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New Maradona or New Diego was a title given by the press and public to promising Argentine football players in reference (and reverence) to
New Maradona or New Diego was a title given by the press and public to promising Argentine football players in reference (and reverence) to Diego Maradona
Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the F ...
as a benchmark. Since Maradona retired, people had been anticipating someone to lead the Argentina national team to a World Cup final, like Maradona did in 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
and 1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
. As a consequence, very talented youngsters were quickly labeled as the ''New Maradona'' (for example Lionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
or Juan Román Riquelme
Juan Román Riquelme (; born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current vice-president of Boca Juniors, the club where he spent the majority of his playing career.Franco Di Santo). The ''New Maradonas'' were predominantly players in attacking or advanced playmaking roles — forwards, wingers, or attacking midfielders. The term gradually fell out of use after Lionel Messi successfully managed to lead Argentina to World Cup finals in
On 18 April 2007, Messi scored a goal against Getafe CF, which was very similar to Maradona's
*Diego Latorre
*Ariel Ortega
*Marcelo Gallardo
*
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
and 2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
, winning it in the latter, arguably emulating and surpassing Maradona to become the most successful Argentine footballer ever.
Lionel Messi
In recent times the title 'New Maradona' was attached toLionel Messi
Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...
, an assertion supported by Maradona himself. Maradona and Messi worked together as manager and player for Argentina's national side at the 2010 World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, the former thoroughly impressed with the latter's skills.
On 18 April 2007, Messi scored a goal against Getafe CF, which was very similar to Maradona's Goal of the Century
Argentina v England was a football match played on 22 June 1986 between Argentina and England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 FIFA World Cup at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. The game was held four years after the Falklands War betwee ...
, scored against England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in the 1986 World Cup
The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-team format. Colombia had ...
. The world's sports press exploded with Maradona comparisons, and the Spanish press labeled Messi, “Messidona”. On 9 June 2007, in a match against RCD Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...
, Messi scored a goal using his hand, which drew comparison to the Hand of God goal
"The hand of God" ( es, La mano de Dios) was a handling goal scored by Argentine footballer Diego Maradona during the Argentina v England quarter finals match of the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The goal was illegal under association football rules be ...
scored by Maradona in the same World Cup match. On 12 March 2013, Messi scored two goals, and helped create the fourth, to help Barcelona defeat A.C. Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional Association football, football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 ...
(4–0) in the 2nd leg of their Champions League game and reach the quarter-finals. Messi's opening goal of the match once again drew further comparisons between himself and Maradona, due to the similarity with Maradona's famous goal against Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
in the 1994 World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...
.
Messi has been compared to Maradona due to their similar playing style, skill set, and short stature. Their lower centre of gravity allows them to be more agile and change direction more quickly, helping them to evade tackles, and their short legs allow them to excel in short bursts of acceleration, and to keep control of the ball when dribbling at speed. Both players have played and worn the number 10 shirt for Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
and also for the Argentina national team, and like Maradona before him, Messi is also predominantly a left footed player. Messi's passing, dribbling, vision, eye for goal and playmaking ability have also drawn comparisons to Maradona. Like Maradona, Messi is also an accurate set piece and penalty kick taker. With regard to his dribbling ability and ball control, Maradona said of Messi: "The ball stays glued to his foot; I’ve seen great players in my career, but I’ve never seen anyone with Messi's ball control." Maradona stated that he believed Messi to currently be the greatest player in the world. Although Messi is regarded as being a more offensive player for Barcelona, he has also played in a more similar position to Maradona, in particular for Argentina, where he is predominantly used as an attacking midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
, as a deep-lying forward, or as a winger, rather than as a striker or as a false-9. Like Maradona, Messi is considered to be one of the greatest players both of his generation and of all time.
Like Maradona, Messi won the FIFA World Youth Championship, in 2005 with Argentina, and won the Golden Ball. Coincidentally, both players made their national debut against Hungary, and Messi also went on to inherit Maradona's number 10 shirt and role as captain for Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
. Messi would first wear the number 10 jersey and the captain's armband at an international tournament in the 2010 World Cup
, image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg
, size = 200px
, caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...
, under Maradona as coach. In 2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, Messi captained Argentina, leading them to their first World Cup final since Maradona had last brought them there as captain in 1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...
