from a country could enter so if you didn't win your league, you didn't get to enter. Nowadays, if you are from a top footballing country, you can have three or four clubs in the Champions League. Napoli got two shots at it and didn't win either of those times. If they were playing nowadays, they'd have had another two shots for the two years they came second in the Scudetto.

If you go on personal awards such as the Ballon d'Or. Maradona never won it because he wasn't eligible to enter it until 1991 when they changed the rules.

It's all subjective because of the different eras both played in. You look at one website such as Four Four Two, they have Messi at number 1 and Maradona at number 2. Sportskeda have Pele at number 1, Maradona at number 2 and Messi at number 3. It's impossible to get a consensus.

Anyway, it's dinner time and then the footie.

I'll put my neck on the line. Morocco to win on penalties. Wait and see, after me supporting Morocco tonight France will probably hammer them. 😁