April 18, 2007
THAT DAY.............................Barça wins in Getafe in the semi-finals of the King's Cup, Lionel MESSI inherits a pass from Xavi, dribbles all the defense of Getafe before scoring a goal similar to that of Maradona in 1986.
Diego Armando Maradona is an Argentine retired professional footballer Many in the sport, including football writers, players, and fans, regard him as one of the greatest football players of all time. He is a myth for the Argentines and He’s revered in as an all-time national hero, arguably the most popular and famous figure from his country alongside Eva Peron (Evita). The story of the tiny kid from the Buenos Aires slums conquering the world with his fierce sense of patriotism and fight against injustice will never be forgotten despite all his personal flaws. Maradona had a magic left foot that would allow the ball to remain under control at all times. Diego Maradona was regarded as , arguably, the most gifted player of all-time and then came Lionel messi.
Lionel Messi was born in Rosario, Argentina. He was a phenomenon with the ball. At a young age of five, Messi began playing for Grandoli: a neighborhood football group club trained by his dad. In 1995, Messi changed to Newell’s young men where he turned out to be a piece of a neighborhood youth powerhouse. Lionel Messi was so good that several reputable clubs starting showing interest in him at an early age. Unfortunately, at 11, Messi was diagnosed to lack a developmental hormone. All of his team-mates were growing except for him and clubs that showed interest in Messi were unable to pay Messi’s hospital expense which cost $900 every month during that time. The opportunity came when Messi was just 13 years old. The chief of FC Barcelona: Carlex Rexach, came to hear of Messi’s amazing skills. After watching Messi play Raxach realized that Messi was a star and was worth investing in. The rest is History.
Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona are national treasures for Argentina. These two remarkable players have made history, not only for their country, but also for football in general. Their legacies will always be remembered. Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona have similar physique. Short, compact, and agile. They both have lower centre of gravity, giving them more control over their movements with the ball. Both Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona are very fast with the ball compared to the other players in the era, but Maradona played as centre forward, Messi has no position in the lineup often dropping deep to acquire possession and drifting wide more often than not, to make his darting inside runs into the box......many similarities between the two ….and then came the goal.
On april 18, 2007, Messi scored a fabulous goal against Getafe in the semi-final of the Spanish Cup which was virtually identical to that of Maradona on 1986. To those who doubted Leo Messi's claim on the title of Argentina's New Diego Maradona, he provided a work of art at Camp Nou - with a near carbon copy of the greatest goal in World Cup history. The two players, traced virtually the same course across two of the world's most emblematic football fields. The only difference was Messi finishing with his right foot.
"Messi scores Maradona's goal," declared the headlines on the front Spain's major sports dailies. Maradona raced in from the right, ran half the length of the pitch, beat five men and finished beyond a diving sixth
Messi, like Maradona, collected the ball on the right, around the halfway line. quick feet took Messi away from Javier Paredes and Ignacio Nacho. . "I could have fouled him at that point but I didn't think it was a good option because it would have cost me a yellow card and I never thought he would do what he did," said paredes about Messi.
"At one moment I was able to catch him up and I put my hand on him," Nacho added. "When he got to the edge of the box I blocked his right side, but somehow he found a way to go left." There, Alexis Ruano and David Belenguer were waiting. "When he got away from Nacho, the alarm bells sounded because we were all caught out," Belenguer said. Messi had space ahead of him and none of his markers were able to bring him down like their coach Bernd Schuster said they should have done after the game. "With hindsight it's very easy to say we should have brought him down," Nacho said.
"Back in defence we hoped they would stop him however they could," Belenguer added. But they couldn't. And when he got to the edge of the box, the possibility of bringing him down was no longer an option. Alexis, in any case, had already been booked. Messi had now beaten four rivals and he was inside the area.Now he had only the goalkeeper to beat. Luis Garcia came out but Messi went outside again, and finish with a low shot and threw himself to the ground to block the effort.
This goal is special because it marked a moment where most people changed what they thought about Messi. before that, opinions was split between people who thought he’d become a superstar on Ronaldinho’s level or just a good attacker who would fall just short of winning a Ballon d’Or.
To know more about the subject:
Minshull, Phil (30 March 2010). "Is Messi the Greatest Ever?". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
Maradona Hails Messi as Successor". BBC Sport. 24 February 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
Mora y Araujo, Marcela (23 December 2009). "Lionel Messi Is Not the New Maradona – He Can Be Better than That". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 August 2015.
Barnett, Phil (1 December 2009). "Lionel Messi: A Rare Talent". The Independent. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
Lowe, Sid (15 October 2014). "Lionel Messi: How Argentinian Teenager Signed for Barcelona on a Serviette". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
Pablo Aimar: The Argentinian Wizard Admired by Maradona and Messi". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 July 2015.
Diego Maradona dominated 1986 World Cup after position switch – Jonathan Wilson – SI.com. Sportsillustrated.cnn.com (27 May 2010). Retrieved 31 March 2013.
