Maradona Says Lionel Messi Did Not Deserve Golden Ball
Argentina great Maradona thinks that superstar Lionel Messi did not deserve the Golden Ball FIFA honored him with, after the 2014 World Cup final played on Sunday. From the less than enthusiastic expression Argentina’s captain had, it would seem he agreed with that assessment.
Many have made the comparison between the two Argentina greats, Maradona and Messi, it’s inevitable and even though Messi is — for millions — the best player that ever lived, some are die hard Maradona fans. No matter, Maradona stated his opinion on Messi being awarded the Player of the Tournament award — the Golden Ball.
Considering that he was on the losing side of things, it clearly didn’t make sense. FIFA, once again, proved that it’s more about looking good rather than doing the right thing. We could make the argument for Klose to receive the award, after all the broke the record of more goals scored against Brazil, with 16.
Messi didn’t have a bad tournament, but he showed far less than his usual skills, in part because of rival’s heavy marks on him. To Maradona is was simply not enough to win the Golden Ball.
Speaking about the award to Messi during his show Telesur, Maradona said:
“I would give him heaven if possible. But it’s not right when someone wins something that he shouldn’t have won just because of some marketing plan.”
Messi also beat Germany’s Thomas Muller, Colombia James Rodriguez — who won the Golden Boot as the top scorer in the 2014 World Cup — and Arjen Robben of the Netherlands to the award. Maradona complained about Germany’s late goal, which ended the nation’s dream of winning a World Cup for the first time in 28-years.
Maradona is clearly not prepared to accept Germany’s victory in the 2014 World Cup final:
“I feel sorry for my country. Mario Gotze’s goal really hurt. There’s a huge sadness in my heart that we lost the final. All things put together, I think Argentina deserved at least penalties. That Germany won was the result of a misunderstanding in the Argentine defense.”
Coincidentally the last time Argentina won a World Cup title, Maradona led the team to a 3-2 victory over West Germany. But Maradona didn’t only criticize Messi’s award, he had some thoughts on coach Alejandro Sabella and his decision to replace Ezequiel Lavezzi with Sergio Aguero at halftime:
“I don’t understand the substitution of Lavezzi. He was phenomenal down the wing. Kun Aguero didn’t have the same impact. It was not his tournament.”
In the end, Lionel Messi didn’t seem to even care about the honor FIFA had vested upon him, which left many scratching their head and he fell short in the effort of giving Argentina another title. Leo’s wish to win the biggest title of them all will have to wait another four-years.
[Image via TWitter]
