Argentina legend Ubaldo Fillol has shared the main similarities between Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi and soccer great Diego Maradona.
The 37-year-old attacker has been compared to the former Napoli and FC Barcelona icon ever since breaking onto the scene with the Argentina national team and the Catalan giants, with Messi and Maradona two of the best to ever play the game.
Both are FIFA World Cup champions with Argentina, with Fillol also holding the rare honor having won the biggest prize in soccer in 1978, the first time the South American giants lifted the famous trophy,
And the former goalkeeper has now shared what similarities Messi and Maradona have.
Inter Miami’s Messi and Maradona from ‘another planet’ in seeing everything
Speaking to FIFA’s official website, Fillol detailed how Messi and Maradona have ‘eyes in the back of their heads’ when it came to passing and anticipating the space, something Inter Miami fans have seen in an abundance this year.
Indeed, the similarities between Messi and Maradona seem to be endless from their effortless style of dribbling to their ability to score from virtually any scenario on the pitch, which is why Fillol’s insight into the two is an interesting observation.
Fillol said when asked about the similarities between Messi and Maradona: “He [Maradona] always gave me a certain feeling, like Messi gives me now. I spoke to Fernando Signorini, who was his physical trainer for many years, and I said to him, ‘Fernando, do you know the feeling that Messi gives me, just like Diego?’
“They have eyes in the back of their heads. They saw everything, they anticipated everything. You’d be out there on the pitch when Diego would receive the ball with his back to goal, and you always had to be on your toes, whether he was 10, 30 or 40 metres away. They’re players from another planet.”
Messi would not be who he is today without Maradona’s influence
Messi is rightly regarded as the greatest player to ever live, yet there’s a strong chance that the Inter Miami star would not be who he is today without the previous influence of Maradona.
The former Argentine great revolutionized soccer for the better during his peak in the 1980s and 1990s, and Messi would arguably not have gone as far as he has ow without Maradona laying down the groundwork.
Indeed, the two former Barcelona stars are true legends of the game, and without one, the other would likely have not existed, such is the connections Messi and Maradona still share in 2024.