| Scisca said: It goes without saying, that nobody has ever been capable of playing the way Messi plays. The sport went so far ahead, that if you sent an average modern team back in time, they'd all be legends now. Still, just like LeBron secured his place among the greatest players ever with 3 titles, Messi should start collecting some international cups. I mean, it's not like Argentina isn't totally stacked with talent. He has a great team and should finally win something. His curse though is that he's Argentinian and World Cup is the only time he can really shine. Copa just isn't what Euro is. European players have it easier to secure their legacies with cups. |
You can't directly compare modern players with older ones, because if Pelé or Maradona were born today they would receive superior medical care, better training routines and would be faster and play in more advanced tactical schemes. Once, Messi did a goal almost identical to the famous Maradona goal, but you have to consider that Diego did that with a 80s physical preparation.
And I agree with you, people are trying to argue that Messi has a crappy team compared to the all time greats, but the Argentina national team is pretty stacked up with tallent. Di Maria is one of them.
What Argentina is lacking is a great coach. Here in Brazil we had a common joke running around that the 1958 team was so great that the coach Vicente Feola actually slept most games because the team woould do all the job. In reality, Feola employed a highly innovative tactical scheme that he learned with Guttman from the 54 Hungary team. A extremely offensive 4-2-4 variant with Zagallo changing positions anytime to cover Nilton Santos when he went as a surprise offensive element, in a time where it wasn't common for a deffensive player to play like that.
A great team needs a great coach to unlock its full potential. Messi had great coaches in Barcelona but not in the national team.
