TC Poll: Best footballer of all time?

There seems to be a lot of problems with Argentina, always get in appalling managers who can't even organise a team to at the very least be solid enough to allow Messi to play. Always produce loads of forwards but very few top midfielders and the odd good defender and that's it.

I mean losing to Germany in a world cup final and after dragging them there is surely not enough to stop him from being the greatest ever.

Or put it a different way, Higuain's poor finishing is surely not gonna be the reason he's not seen as the greatest ever.

Not sure how it'd leave a void on his CV. It's not tennis, at the end of the day it's 11 vs 11. You can't compare Maradona and Argentina in 86 either it was a completely different time.

 

Like i said, ive watched one of his PR videos, being the great guy etc, but you just know he is trying to buy a place in our hearts. Im sure he isnt a bad guy, but if you give to charity just so people know you give to charity, then you are doing it for your own gain, not to benefit the charity.

 

It is a team game, and yes these things do happen, but even the other night they were pish. Thats 4 finals and he has lost in them all!

He wont be seen as the greatest ever except by his own generation. Look at me still defending Pele, and many others slightly younger than me supporting Maradona. Im sure in 20 years time your kids will be arguing the case for someone else!

Pele is the trickiest to gauge, as the film of his exploits are limited, but most people (myself included)are influenced by his peers views on him as a player. Guys like Beckenbauer and Puskas and Di Stefano who all viewed him as the greatest. Then you get someone like Cantona, who thinks it is Maradona....and now, people of this generation are queueing up to laud Messi. I am just glad someone like Messi has turned up in the modern age when we can all see first hand how great he is.

 

Fat ronaldo, messi, zidane, is my top 3, on phone so cant see poll.


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The Champions League is harder to win than a World Cup in modern football.

 

The Champions League is a world stage. Messi has done it there numerous times. We're also taking about a guy who has won the World Player of the Year 5 times by the age of 28/29.

 

You can't know that he is a good guy off the pitch. He probably has a PR guy who does a good job. When on the pitch there is not much the PR guy can do so we see the real Ronaldo.

Interesting how when he makes a real * of himself at the Iceland match we see the "great guy" after the very next game. An arranged PR stunt? I think it was.

 

A difficult task for previous players to emulate when it was not in existence during their careers. Through the peak years his career Maradona was universally hailed as the best player in the world. The same would likely be true for Pele.

 

Maradona never won the European Cup. Does that detract from his argument of being 'the Greatest Ever'?

If no, then neither should Messi not winning the world cup.

 

That's a fair point, I'd not considered that.

It's more difficult to judge for people of my age group, and certainly for anyone younger, as we didn't live through the Maradona or Pele era. I've only heard stories and seen video footage, but that only gives you so much.

 

I would say Messi. In terms of natural ability though, I would have went for Ronaldinho.

 

I'll be honest and say that if you were to add up all of the footage time I've seen on Maradona or Pele you would probably struggle to reach more than a few hours, and I've never watched an entire game with either playing. I bet that is probably true for the majority of this forum in all honesty, as both these guys will have played before most here were watching football consistently. How can I really comment on how good they were when I've barely seen them play? Same with loads of other suggestions in this thread.

Out of the players I've seen play fairly often, so that would be the vast majority of big name footballers since the mid/late 90's, Messi is head and shoulders above any.

 

Unfortunately a lot of people are too young to know how good Maradona was. His skills were sublime and for me, at his peak, he was untouchable.

 

How can it be Minty? It is on every year! How many current players have a WC winners medal and how many have a Champions League medal?

 

The best players all play in the CL.

 

The World Cup only comes around once every 4 years though.

 

Maradona achieved the unthinkable with an average at best Argentina side. He didn't need Xavi, Iniesta, Ronaldinho, Villa, Saurez, Pedro etc, etc to win thee biggest of tournaments. His success at Napoli was also incredible.

How Messi would have coped in the days of the referees favouring the 'challenge' and the real tough men of football is anybody's guess but until he proves himself at the very top level, he won't be up there with the Maradonas and Peles and Zidanes for me.

 

Champions League is a more difficult competition though.

 

Maradona wouldn't have lasted in todays game, he ruined himself in that age, imagine him in this?

 

I voted Cristiano Ronaldo as he has so much to his game he can do everything but saying that Maradona was just a genius and if he was around today he would have flourished in today's game even more than he did in his time. I should have voted Maradona really.