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Comparative analysis : Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona

By Chiranjib Ghosh

Argentina's Diego Maradona during the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter finals against England. Argentina won 2-1. (Photo by Jean-Yves Ruszniewski/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images)
Argentina's Diego Maradona during the 1986 FIFA World Cup quarter finals against England. Argentina won 2-1. (Photo by Jean-Yves Ruszniewski/Corbis/VCG via Getty Images) /
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BARCELONA, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 01: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona dribbles Martin Montoya and Francis Coquelin of Valencia CF during the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg match between FC Barcelona and Valencia CF at Camp Nou on February 1, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
BARCELONA, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 01: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona dribbles Martin Montoya and Francis Coquelin of Valencia CF during the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg match between FC Barcelona and Valencia CF at Camp Nou on February 1, 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) /

Technicalities

Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi have distinct sets of technique, even though they both possess an extremely strong left foot and a poor weak foot. Their dribbling technique also differs, despite of their similar stature.

Messi sprints with the ball attached to his body, while Maradona is better at chasing down a running ball and continuing his sprint with a lot of momentum. Maradona’s trickery is also supreme. He would wait for a teammate while holding up the ball, or find the space for a snap-shot. On the other hand, Messi cannot hold up the ball and needs to keep it moving in order to work his magic.

Dribbling wise, Maradona had a lot of variety while Messi does the same thing over and over again, with the same effect though. Sometimes, Maradona is selfish while Messi is always a team player, doing whats best for the team, not himself.