Has any one player ever effected his/her team the way Messi does?

Alex is or at least was (last time I watched him consistently) a good player, albiet a bit slow. A real defender, I will say that much...something which we continue to overlook.

The Franchise wrote:Alex is or at least was (last time I watched him consistently) a good player, albiet a bit slow. A real defender, I will say that much...something which we continue to overlook.

Agreed. We need some steel and height in the squad and he could of provided that on the cheap. It's the same reason I like Yaya so much because he provided us support in so many different areas.

Right now more then ever we have a team full of specialists that are among the best at there position in the world but they are very specialized. Some times you need a couple battering rams.

Indeed. Doesnt help we no longer press properly and are forced into defending like a semi normal team without actually being set up for it.

When you do that, it really hurts to have a leftback in the center of your defence and Busquets as the one and only defensive presence in the midfield.

No, even Maradona wasn't this influential.

I dont think PSG would get scared more if Maradona came in. because he can do everything but at scoring he can not be messi. So i think Messi makes teams scared more. Everybody played great after Messi came in. Iniesta began to show his amazing tricks, Alves got confidence and began to fight for the ball. Messi's presence is enough to make opposite team park the bus

Messi is the most influential footy player I have ever seen I'll say that.. His presence lifted Barca to victory IMO

Btw, you're 31 so you were born in 81 or 82 depending on whether you will be turning 32 this year or not.. Jordan entered the league in 84.. You won't start analyzing the game really until you're age is in double digits.. So you can't say you witnessed his entire career, just saying

Is the OP serious ?

Maradona and messi are the most influential I've seen as far as being complete players that you always think can make a difference. Usually very technical players with skill and a very cerebral style don't have great athleticism and explosive power, maradona and messi combine both elements which Is what makes them really stand out as having a dramatic effect on their teams. Maradona was a better playmaker and that's not an insult to messi because maradona imo was an absolute master of improvising passes and had a phenomenal range, with the best pass technique I've seen. Messi is a more effective goalscorer. I would say overall maradona was more influential, put it this was, if I was a player I'd think I'd be better off with maradona as my teammate than messi.
In response to messi "destroying" maradona with regards to setting regards, admittedly messi is a more effective goalscorer however that isn't a level playing field. Check how many goals were scored in serie a each season from 1984 to 1990 and compare it to la liga, there is an astonishing difference. Moreover maradona was also breaking records in his younger days before he went to serie a, he did have a tremendous goal scoring ability.

To be honest, C.Ronaldo and Ozil seem to have similar effects nowadays with Real

I haven't watched the match yet, however don't most teams have one main player who they mainly rely on?

Just in this era... CR7, RVP when he was at Arsenal, Rooney at Man U after cr7 and before RVP, etc.

I mean come on. Messi is a goat. But there have been a lot of goats. It's not just footy either... you get the same ridiculousness in the NBA with Lebron James. It's as if the new "great one" invented the game lol.

Quite impotent versus Bayern considering his mere presence was supposed to split the heavens.

worst player ever

Should go to the retirement home that is Serie A, preferaby Milan ..
Am i doing this right

Barca playing woefully, losing 1-0 to Bilbao. Half fit Messi comes at 60min, scores a wonder goal and assists another, and it's 1-2.

Maradona at Napoli affected the club far more than Messi at Barcelona.

When it comes to reliance:

Podolski at Koln, Maradona at Napoli, Ibisevic at Hoffenheim '08, Baggio at Vicenza/Fiorentina/Bologna/Italy '94, and probably Villa for Spain in '10 too were all more reliant than Barca is on Messi.

abetelle wrote:Maradona at Napoli affected the club far more than Messi at Barcelona.

Alessandro Renica? Bruno Giordano? Fernando de Napoli, Francesco Romano and Andrea Carnevale? Not small time players, my friend. Maradona was not the only superstar at that time for Napels. He only scored 17 goals in 41 games; what an effect!

cant even be arsed

Tbh this La Liga will be bigger feat than anything Maradona did in Napoli.

After seeing what happened over the course of this month, I'm convinced that Barca would be 10th in the league if it wasn't for Messi.

Messi is carrying Barcelona. In fact, I think the Argentina NT depends way less on him and is still a great team right now.

I wonder how we (argentina) would play without him

im finding it hard to remember the last game we played without him... I think it was the friendly game we got stomped by Nigeria 4-1

well he rarely sits the bench so its hard to say but hes much more a central focus at barca than argentina. with players like higuain aguero and lavezzi i think they would be alright.

Harmonica wrote:Tbh this La Liga will be bigger feat than anything Maradona did in Napoli.

I think you may be unaware that Napoli has not been a top team like Barcelona. They spent a lot of time in Serie B. Their recent success is the only success they have had since Maradona. They are not a Milan, Inter, Juventus or even a Roma or Lazio or Fiorentina. They are like an Everton in the EPl or a Athletic Club in Spain. That's why Maradona's influence was so much more impressive than Messi's with a top team in the Liga like Barcelona.

abetelle wrote:

Harmonica wrote:Tbh this La Liga will be bigger feat than anything Maradona did in Napoli.

I think you may be unaware that Napoli has not been a top team like Barcelona. They spent a lot of time in Serie B. Their recent success is the only success they have had since Maradona. They are not a Milan, Inter, Juventus or even a Roma or Lazio or Fiorentina. They are like an Everton in the EPl or a Athletic Club in Spain. That's why Maradona's influence was so much more impressive than Messi's with a top team in the Liga like Barcelona.

I think you may be unware that Napoli at the time was the biggest spending team. They had a great team, and Maradona's influence as pointed above, wasn't overally as impressive as Messi's. Actually La Gazetta dello Sport didn't even choose Maradona as best player in 86-87, but Ferrara and Bagni before him. La Repubblica also didn't value Maradona the best player at Napoli 86-87. You show me one publication which didn't rank Messi as the best player in last 5 seasons in Barcelona.


And I actually watched both teams/players.

Added R9 most influential season. Messi has had now two seasons like Maradona once had in Napoli.