, where Argentina were once again defeated 1–0 by Germany. Like Maradona in 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
, Messi was awarded the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player, scoring four goals and providing an assist. With this achievement, Maradona and Messi are the only players to win the Golden Ball at both the FIFA U-20 World Cup
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...
and FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
, with Maradona doing so in 1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
and 1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
**Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal enter ...
, while Messi managed the same feat in 2005 and in 2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
. Like Maradona in 1986, Messi also made the most successful dribbling runs of any other player throughout the tournament, and knocked out Belgium on the way to the final, drawing further comparisons between the two players. During the tournament, Messi's passionate celebration after scoring the match winning goal against Bosnia and Herzegovina was compared to Maradona's famous goal celebration against Greece in 1994. Furthermore, images surfaced which compared the heavy marking both players faced by the opposition defence at the World Cup. Like Maradona again in 1986, Messi was involved in the vast majority of Argentina's goals.
In Argentina's final group match of the 2018 FIFA World Cup against Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
at the Krestovsky Stadium
Krestovsky Stadium, known as Gazprom Arena for sponsorship reasons (russian: «Газпром Арена»), is a retractable roof stadium with a retractable pitch in the western portion of Krestovsky Island in Saint Petersburg, Russia, which s ...
, Saint Petersburg on 26 June, Messi scored the opening goal in an eventual 2–1 victory, becoming the third Argentine after Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta
Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for ''Angel Gabriel''). Regarded as one of th ...
to score in three different World Cups. In the round of 16 match against France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
on 30 June, Messi set up Gabriel Mercado
Gabriel Iván Mercado (born 18 March 1987) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for Internacional. Mainly a right back, he could also play as a central defender.
He began his career with Racing Club and Estudiantes before joining ...
's and Sergio Agüero
Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo (born 2 June 1988), also known as Kun Agüero, is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest play ...
's goals in a 4–3 defeat, which saw Argentina eliminated from the World Cup. With his two assists in his team's second round fixture, Messi became the first player to provide two assists in a match for Argentina since Diego Maradona had managed the same feat against South Korea national football team, South Korea in 1986.
Messi would lead Argentina to a victory over hosts Brazil 1–0 in the 2021 Copa América 2021 Copa América Final, final. This gave Messi his first major international title and Argentina's first since 1993 Copa América, 1993. The win also marked his nation's joint record 15th Copa América overall, in a tournament that Maradona had never won. Messi was directly involved in 9 out of the 12 goals scored by Argentina, scoring four and assisting five; he was named the player of the tournament for his performances, an honour he shared with Neymar. He also finished as the tournament's top scorer with four goals tied with Colombia's Luis Díaz (Colombian footballer), Luis Díaz, with the Copa América awards#Top Goalscorer, Golden Boot awarded to Messi as he had more assists.
The 2022 FIFA World Cup saw Messi finally matching and arguably surpassing Maradona's achievement of winning the tournament after Argentina defeated France in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Final, final in a 4–2 Penalty shoot-out (association football), penalty shoot-out victory after a 3–3 draw in Overtime (sports), extra-time. He would tie Maradona's records for World Cup appearances (21) and goals (8) during a 2–0 group stage match against Mexico national football team, Mexico, and would finish the tournament as Argentina's leader in both. Having scored seven goals in seven games, Messi became the first player to score in each World Cup knockout round since the last-16 round was introduced in 1986. He also received the FIFA World Cup awards#Golden Ball, Golden Ball for player of the tournament, becoming the first player to win the award twice. It also marked Messi's fifth World Cup tournament, surpassing Maradona's four.
Initially, several pundits and footballing figures, including Maradona, questioned Messi's leadership with Argentina during the early and middle stages of his career, despite his playing ability, as Messi is a more aloof and quieter person than the more fiery and often controversial Maradona. Part of the criticism was based on the fact that he had not won an international trophy at senior level with Argentina, until he won his first in 2021 at Copa América. Football journalist Tim Vickery stated that Messi's perception among Argentines changed from 2019-2021, with Messi making a conscious effort to become "more one of the group, more Argentine", and after finally winning his first international silverware with the senior team, the 2021 Copa América, Argentina's first international trophy in three decades. Vickery added that following the World Cup victory in 2022, Messi would now be held in the same esteem as, and perhaps even higher than Maradona by his compatriots.
List of players once thought to be the "New Maradona"
*Diego Latorre
*Ariel Ortega
*Marcelo Gallardo
*Juan Román Riquelme
Juan Román Riquelme (; born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current vice-president of Boca Juniors, the club where he spent the majority of his playing career.
*Javier Saviola
*Carlos Marinelli
*Carlos Tevez
*Ezequiel Lavezzi
*Ángel Di María
*
Sergio Agüero
Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo (born 2 June 1988), also known as Kun Agüero, is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is considered one of the best strikers of his generation and one of the greatest play ...
*Franco di Santo
*Paulo Dybala
References
{{Football in Argentina Football in Argentina Association football terminology Honorary titles Diego Maradona Lionel Messi