There been a debate of greatness between Maradona and Messi for over a decade now, while Maradona had proved his excellence time and again in national colors, the narrative that had so long been used for Messi is he will eventually rise up for the occasion, but the question is when? When will Messi produce something like Maradona did against England, Belgium or Germany in 1986 or against Romania, Yoguslavia, Brazil in 1990. These matches witnessed exemplary performances by Maradona. Those were literary the battles between David and Goliath. Tall 6.5 feet monsters surrounding Maradona and he producing something out of ordinary, In spite of heavy marking, defenders surrounding him, hitting him mercilessly at any given opportunity. Maradona never had a good team but he did something outstanding to overcome the obstacles of the greatest football teams ever, to lift the trophy in 1986 or help Argentina reach the finals in 1990.
Messi, on the other hand, is much more successful in club football, no doubt about his skill in performances for Barcelona, but has he done enough in his national colors? Even when Argentina reached finals last time only team good team they managed to defeat within 90 minutes was Belgium. Even with the Netherlands, they won in tiebreakers, outside the group stages Messi did not score in stipulated 90 minutes, in any game. Even if his game making skills were considered, it was not even the shades compared to his stint in Barcelona. On the contrary, Argentine Goalkeeper and defenders had much more positive roles on taking Argentina to the finals.
Messi did not score in 450+ minutes in 2010. The narrative that he is not getting enough support from his teammates is justified but is an overhyped narration, because legends never had everything going for them, they convert the distresses into success, so as long someone fails to do that he is not a legend.
The world cup is not over yet, hope Messi will surely pull something extraordinary, but his first match was really really a disaster and disappointing.
Battle of Supremacy of Argentine football
