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New Diego


Gunner

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There can only ever be one Diego Armando Maradona, but that has not stopped countless prodigies from being compared to the Argentine genius down the years.

That tag has often weighed heavy on the shoulders of the would be kings, though, with such billing always going to be difficult to live up to.

Many have tried to match the levels achieved by Maradona but most, unsurprisingly, have fallen well short.

Some have demonstrated early promise, leading to the outrageous comparisons, but few have been able to sustain such high standards throughout their career.

Things could be about to change, with Lionel Messi doing a more than passing impersonation of his boyhood idol, and he is still only 22 years old.

Everything suggests he is the heir apparent to Maradona's throne, but it is important not to get carried away too soon as there is still plenty of time for the Barcelona star to come off the rails and see the crown slip from his head.

A quick glance at those who have gone before him, and even some after him, suggests it is never a good idea to place such hefty expectations on one so young, as it is often too much to ask for those in question to step out of the shadow of a footballing god.

Here, skysports.com takes a look at a few of those to have tried to emulate Argentina's favourite son, with it clear that results have been mixed to say the least.

Lionel Messi

Best to start with the man of the moment and the man most befitting of the title placed upon him. Messi's mesmerising form of late has left the football community salivating, with it apparent that he is the standout performer in the modern game. Forget your Kakas and your Ronaldos, this boy is special. He seems unfazed by the furore which surrounds him and appears to enjoy the game as much now as he did while perfecting his trade on the streets of Rosario. He even looks and plays a bit like Maradona, with his ability with a ball at his feet, in particular his left boot, defying his diminutive frame. Messi may yet go on to surpass the achievements of anyone to have ever played the game and become a legend in his own right, but for now he can at least be happy in the knowledge that he is the best player on the plant and arguably the greatest since his national boss hung up his boots.

[b]Juan Roman Riquelme[/b]

It is easy to see why Riquelme has often been compared to Maradona, with the languid playmaker having taken a similar path to superstardom. He, like the great man before him, was born and raised in the uncompromising surrounds of Buenos Aires, but left poverty behind to become a household name. He too turned out for Argentinos Juniors during his formative years, before going on to achieve universal acclaim at Boca Juniors. Riquelme's time in Europe may not have been quite as memorable as Maradona's, but he still shone during a four-year stint with Spanish outfit Villarreal. Comfortable in possession, with brilliant distribution, he is the man most often associated with the term 'quarterback' when applied to football. Now back in the familiar surrounds of Boca he may never have scaled the heights initially expected of him, but he was, for a time, regarded as one of the best players in world football and will be best remembered for how easy he made the game look.

Ariel Ortega

It seemed as though Ortega had the world at his feet at one stage, with the mulleted playmaker possessing the kind of God-given talent bestowed upon very few individuals. Having caught the eye with River Plate, he moved to Europe in 1997. Spells at Valencia, Sampdoria and Parma followed, but none were able to bring the best out of this mercurial midfielder. An impressive haul of 86 caps for his country supports the view that he was more than just an ordinary footballer, but he flattered to deceive all too often. Prone to the odd display of madness and never far from the headlines, Ortega is perhaps more like Maradona in that way than he ever was on the field

Pablo Aimar

Another to have graduated through the ranks at River Plate, Aimar was given the 'new Maradona' tag while still in his teens. Tearing up defences in Argentina and doing the same in Europe are two different things, though, as the lightweight forward has found to his cost. Five successful years at Valencia proved he has undoubted ability, but he has been unable to graduate from the good player category onto the list of all-time greats. He has been drafted back into the Argentina fold of late, after a number of promising displays for Benfica, and could yet form a destructive alliance with Messi and co at this summer's World Cup finals.

Javier Saviola

Benfica can currently lay claim to having two 'new Maradonas' on their books, with the Portuguese giants able to call upon Aimar and Saviola. The latter was once tipped to have the same sort of impact on the world stage as Messi is currently enjoying, having burst onto the scene at Barcelona. He actually began his career at River Plate, but moved to Spain while still only 19. Another of the short, stocky frontmen of Maradona ilk, Saviola initially took time to settle at Camp Nou. However, he soon found his feet and appeared destined to be a leading light for the Catalan giants for years to come. Unfortunately, he slipped down the pecking order as quickly as he climbed it, with it becoming apparent that he needed a fresh challenge to reignite his career. A two-year spell at Real Madrid was largely unsuccessful, but he has begun to display his form of old at Benfica and looks to be enjoying his football once more.

