Why El Diego Was Better Than Messi, Ronaldo and Kaka Put Together...

Ok... I've decided to take some time out from the seriousness of league and champions league football to pay tribute to the greatest player ever to have kicked a ball. And also prove that he was better than anything we have in the current game.

Born in Villa Fiorito a slum on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, his talent led him to become the face of Argentinian football. We won't go into the nitty gritty of his career just stick to the highlights and it'll show how good he really was. He had the strength of Cristiano Ronaldo, the ball skills of Leo Messi and the vision of Kaka if your laughing at this, have a look.... Oh and like most people I forgot he was a lethal free kick taker...

The thing is Maradona did his thing during the dark days of football when footballers were nicknamed the "Butcher of Bilbao" (yes that's Maradona having his ankle broken) or brutal man-markers like Italian Claudio Gentile were the order of the day to stop creative players. Its difficult to imagine any of the current talents lasting very long during Maradona's era, I think most of them would've feel a warm trickle down their legs before having their careers ended by the hatchet men of the 70's and 80's.

El Diego had the mental strength to overcome little protection from referees and constant targeting from opponents to carry Argentina to the world cup in 1986. In this tournament he scored two goals which rocked English football... There is also the classic image of Belgium trying to stop him in the World Cup semi final...

Maradona vs Belgium

The four Belgians not in that picture were used to make the 9 Argentinians who weren't named Maradona... This picture shows clearly the fear El Diego struck in his opponents especially in a time when the physicality of the game was very advantageous for defenders. An example of this can be seen with the career of Dutch legend Marco Van Basten who's career was ended by one too many overzealous tackles.

Maradona also went on to represent Argentina in Italia 90 and helped them reach another World Cup Final. He was the most fouled played in this tournament but he still managed to get one over against deadly rivals Brazil on the grandest stage. Argentina didn't win this tournament losing to West Germany in the final but he still left his indelible mark on the tournament.

Now on the talent front he was an equal to Messi or Ronaldo but what he had was the swagger of a genius. He was a big personality as well as a big player this can be seen in his press conferences during his time as Argentina Manager. Despite his legendary status Maradona still shows no signs of arrogance and with his humor and outlook on life can still relate to the fans of the game.

If any of the great players of today leave half the mark El Diego has left on the game as a personality and as a player I feel they would be happy. Idolised in his country, respected world wide and still reviled in England, has their been a player or more importantly will there be anyone like him? And remember I haven't even said a word about his club career...