Originally Posted by Xela M:
“Anyone seriously comparing Zidane's performance in 2006 to Messi's performance in 2014 needs to go back and re-watch Zidane's participation in the knock out stages of 2006. He was absolutely phenomenal and there could never be a dispute about whether Zidane played well or not - he was on fire and carried France on his back to the final where he was also the absolutely best player on the field and almost cracked Italy's impenetrable defence.
I accept that Holland did not give Messi a chance because Vlaar was unbeatable, but funnily enough the Germans gave Messi plenty of opportunity to shine. He didn't take advantage of it. Maybe it is destined for Messi to never win a World Cup because he would have been regarded greater than Maradona, which he is not.
Argentina needed Maradona tonight.”
I'll tell you what I think Messi lacks: he lacks the elegance and poise of Zidane and Maradona, and he also lacks the downright cheek of Pele and Maradona.
Maradona had the arrogance and nerve to match his skills. I remember once watching him beat the last defender, then go around the keeper and have an open goal at his mercy. Instead of just tapping the ball into the empty net, he stood there with his foot on the ball and waited for another defender to get back, so he could beat him as well before scoring. He did things like that all the time and it's the kind of thing that sets him and others apart. Pele had that kind of cheek as well and both of them made everything look so easy like anyone could do it.
Messi beats people incredibly well and has amazingly quick feet, but you can see how hard he is having to work for it. Maradona almost looked like he was skipping past people effortlessly, as did Pele - and Zidane had elegance and composure on the ball that Messi just doesn't seem to have yet.
I don't think we've seen the best of Messi yet, though. I think as he ages and can't rely so heavily on sheer pace, he will add more trickery to his game and maturity could also improve him mentally. I wouldn't rule out Messi doing something special in 4 years time.