Ahsante sana bwana mwenyekiti, wakaguzi, wataalumu na wanaspoti wenazangu. Hivi leo niko hapa, kupinga kwa dhati mjadala huu usemao "Messi is the greatest". Ningependa kumkosoa ndugu Kusadikika aliyetamka maneno haya. Maoni yangu ni kwamba:

1. Messi scores many goals in large part because he fits very well into the Barcelona system of quick passing. He is a system player. This might explain why his productivity for Argentina is low. The Argies cannot play the Barca way. A great player must be able to produce in any environment.

2. True Messi has scored against EPL teams. But can he do that week in week out to the same extent as he does in la Liga ? I doubt it. La Liga has always been easier to score. Even back in the 1980s players like Hugo Sanchez scored almost 40 goals every year.

EPL is more rigorous, more physical. Even Stoke City has the potential to mark Messi out of the game. Serie A still has the best defences. Clever defenders who use every trick in the book.

3. Pele and Maradona played in an era where strikers had no protection from referees. They were brutally kicked, fouled, mugged and beaten by defenders. Nowadays if a player even breathes on Messi he can get a yellow

Maradona often took on teams on his own. It was not the team helping him. It was Maradona taking on entire defences.

Pele shone brilliantly in three world cups including when he was 17. I have videos of the 1970s world cup. I think Pele must have led the tournament in assists aside from scoring some excellent goals.

I agree that Messi is good. But to me the greatest is still Pele followed by Maradona then possibly the original Ronaldo. The latter scored in La Liga, scored in Serie A and was top scorer in the world cup.

There is always a player who starts shining and people say he is better than Pele. Eventually they come to their senses. As far back as 1968, people were saying Eusebio is better than Pele. Then Cruyff, then Maradona and now Messi

Those who say messi is better than maradona, may I remind you of this goal Maradona scored against England at the 1986 World cup.



This is an individual goal not a team goal. Maradona was individually brilliant. scored many goals with no team-work. But he was also a brilliant passer. His through ball in the WC final of 1986 resulted in the winning goal by Burruchaga

Genius!!!!

@McReggae

This was a time when England had very good defenders. The likes of Terry Butcher and Gary Mabutt were no-nonsense world class defenders in the mould of John Terry today.

And did you say how he left goalkeeper Peter Shilton for dead with that feint ? Shilton was one of the best goalies in the world. There was time unlike today when England produced excellent keepers like Ray Wood who once coached Harambee stars. See the link below

http://kenyapage.net/foo...ll/history/coaches.html

@TAZ
You mentioned Getafe and I just smiled and nodded because you are making my point. The reason Messi scores so many goals is precisely because He plays for a giant team against midget teams week in week out.

Unlike the EPL, many La Liga teams are struggling financially because the TV deals are heavily skewed towards Real and Barca, unlike England where TV revenue is shared equally by all teams. This way even bottom tier EPL teams have many world class players. Stoke City has several players who play for national teams. Now go and look at the Getafe team list on wikipedia and compare.

But as you correctly stated, Messi needs a brilliant world cup for him to enter the discussion of "greatest ever". Players are remembered based on the World cup. This is why George Best is not considered as legendary as Cruyff or Eusebio.

@TAZ
I am not trying to convince you or anyone.
I am just expressing my opinion which is: Messi is good lakini bado hakafika level ya Pele na Maradona.

If Messi spends his whole career in la Liga he will never convince everyone.

Its rather like Kobe Bryant in basketball. When he 1st won NBA championships in LA, people said he cannot be considered an all time great because he won championships with Shaq on the team and that Shaq was the main reason they won. So Kobe had to split with Shaq, go on his own and win a championship. Since he won without Shaq, now there are no debates about whether Kobe is an all time great.

Same with Messi, his greatness in comparison with Pele and Maradona is still highly debatable. Maradona and Peles are the best two players in most people's minds,