Andres D'Alessandro

There definitely seems to be some sort of trend appearing here, with D'Alessandro the fourth player on our list to have captured the imagination while on the books of River Plate. Buenos Aires certainly knows how to produce tricky playmakers, with the bustling capital city churning them out at a rate English football could only dream about. D'Alessandro is of the same era as Saviola and Aimar, with the trio all very similar in terms of ability, build and playing style. Like the two we have already mentioned, though, D'Alessandro has never really been able do his talent justice. Spells with Wolfsburg, Portsmouth and Real Zaragoza provided him with a platform on which to showcase his skill to a European audience, but most were left distinctly unimpressed. He has since returned to South America and is a rarity in as much as he is an Argentina international currently plying his trade across the border in Brazil.

Sergio Aguero

Aguero probably sits second behind Messi at the moment as the most likely to step into Maradona's boost and justify the hype which has followed them around from a young age. He has already broken one record previously held by Maradona, becoming the youngest player to debut in the Argentine top flight when he made his bow for Independiente as a 15-year-old in July 2003. Such an achievement soon saw him mentioned as a potential world beater and it did not take long for Atletico Madrid to break the bank in order to acquire his services. He has gone from strength to strength in Spain, while also staring for the national side, and is now regarded as one of the hottest properties in world football. Aguero is also married to Maradona's daughter and became a father for the first time in February 2009. With genes like that, Benjamin Aguero Maradona may just be one to keep an eye on in the future.

Ezequiel Lavezzi

Coming in at under five feet 10 inches, and with a low centre of gravity which makes him infuriatingly difficult to keep tabs on, Lavezzi fits the bill perfectly. He initially took a while to register on the European radar, but the 24-year-old is now an established talent. He was taken to Italy by Genoa as a teenager in 2004, but failed to make the grade and was forced to return home and try again. Napoli then snapped him up from San Lorenzo in 2007, with a £5.5million price tag looking like a snip. A move to Naples has inevitably helped with the Maradona comparisons, as he helped the club to two Serie A titles during a memorable seven-year spell. Lavezzi will be hoping his star his still on the rise, with speculation suggesting a number of top clubs are keeping tabs on him, and he could yet top a number of the more established names already mentioned on this list.

Diego Latorre

Perhaps people were drawn in by the fact that he was also called Diego, as Latorre is regarded as the original 'new Maradona'. He had all the credentials - Buenos Aires roots, time at Boca Juniors, keen eye for goal. Latorre was not short on talent either, but to put him in the same bracket as Maradona was almost scandalous. He was unable to make an impact in Europe, at Fiorentina and Tenerife, and had become something of a journeyman by the time he hung up his boots in 2006. His most notable achievement was helping Argentina to Copa America glory alongside Gabriel Batistuta in 1991, but it is fair to say the pair went on to enjoy contrasting fortunes after celebrating that success.

Carlos Marinelli

Having trawled through the great and good to have followed in Maradona's sizeable footsteps, let us wrap things up with one of the more questionable comparisons to have been made in recent times. Why so many people jumped on the Marinelli bandwagon remains something of a mystery, as he never came close to being the new Ade Akinbiyi never mind the new Diego Maradona. Apparently making the breakthrough at Boca Juniors at a young age was enough for some people - Middlesbrough boss Bryan Robson included. He shelled out £1.5million for Marinelli in 2000, but soon wished he had never bothered. The South American failed to live up to expectations on Teesside and was released without a second thought in 2003. He is still earning a living from playing the game but, with his career having been on a downward spiral ever since it began, he now finds himself turning out in the less than glamorous surrounds of the Argentine second division.

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Some of my all time fav players on that list

argentina >

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  • 5 years later...

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Pablo Aimar: the Argentinian wizard admired by Maradona and Messi

The former striker, who has retired aged 35, was an effortlessly creative No10 whose list of honours, including two La Liga titles and one Uefa Cup with Valencia, is seen as underwhelming for the ability he possessed

Here is an obscure quiz question to which only Everton fans may know the answer. What do Pablo Aimar and Grant Holt have in common? Nothing whatsoever would be an entirely reasonable response, perhaps even the correct one, yet in those corners of the football world where people have a retentive memory for this type of thing it may be recalled that both scored treasurable, almost career-defining goals against Liverpool.

