Maradona might be the most overrated player in the history of team sports. He was absolutely outstanding in the 1986 World Cup but his whole legacy is based on 7 games (where he had to cheat to win by punching the ball) & he doesnt have the stats, longevity, accolades or peak to be considered a GOAT candidate yet he’s seen as a consensus Top 4 player by most fans. A common narrative is that Maradona carried a weak Napoli team to the title when that isn’t really what happened. Maradona’s 1986/87 - Napoli’s First Title - 29 Matches 6 Non-Penalty Goals 4 Assists 0.34 npG+A. His teammate also finished second in the golden boot race. I am not denying the fact he was a World Class player in his prime with majestic technique and dribbling but it boggles my mind that many fans and players view him as one of the greatest players of all time if not the greatest player of all time and compare Maradona him to the likes of Pele, Messi and Ronaldo who were consistently out of this for a decade plus and produced alien like numbers season and season out when no good argument can be presented to support this.
The big difference now is that if he had a shit game, it would be instantly seen by hundreds of millions, but in his time, it was maybe seen by some in Italy and then the media reported that he dragged them to the title so that news travelled overseas and became canon. Most people would only see him play in the World Cup, where he was magic.
Maradona might be the most overrated player in the history of team sports. He was absolutely outstanding in the 1986 World Cup but his whole legacy is based on 7 games (where he had to cheat to win by punching the ball) & he doesnt have the stats, longevity, accolades or peak to be considered a GOAT candidate yet he’s seen as a consensus Top 4 player by most fans. A common narrative is that Maradona carried a weak Napoli team to the title when that isn’t really what happened. Maradona’s 1986/87 - Napoli’s First Title - 29 Matches 6 Non-Penalty Goals 4 Assists 0.34 npG+A. His teammate also finished second in the golden boot race. I am not denying the fact he was a World Class player in his prime with majestic technique and dribbling but it boggles my mind that many fans and players view him as one of the greatest players of all time if not the greatest player of all time and compare Maradona him to the likes of Pele, Messi and Ronaldo who were consistently out of this for a decade plus and produced alien like numbers season and season out when no good argument can be presented to support this.
The big difference now is that if he had a shit game, it would be instantly seen by hundreds of millions, but in his time, it was maybe seen by some in Italy and then the media reported that he dragged them to the title so that news travelled overseas and became canon. Most people would only see him play in the World Cup, where he was magic.
Exactly, I knew this would get downvotes but I knew that nobody would give valid reasons to disprove what I said 😂