PHOTO: JUAN IGNACIO RONCORONI, (EFE) / FRANCE-PRESS
The eternal debate about who has been the best player in the history of Argentina, yes Lionel Messi or Diego Maradona, Maybe it will have been resolved this December in the World Cup final in Qatar. For one, This last triumph of Leo with the albiceleste is the only thing he had left to be the unquestionable number one. But nevertheless, for others, It will never be able to live up to what Diego represented throughout the world. From this starting box, It is always appropriate to remember how important both have been in the selection.
Messi's mark on this stage began to take shape in 2004, when the player, with 17 years, He was called up for a competition with the Sub-20. During his career he has won five titles: a world cup (2022), an America's Cup (2021), a Final (2022), a U-20 World Cup (2005) and a Gold Medal at the Olympic Games (2008). The player trained at La Masía has also managed to be the one who has played the most games and scored goals with the national team, just as predicted from the best online bets, where the rosarino always started as a favorite.
In 2006, Messi attended a World Cup for the first time, summoned by José Néstor Pekerman. in that tournament, contested in Germany, Leo played exclusively three games, being a starter in only one of them and scoring his first goal with the absolute albiceleste against Serbia and Montenegro. The World Cup ended for Argentina when they faced the locals, leaving for the memory the image of the Flea sitting on the bench.
In 2010, Messi was already indisputable in the home team. This time, the squad led by Diego Maradona reached the quarterfinals. Leo was a starter in all the contests. Also against Germany, the last of the matches he would play that year. Again, the Teutons put an end to the illusions of Argentina. A curious fact is that Messi was captain of the team for the first time in South Africa, a competition in which he failed to score a single goal.
new world, new coach. This time it was the turn of Brazil 2014, where Alejandro Sabella worked as a coach on the bench and had the mastery of La Pulga to reach the final at the Maracana stadium. The Argentines were very close to caressing glory, but his black beast, Germany, cruelly imposed by 1-0 in overtime, after Messi was about to equalize the game with a last-gasp free kick. It could not be.
Also Russia 2018 It was a difficult appointment for him. 10. Argentine, with a draw against Iceland and a loss against Croatia, they sweated the fat drop to qualify. France was waiting in the round of 16. The Gauls were superior, despite an albiceleste who tried until the end. The 3-4 on the scoreboard put an end to Messi's stay in Russian lands. The sadness has been eclipsed by the triumph four years later, and Qatar, where Leo signed his first World Cup trophy, being also recognized as the best player of the tournament and having accumulated a total of seven goals.
An equally decisive Maradona
Diego Maradona, unlike Messi, participated in four World Cups: Spain 82', Mexico 86', Italy 90' and United States 94'. The fuzz, who never left anyone indifferent on the pitch, He has a U-20 World Cup to his credit (1979), a world cup (1986) and an Artemio Franchi Cup (1993).
The first World Cup match for Maradona was disappointing. The Argentine team was eliminated in the second round. They had to wait until Mexico 86' to meet the fan's expectations. in that tournament, Coach Carlos Bilardo decided to transfer the captain's armband to Maradona. After closing a first phase without danger, Argentina defeated the neighboring country in the round of 16, Uruguay. The course of the competition was gaining intensity in the subsequent days.
The quarterfinal match is remembered as one of the most iconic events in World Cup history.: Argentina – England. It should be noted that these two countries came from facing each other in a war for the possession of the Malvinas Islands, a rivalry that moved to the lawn of the Azteca Stadium. Against the backdrop of conflict, Maradona scored the two most famous goals of his career: 'the hand of God', a jump in the area that ended up finishing off with his hand; and the one cataloged by FIFA as the 'Goal of the Century', in which Diego started with the ball from midfield, managing to leave behind up to five English players to end up drilling the net.
In the semis they defeated Belgium with another two goals from Pelusa and, already in the final, Argentina managed to get its second star after defeating by 3-2 West Germany in a hotly contested duel, with Maradona dominating in the creation of the game but without scoring a single target.
The last World Cups for Diego were in Italy 90 and the United States 94. In the first of them he led the team to the final, despite playing most of the games with an infiltrated ankle, after receiving a heavy blow during the first phase of the tournament. no luck this time, and it is that Germany ended up winning by 1-0 a Argentina. doing it in addition to penalty. Four years later Maradona closed his cycle with the selection in a shameful way, being kicked out of the worldl after giving positive in the anti-doping control carried out after the second match against Nigeria. That was the last time that the Argentine star wore the elastic albiceleste. Later, Argentina would be eliminated in the group stage.
