The best ever, The GOAT, it is a question that is asked but one that is difficult to answer. How do you compare the best of an era to the best ever? The game changes, the competition is different, how we view the game changes….but great is still great….and it usually stands up to the test of time pretty well. With his too soon passing this week, we now we get to consider Diego Maradona….best ever?
Diego Maradona 1960-2020
Diego Armando Maradona was an Argentine professional soccer player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, he was one of the two joint winners of the FIFA Player of the 20th Century award. Maradona’s vision, passing, ball control, and dribbling skills were combined with his small stature, only 5′ 5″ tall, allowing him to often dribble past multiple opposing players on a run, using his creativity to pass, shoot and control the ball. A magician with the ball for sure. In addition to his creative abilities, he possessed an eye for goal and was known to be a free kick specialist. As with many genius players and creative talents, he was also a troubled character, who was banned in both 1991 and 1994 for abusing drugs.
An advanced player, and playmaker, he operated in the number “10” position for all his teams. Another sign of his talent, Maradona was the first player in football history to set the world record transfer fee….twice…first when he transferred to Barcelona for a then-world record £5 million, and second when he transferred to Napoli for another record fee of £6.9 million. He started his professional career at 15 for the Argentines Juniors. Over his career he played for Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, and Sevilla during his club career, and is most famous for his time at Napoli and Barcelona, where he won numerous accolades. He took Napoli to their first La Liga title in 1987 and another title in 1990.
In his international career with Argentina he played in 91 matches and scored 34 goals. Maradona played in four World Cups including the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, where he captained Argentina and led them to a famous win over West Germany in the final, and won the Golden Ball as the tournament’s best player. Every great player needs an epic moment that we all remember and that helps define their career, for Maradona, that was the Quarter Final of the 1986 world Cup. In the quarter final, he scored both goals in a 2–1 victory over England that entered football history for two different reasons. The first goal was an unpenalized hand ball foul forever known as the “Hand of God”, while the second goal followed 66 yard dribble past five England players, voted as the Goal of the Century in a vote of fans in 2002.
What if there was VAR in 1986?
And then the Goal of the Century.
Greatest Dribbler Ever?
GOAT Conversation
As I was thinking about best ever, it got me thing about music…I know, what does music have to do with soccer…but stick with me for just a moment. Different eras of music have the same challenge….who is the best ever musician/band of all time. Tastes change, music evolves, but the ones that broke barriers and become iconic all still rise to the top regardless of the era. And music and soccer have another thing in common….pure creativity of thought and action. The best ones at least….free flowing, genius, breath taking, risk taking, beloved and original. Rolling Stones Top 10 Artists of all time have these things in common.
- Beatles
- Bob Dylan
- Elvis
- Rolling Stones
- Chuck Berry
- Jimi Hendrix
- James Brown
- Little Richard
- Aretha Franklin
- Ray Charles
An impressive list. Originality seems to be key here….no “me too” artist here. And their originality sounds as good today as it did when the music was made. I started buying Vinyl records a few years back, and while shopping for some of my favorites from “back in the day of my youth” decided I should check out the Beatles. So glad I did, and so easy to see why they are considered the GOAT of the music world. Another thing from the list….can you stand the test of time. No artist from the 80’s-90’s or more current on the GOAT list. Maybe they will rise to the top over time, but for now, longevity wins. Will Michael Jackson go higher, Nirvana, Metallica, U2, Prince, Madonna were the best of their era…The Clash and Public Enemy broke ground to a new generation of music….and it is so hard to compare generation to generation, but the Beatles still stand alone on top. You owe it to yourself to check them out if you are a music fan. And the same with Maradona. If you are a newer soccer fan, or young soccer player, you might never have even heard of Diego Maradona. But just like the Beatles, you owe to to yourself to go check out his highlights and career. Unbelievable!. And now back to sports.
It is hard to compare from generation to generation. Was the best QB ever in the NFL Joe Montana or Tom Brady…different era and tough to say. Best player ever….Jerry Rice? Lawrence Taylor? Jim Brown? Walter Payton? The one thing in common….they defined their position for all time. They are the example all players point to as the best at what they did.
Is Micheal Jordon the best ever…..or is it LeBron James….or maybe Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain.
The GOAT in soccer? These lists are always a bit controversial. So many great players over the past 100 years of soccer. And how do you compare the different eras. World Cup winners, Player of the Year Awards, League Titles, goals scored, players who changed the game….all go into the evaluation. So let’s start with the easy part. The current best players still playing the game….that’s easy and there are two….Christiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. You choose who you like better. The power, athleticism, creativity and scoring of Ronaldo……or the speed, dribbling, ball control and scoring of Messi. They both deserve a top 10 place all time..and maybe top 5 if they finish off their careers the same way they started….and maybe a high finish or some magic in the next World Cup. If they could have secured World Cups, then maybe they could be 1-2.
Others consistently mentioned in the Top 10 include:
Alfredo DiStefano. Argentine born but considered maybe the best player ever from Spain. Bobby Charlton who lead England to their only world Cup. Michel Platini, considered France’s best player ever. Zinedine Zidane, considered France’s second best player ever. Garrincha, teammate to Pele and winner of two World Cups.
And then the players considered by most lists as the Top 5 of all time:
- Diego Maradona. See above. The greatest goal of all time? The iconic hand of God? National treasure? Dragged Napoli to a title. World Cup.
- Pele. The original #10. Scored over 1200 goals. Three World Cups.
- Johan Cruyff. Changed soccer with his Total Football, tiki-taka approach at Ajax and Barcelona. League titles and Player of the Year awards.
- Franz Beckenbauer. The best defender ever. Won WC as a player and a manager.
- Ronaldo. The original Ronaldo. 2 World Cups, 3 Player of the year awards. A combo of Messi and Christiano Ronaldo. Yes…that good.
You pick, generally it’s either Maradona or Pele first on the lists, but some like Cruyff for changing soccer. It’s a fun discussion and there is no wrong answer. They are all iconic players.
It has been a tough week for world soccer losing one of their greatest ever. I have been watch videos and listening to people talk about Maradona all week. He was the footballing idol and hero to many of our current players. He is revered in Argentina. He had flaws. He was gifted and magical. He had a pure passion for the game. I wanted to share my favorite video and moment of Diego Maradona. It is a moment of pure joy during his time at Napoli that made him a star. It just embodies for me the essence of Diego Maradona. A man, a ball, and magic. Rest in Peace Golden Boy.
Thanks for the memories!