Messi vs Pele, Cryuff, Maradona & Zidane

Posted Monday, April 09, 2012 by ESPN

Lionel Messi turned in his latest show-stopping performance against Real Zaragoza on Saturday, scoring twice in a 4-1 victory to reach the 60-goal mark for the season.

Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola has already described the Argentinian as the "best ever", and with his deceptive pace, remarkable dribbling ability and clinical finishing it is hard to argue against him being the finest player of his generation.

Already Messi is Barcelona's all-time leading goalscorer, and at the age of 24 should have many fine years ahead of him.

Chelsea will have to keep Messi quiet in their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, or risk becoming the latest victims of his staggering scoring output.

Here, we take a look at how Messi compares with other greats of the game.

Pele

Widely regarded as the greatest player of all-time, the Brazilian is the yardstick by which all others are measured. The forward won three World Cups and turned in a career-defining performance in the 4-1 1970 final win over Italy, scoring one and creating two of his side's goals. Ended his career with a remarkable 1,281 goals in 1,363 games.

Diego Maradona

Commonly considered to be Pele's closest rival in the all-time stakes, although Messi might be pushing him now. In his pomp Maradona was a force of nature, able to turn a game seemingly on a whim; as evidenced by his brilliant solo goal against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals.
At club level he also helped unfashionable Napoli to the summit of Italian football. But the Argentina international's reputation is tainted by controversies such as his 'Hand of God' goal in that 1986 meeting with England, and his exit from the 1994 World Cup after testing positive for ephedrine.

Johan Cryuff

The brilliant Dutch forward remains synonymous with the 'Total Football' played by Holland under the tutelage of coach Rinus Michels. His combination of speed, trickery and vision marked him out as the finest European player of his generation and he won 10 league titles and three European Cups through his spells at Ajax, Barcelona and Feyenoord.
But he never managed to secure a World Cup winners' medal after the Dutch were beaten by West Germany in the 1974 final. He missed the 1978 tournament due to fears for the safety of his family following a kidnap attempt.

Zinedine Zidane

The midfielder was the creative fulcrum of the France sides that won the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 European Championship. Possessed a devastating ability to pick a telling pass or weigh in with a crucial goal, such as his spectacular volley to help Real Madrid beat Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002 Champions League final.

Sadly his career finished on a low as his headbutt to the chest of Italy defender Marco Materazzi saw him sent off as France lost the 2006 World Cup final to Italy on penalties.

Lionel Messi

The Barcelona and Argentina talisman is already being talked of as a match for the greats of yesteryear. His deceptive strength makes him difficult to stop in full flight.

Messi has already proved he is not fazed on the big stage after starring in the Champions League successes of 2009 and 2011, and if he can go on to do the same at a World Cup after the disappointment of 2010 his place among the world greats will be assured. Many will argue that it already is.