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World Cup 2014 Recollections – Lionel Messi Does Not Need A World Cup To Be The Best

By on July 14, 2014

The same old question has been thrown all over the place of the past five or so years. Not, “Is Lionel Messi the most talented player in the world?” – a question that has been a resounding yes even before he won his first Ballon d’Or title in 2009, rather, a much harder to answer question: “Is Lionel Messi the best player ever to have graced a football pitch.”  Yet when answering this question, it is odd how so many, even experts, resort to the same old argument – not until he wins a World Cup.  Understandably, it would give Messi a lot more credibility and history if he did what Diego Maradona did before him, and lead Argentina almost single-handedly to World Cup glory.   The great Pele and Maradona won four World Cups between them, part of the reason why before Messi the argument was limited to them and only them.

But this summer, Messi almost did do exactly what Maradona did in 1986.  The forward lead Argentina through the group stages of World Cup 2014, past Switzerland and all the way to the final. Mess had a direct hand in five of Argentina’s eight World Cup goals.  And while Argentina lost in the final, do you think Maradona was that worse of a player before the 1986 World Cup them immediately after?  The World Cup brings glory, not talent. Maradona was made more of a footballing legend than a great footballer for his performance in Mexico that summer – the Argentine appeared at four World Cups during his career and only twice made it past the Round of 16.  Maradona is still a amazing footballer and undoubtedly one of the best ever, yet winning the World Cup isn’t everything.

Away from the national team, in fact, Maradona was less potent in front of goal.  Eighty-one goals in just 188 appearances for Napoli in his prime is far from bad, yet Messi has scored 243 goals in just 277 matches for Barcelona since his debut as just a teenager.  And in multiple seasons, Messi has scored more than a goal a game for Barcelona.  Messi has won La Liga six times and the Champions League on four occasions, a kind of club success that no one has ever seen before or is likely to ever be repeated.  During his entire career Maradona only ever won four league titles.  Even Pele only won six Brazilian league titles and two Copa Libertadores in his eighteen year long career with Santos. His goal-per-game tally rivals that of Messi, but Pele’s dropped off considerably during the latter stages of his career, and football was much more of an attacking showing when the Brazilian played – Just Fontaine scored thirteen goals in a single tournament in 1958 when the goal-per-game average was 3.6, compared to the 2.7, considered to be incredibly high and certainly the most in a long time, at World Cup 2014.

World Cup wins give you glory; World Cup glory gives you credibility. Diego Maradona’s World Cup wins and personality, as well as Pele’s, make them legends.  Messi has neither. Not World Cup glory or the persona that Pele, or especially Maradona have. Messi is more humble – namely in the fact that he does not have religion in which he is worshiped as a god with reportedly over 200,000 followers, and will never give the outlandish claims that Maradona or Pele have been known to.  Messi might not have put himself in the history books by lifting the World Cup trophy at the Maracana on Sunday, but so nearly lead Argentina to glory, finishing runners-up.  The 27-year-old is just barely entering his prime, and yet he has already proven he can almost single-handedly guide a nation to World Cup glory. It doesn’t matter whether Messi didn’t lift the trophy, or even got close to it for that matter – he doesn’t need it to be considered as the best player of all time. It might add value, but is not necessary.  Messi is more potent in his club career – Maradona in his international career.  And yet Messi can still lead Argentina to the World Cup final.  It is not as if Messi should be considered as the best player of all time, but he doesn’t need a World Cup trophy for one make the case.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.