Maradona RIP | Page 4 | Vital Football

Maradona RIP

It’s the unstable side of these people that make them all the more interesting and newsworthy. For how great Messi is on the pitch there is next to no scandal off it, he had the tax thing in Spain (Which isn’t exclusive to him) but that’s all I can think of, seems to be very much a family man.
 
Fascinating debate where some cannot credit talent and the achievements because of character flaws and things that happened off the pitch.

Ive no doubt that Maradona was an odious foul human being who I would not wish to spend any time in his company nor endorse him as a person. But as a footballer, there’s not been anyone to match him for skill and wizardry, and an incredible drive to win and to entertain.

If you want your heroes to be spotless saints of unimpeachable virtue then good luck to you. Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone etc.
 
Impossible to compare players from different eras really isn't it. All sport has changed so much , but what would be true is that great players would be able to adapt to conditions they play in and still be the best. To that end Maradona would thrive in todays way of playing but equally I have no doubt that Messi and Ronaldo would still be up there with the best had they played back in the 80's.
 
The Fear said:
It was the ref's fault. Everyone else in the world saw it.

What I didn't like is he always said after it wasn't cheating, of course it was!

Had this discussion in this forum a few times though, hand on heart, if we won the world up on a penalty because one of our players blatantly cheated/dived (not the ones where it is a close call, the real blatant bullshit we keep seeing) then nah, not for me, I'd rather we lose.

But the ref can't have not seen the handball, or at least the linesmen, it looked corrupt to me.

BUT that isn't the whole life of football for him. You don't have to like any player to recognise how fanastic they are, and the flipside, some are lovely people, they are just average footballers.

Maradona is top tier with Cruyff, Pele, Best, Ronaldo, Messi
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You missed Sir Dennis out . I will leave you to correct it.
 
Really odd thread, didn't think so much anger would come out.

He was a brilliant player, it just can't be argued, you only have to watch.
The rest, he was a flawed character, no doubt at all. He's paid a price for it, he's died at the age of 60.
 
I'm not a huge fan of Gazza, another flawed human being who wasted his talent but when he passes I'll pop into his rip thread and say something nice.
 
Scars run deep Deano. Radio 5 said they were struggling to get any England players from the 1986 game to come on and talk about Maradona.
 
sirdennis said:
Scars run deep Deano. Radio 5 said they were struggling to get any England players from the 1986 game to come on and talk about Maradona.
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It's not like it was planned, it was just instict, and the fact the ref let him get away with it is the biggestr travesty.

He certainly wasn't the first and won't be the last to instinctivley put out a hand to either stop or score a goal. We've already mentioned Messi and Henry doing the same, if you flipped it and found examples of players doing it to stop a goal going in I'm sure you'd find hundreds of examples.

Peter Reid had a lot of nice words to say about him on Sky. Same guy who was left trailing in his slipstream when he scored the 2nd goal of that game.
 
It’s down to opinion isn’t it. If you liked him and thought he was the best footballer ever then great. If you didn’t then great.

why don’t we do a list ?
My list of people I personally saw live
1 Pele
2 George Best
3 Johan Cruyff

Saw live and on TV

1 Pele
2 George Best
3 Maradona
 
DeanoVilla said:
Messi scored a hand of god goal so he's a cheat too. It's just it wasn't against England so we don't all bawl about it constantly like little babies.
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He did that and has been convicted for tax fraud. Hardly a great character. Plus he has stayed at one club in his entire career and never left his comfort zone. This club has been built around him and he has generally had modern greats (if not some all time greats around him) from Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Neymar, Suarez etc.

The appeal of Maradona was his leadership on the pitch, he was this sort of force of nature that can literally drag teams to success almost by himself. As he did in 86 and at Napoli. I don't think there has ever been a player like that.
 
crimsondonkey said:
If you want your heroes to be spotless saints of unimpeachable virtue then good luck to you. Let he who has not sinned cast the first stone etc.
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Not that black or white though. And I don't think anyone suggests that spotless sainthood is achievable. It wasnt just one or two things with Maradona it was many things.

I'd love to see the reaction nowadays if he was playing and despite his brilliance Maradona was cheating, taking drugs, kicking other players in the head, committing adultery and having allegations of mafia corruption thrown at him.
I'm not sure so many would be so forgiving of those aspects as they seem to be now he has passed. Doesn't take alot for footballers nowadays to be hammered for lesser indiscretions.

Up to individuals opinions of course but I just can't separate his brilliance from the person he appears to have been. Comes in one for me. I don't expect sainthood but there was far to much for him.
 
Pangloss said:
He did that and has been convicted for tax fraud. Hardly a great character. Plus he has stayed at one club in his entire career and never left his comfort zone. This club has been built around him and he has generally had modern greats (if not some all time greats around him) from Ronaldinho, Xavi, Iniesta, Neymar, Suarez etc.

The appeal of Maradona was his leadership on the pitch, he was this sort of force of nature that can literally drag teams to success almost by himself. As he did in 86 and at Napoli. I don't think there has ever been a player like that.
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Ronaldo with Portugal is the closest I can think of.
 
DeanoVilla said:
It's not like it was planned, it was just instict, and the fact the ref let him get away with it is the biggestr travesty.

He certainly wasn't the first and won't be the last to instinctivley put out a hand to either stop or score a goal. We've already mentioned Messi and Henry doing the same, if you flipped it and found examples of players doing it to stop a goal going in I'm sure you'd find hundreds of examples.

Peter Reid had a lot of nice words to say about him on Sky. Same guy who was left trailing in his slipstream when he scored the 2nd goal of that game.
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Peter Reid has made a career out of the story of trying to catch him lol.
 
crimsondonkey said:
Ive no doubt that Maradona was an odious foul human being
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Interestingly if you watch the film, the people closest to him say that Diego the man was a nice guy.

As the public we never get to see how people are behind closed doors, we only see what the press feed us which in general is only the negative.
Megan Markle sounds like a right c*&^.

I'm sure she's lovely in real life.
 
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