Is Lionel Messi the New Maradona?
Lionel Messi is undoubtedly one of the most skillful and talented soccer players that Argentina has ever had. Having a small and short body, he is often compared to the Argentinian superstar legend, Diego Armando Maradona. Many people even think that he is the new Diego Maradona. In many aspects, he has a lot of things in common with Diego Maradona. Just like Maradona, Messi is a left-footed soccer player and he has quick feet and great speed. In spite of all similarities, I personally think that Lionel Messi is not the new Maradona. These are my reasons why I come up with that opinion.
First, Lionel Messi plays for one of the big soccer clubs in Europe, Barcelona FC. Having a lot of teammates with great talents and skills, He can boost his utmost potential. Xavi Hernandez, Dani Alves and Andres Iniesta are some of great names in the team. Together with them, he can perform well and score a lot goals. In short, he is a star among the stars. On the other hand, Maradona only played for SSC Napoli in Italy. Napoli was only a mediocre club when he arrived in 1984. However, He could bring the club to the top flight of Italian soccer and finally won scudetto, Italian soccer champion, twice in 1987 and 1990.
Next, Messi plays his soccer in Spain where defence is somewhat less solid than that in Italy. Spanish soccer focuses more on attack than defence. As a result, there is more space at the back that a player can exploit to create chances. So, for a quick and skillful player like Messi, Spanish soccer is a heaven. On the contrary, Maradona played his soccer in Italy where he had to break through a solid defence called catenaccio, a tactical system with an emphasis on defence. This system makes it hard for strikers or midfielders to have space and score goals, but somehow Maradona could still find the gaps to pass the ball or score goals.
In short, Although Lionel Messi has a lot of similarities to Diego Maradona, he is not the new Maradona. At least, he still has a lot to prove that he is the successor of the superstar legend.
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