Super Goals: Lionel Messi vs Diego Maradona

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After Chelsea and Manchester United put on the Premiership’s Worst Match Ever ™, Peter is looking for a little more inspiration from his football.

There has been a lot of debate about which goal was better. We haven’t really heard Messi’ side of the argument but Maradona being the paradigm of honesty and modesty has said that his goal was obviously better.

If you watch both goals, they’re almost identical, even the celebration is the same but there are a few differences that might sway the argument one way or the other depending on how you see things.

It’s no secret that football is becoming more over-developed with regards to the physical aspects of things. Nowadays players are fitter, faster and generally athletes first (Frank Lampard?) and footballers second but back in 1986 the emphasis was more on football. So even though Messi was being chased by some unknown Getafe defenders it’s safe to assume that they were most likely athletes at the pinnacle of their fitness, unless Getafe’s team is made up of 10 Frank Lampard’s and a keeper of course! Who did Maradona have to get away from? Peter Reid, Trevor Steven? Not exactly Carl Lewis and Linford Christie when it comes to athleticism. Looking at it from that point of view I’d have to say that Messi’s goal was more difficult.

You also have to take into consideration the stage that the goal is scored on. John Barnes famously dribbled past the whole Brazilian team to score a goal but no-one goes on about that goal because it was scored in a friendly. Maradona scored his goal in the World Cup finals, possibly the biggest stage possible whilst Messi’s goal came in the first leg of a Copa Del Rey semi-final in his home stadium. From that point of view I’d have to side with Maradona’s goal on the difficulty stakes but there are more factors that come into it.

Personally I can’t decide between them, and while the Premiership can lay claim to the fastest-paced football int he world – it’s still short on the kind of technique needed to score a super goal.