Well as this is a game of opinions i respectfully disagree.
Your opinion is seriously flawed, since you pointedly ignore the fact he was playing in a totally different system, he became a star in a totally different system which suited him under Riikjaard (sp) and was easily one of the best in the world then.
You also ignore the fact that Argentina were not trying to fit a system around just him, but also with as many of their forward stars as possible, thats actually what made it unbalanced. Their current system isn't actually built around him either, you could shift him wide, or bench him and they could still play it very well.
Messi suits a number of systems, as he has already proven throughout his career.
My opinion is that he suits this current Barca system, even Argentina has had to change their system to try get the best out of him. Says it all for me.
But... what? So? Nobody is disagreeing he's at his best in this current Barca system, for christ's sakes! All I'm saying is that he's almost as effective in other systems, which your original point disputed. Stop chopping and changing.
And my point from the start was that for me Ronaldo adapts to different systems much better than Messi, that is my opinion yet its been pulled apart as if its conclusively false! God help me for having a different opinion, i apologise.
Messi hasn't proven himself to be as adaptable as Ronaldo though, in terms of the leagues and styles of football in which he has played and faced. It's easy to say that Messi would tear up the premier league, or Bale would tear up La Liga, but until that happens, it's not conclusive to say as such.
Imo, Messi is the better player but there isn't much in it, and Ronaldo is more rounded and physically impressive which helped him when playing in England. Bale is some way off but one of the closest of their 'type' in the World at the moment.
Messi hasn't proven himself to be as adaptable as Ronaldo though, in terms of the leagues and styles of football in which he has played and faced. It's easy to say that Messi would tear up the premier league, or Bale would tear up La Liga, but until that happens, it's not conclusive to say as such.
Messi hasn't proven himself to be as adaptable as Ronaldo though, in terms of the leagues and styles of football in which he has played and faced. It's easy to say that Messi would tear up the premier league, or Bale would tear up La Liga, but until that happens, it's not conclusive to say as such.
Imo, Messi is the better player but there isn't much in it, and Ronaldo is more rounded and physically impressive which helped him when playing in England. Bale is some way off but one of the closest of their 'type' in the World at the moment.
And that is all i am saying!
Bale isn't in the top 4 players in the world.. Not even in the top 4 players in the Premier League. RVP, Suarez, Rooney and Mata are all better, imo (just to name four of many). No doubting Bale is a quality player and is definitely on ret hot form these past couple of months but he isn't good enough to be compared to Ronaldo, and certainly not Messi.
I was just pointing out what I think CJacko was trying to say, but I agree that Messi would destroy teams in any league. You just can't be sure though until it is proven. That said, I still can't put him on the level of Pele or Maradona for that matter, as he hasn't carried his nation to international glory...yet.
Messi still needs to do what Maradona did in his day (and against much, much better defenders), to be considered his equal imo.
Drugs and get fat? :O
I jks, I do agree that's he's not on that level yet. Mostly because he's only fairly recently been been putting in performances with Argentina, I don't see him being able to carry them to a major title with the depth of quality teams have now though.
I think he can, if he can continue with his ever-improving form at international level. He basically carried them to victory against an emerging Brazil side last year, and there is no reason to think that he can't do it again against the european teams. I do fear that he may suffer burn out though, with the amount of games that he himself insists on playing.
It's a bit of a myth that Maradona 'carried' his team. He had some brilliant players around him; Oscar Ruggeri, Ricardo Bochini (Maradona's idol), Daniel Passarella, Jorge Burruchaga, Jose Cuciuffo (RIP) and solid types like Ricardo Giusti and Julio Olarticoechea. Unsurprisingly, the team that won the World Cup was the best team in the world. Yes, Maradona made the difference, but he was given a great platform by a talented team.
The same can't be said of Argentina now. Their defence, in particular, is atrocious, no matter their attacking talent.