Lionel Messi will stand alongside Pele and Maradona

[Zeppo]

Lionel Messi will stand alongside Pele and Maradona in pantheon of greats

There was never any doubt that Lionel Messi had the technique, temperament and desire to become an all-time great; the only reservation concerned his body, or what there is of it.

If he had been born at the time of Pele or Diego Maradona, his waif’s physique would have stood no chance of survival against assassins such as the Portugal posse in the 1966 World Cup or Andoni Goicoechea, the Butcher of Bilbao, whose brand of ankle-crushing tackle from behind was outlawed in the early 1990s while Messi, aged five, was obtaining his first experience of organised football with a team coached by his father in Rosario, Argentina.

Fifa did its job for the game: a little late for Maradona but just in time for Messi to develop, with Barcelona coaching him and paying for his treatment for a growth-hormone deficiency, into the magical performer to whom we thrilled last night.

(continue)

[Gamma]

this article could have been called.... a study into the need for diving...or something like that.... i like the subtlle way it was interwoven...

[Hortical]

He will be in the category of Pele or Maradona if he wins a World Cup. After a long season in La Liga we will see if maintains his form in SA.

[Assasin]

He has not been magical for Argentina so far.

[Jawge]

Glad yuh sight up

[myYout]

Long time wi nuh si a ballah suh effortless wid ball ah him foot. How him dismankle Arsenal is a taste of wha lef fi come. Worl cup will prove if him worthy to siddung wid di him coach. An mi nah guh bet gainst him inna di cup kah him seem ready.

[OJ]

uhmm.. dont rush to judgement. he needs to dominate a world cup before i put him with digeo and pele or even zidane.. he is the best now however.

[Mosiah]

and that's why world cup will always be bigger than champions league!

[Lazie]

uhmm.. dont rush to judgement. he needs to dominate a world cup before i put him with digeo and pele or even zidane.. he is the best now however.

Is that really fair though? Did Pele and Diego have to play as much game as ballers for top clubs do today? League, Cup, Champions League, World Club Cup, on top of that jetting half way around the world to play for your country. Is it possible that he could be tired by the time World Cup starts?

[Rockman]

I think Eto is the best.We will see when Barca meets Milan, the snap shot analysis then will equally be appreciated.



Blessed

[Gamma]

they did what they had to do at the time...it's not their fault? oe has to conclude that they would have adjusted accordingly. pele and maradona played with less FIFA sanctioned protection...

[Lazie]

they did what they had to do at the time...it's not their fault? oe has to conclude that they would have adjusted accordingly. pele and maradona played with less FIFA sanctioned protection...

Its not Messi's fault if he has to play how many games prior to a World Cup. The fact is its very possible for these players to be tired by the time the WC start.

[Gamma]

who blaming messi? him have to deal wid what him hae to deal wid, same as the others in the previous era....

fatigue is one thing, how yuh think him would survive under some gentile, steileke or tressor tackle?

[Lazie]

who blaming messi? him have to deal wid what him hae to deal wid, same as the others in the previous era....

fatigue is one thing, how yuh think him would survive under some gentile, steileke or tressor tackle?

The same way he survives now. Have you seen some of the Spanish hatchmen targeting him? The comical thing is when him leave them helpless.

[Gamma]

these modern day hatchet men are "hatchet men lite" in comparison to people like gentile...

Considered by many as football's greatest ever man marker, and the MVP of Italy's 1982 team, Gentile's finest hour came during the 1982 World Cup. Coach Enzo Bearzot had already employed him as his star marker, most notably at the 1978 World Cup, when Italy beat eventual World Champion Argentina on its home soil, 1-0. Gentile marked eventual MVP Mario Kempes out of the game. In 1982, for two crucial games Bearzot moved Gentile to the center of the pitch, effectively as a holding midfielder. Gabriele Oriali shifted to the right back slot. Gentile came to international acclaim in those 2nd phase (elimination) match against the title-holders Argentina, when he man-marked Diego Maradona out of the game by kicking and flooring him constantly throughout the game. In response to his performance against Maradona, Gentile famously quipped, "Football is not for ballerinas!"[2] In Italy's next match against the favorites, Brazil, he first performed a violent tackle from behind on Zico and later ripped the Brazilian's shirt in half during a tussle. On 11 July 1982, he produced an immaculate defensive display alongside fellow defender Gaetano Scirea, as Italy defeated West Germany 3-1 to lift the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain. Gentile missed the following match against Poland through suspension due to the yellow card he picked up earlier on in that match, but was back for the final against West Germany. As a player, Gentile was able to take punishment as well as to dish it out, absorbing a vicious off-play hit from the West German player Kaltz early in the final, and getting up and playing on without complaint.
Remarkably, Claudio Gentile never saw a hard-foul red card in his entire career, which has to be recognized as a major professional achievement and a tribute to his consummate skill, especially considering the physical type of player he was. His career included only one red card, when he caught a long pass with his hands minutes from the end of overtime in a Champions League game. Yet he decried "nasty fouls" and considered himself simply a tough, hard defender. [3] Gentile further represented Italy in the 1991 edition of the World Cup of Masters, scoring in the third place play-off against Uruguay.
Gentile coached the Italy Under-21 National Team from October 2000 to July 2006. He had a well-publicized falling out with Antonio Cassano whilst the Real Madrid player was eligible to play for his team. So far his stint as a coach has been a successful one. His team won the UEFA 2004 tournament finals but failed to advance to the second round in the UEFA 2006 tournament finals. In July 2006, Gentile was dismissed from his Under-21 coaching position and replaced by Pierluigi Casiraghi.