for Arsene signing Electric Sanchez we didn't need to raid Palace for Chamakhthough his hair isn't Arsenal standard anymore...
Didn't know Sanchez Watt had come back to Arsenal!
I'd be surprised if Messi wins the Golden Ball award. Yeah he's scored some excellent goals and done the odd great pass but I've found him to be disappointing-at times looking disinterested. When people compare him to Maradonna I do raise an eyebrow-Msradonna took some games by the scruff of the neck (before taking something else ofc further down the road
Don't get me wrong-his talent and capabilities are just absolutely world class. But he doesn't deserve the Golden Ball this time round. That should go to Rodriguez. Though.....there's also more than a case for Muller.
It really depends how you look at it.
Is the Golden Ball for the player who played the 'best'? Or is it for the one who made the most difference for his team? If it's the former then Mueller could well take it. But if it's the latter, there's few players this tournament who have been more effective 'difference makers' than Messi. In my eyes only Keylor Navas, Neymar, James Rodriguez and Robben have a chance of matching him in that area, and after six games in which Messi has made the difference (goal or assist) in four of them to give his team that extra spark, I'd say he still wins out.
I'll also disagree with your assessment re Maradona. He had an excellent team - no WC winner has ever had a bad one in comparison to the rest of the world - which so many people forget, though of course like this Argentina side he was definitely the star man. Compare that Messi stat up there: six games, three games where he scored (two in the Nigeria game) and one great assist late on to Di Maria in the Switzerland game. This isn't counting the superlative performance in the Belgium game, because he didn't get on the score or assist sheets.
Compare that to 1986. Maradona didn't score until the quarter finals, where he caught goalscoring form against England and then put another brace past Belgium. He got about five assists, but my point remains that there was a very competent team indeed behind Maradona, just like Messi today. In fact, their runs in their respective tournaments have been very similar. I'd say they're very similar in terms of what they've achieved in their respective World Cups.