Career-defining in the sense that Holt’s goal, which earned Norwich City a point against post-Rafa Benítez Liverpool in 2011, was a thumping centre-forward’s header. Aimar’s was naturally much more intricate, when he finished a pinpoint passing move – actually Rubén Baraja deserved much of the credit – to give Valencia the lead in a 2002 Champions League meeting at the Mestalla subsequently judged to be the moment Liverpool recognised where their next manager would come from.

Aimar, who has retired at 35 after failing to overcome a series of injuries in his native Argentina with River Plate, was in his pomp with Valencia in 2002. He had played in the 2001 Champions League final whcih Héctor Cúper’s side lost on penalties to Bayern Munich but fully blossomed when Benítez took over at Valencia. Benítez was old-fashioned enough to recognise Aimar’s qualities as a traditional No10 and make the rest of his side fit in around him, allowing the player – called by some the wizard, others the clown (because he entertained with his tricks) but most hailed as some kind of football genius – the scope to express his delicate but quite definite gifts of touch, control and vision.

The quality of Aimar’s goals and assists for River Plate made it obvious he would end up in Europe, and when he joined Valencia for £13m in 2001, Diego Maradona, of whom more later, said he was the only player in the world he would pay to watch. Lionel Messi, no less, has revealed on more than one occasion that Aimar was the player he looked up to as a boy, infatuated with his apparently casual, almost magical ability. “One of the players most admired by Valencia fans,” was how the club reacted to news of his retirement, yet though sublime and successful, Aimar’s time at the pinnacle was relatively short.

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With Benítez at the helm and Aimar pulling the attacking strings on the pitch Valencia won La Liga twice, in 2002 and 2004, and added the Uefa Cup with a victory over Marseille in Gothenburg before the manager had his famous argument using living room furniture as metaphors – “I asked for a sofa and they bought me a lamp” – and departed for Merseyside.

Maybe Benítez should have taken Aimar with him – though Anfield was happy enough with Xabi Alonso and Luis García – for the player was never quite the same again. Claudio Ranieri did not appear to trust him, frequently leaving him out of the side, and although the Italian was gone inside a year Valencia’s form had slumped and Aimar seemed to have lost a lot of his previous confidence. A move to Real Zaragoza could only be interpreted as a sign of desperation for a player so recently accustomed to finishing on top of the league, and within two seasons the club was relegated and Aimar’s time in Spain was effectively over. Five years with Benfica were to follow, but Aimar’s best years were all too clearly behind him and his name was inevitably added to the list of players who have been described as the new Maradona but failed to train on and fulfil their potential.

That is quite a long list, beginning with Ariel Ortega and including all sorts of players who neither resemble Maradona nor play in the same position, so even Juan Sebastián Verón was occasionally mentioned in dispatches. Finding the new Maradona is almost a sport in itself, or possibly a party game, like pinning the tail on the donkey. Even though Messi has emerged as unquestionably the best player Argentina has produced since the golden boy, the game is not over. People argue that Messi has achieved nothing of note with Argentina, which happens to be true, whereas Maradona led his country in some style to a glorious World Cup win.

Should that make a difference? Is it Messi’s fault that Argentina never seem to get their act together on the international stage these days? Do we have to wait for another World Cup win and possibly even a Hand of God goal before declaring the quest for a new Maradona officially over? There are no real rules in this game, no certainties. All that can be said is that with 52 caps and a successful club career Aimar was at least one of the more plausible contenders, along with Juan Román Riquelme, who retired in January.

It remains to be seen whether Messi and the present Argentina generation can finally end their wait for a major prize – even Maradona was critical of the Barcelona player following the latest Copa América disappointment against Chile – and some of the newer candidates for world acclaim such as Sergio Agüero, Ángel Di María and Ezequiel Lavezzi are still establishing themselves to a greater or lesser degree.

Aimar burned brightly for a short time in Europe, not setting the world on fire perhaps but impressing observers with his subtle impact, winning friends and matches with a game based on natural style and elegance of movement. He inspired genuine affection as well as admiration, not least in eminent judges like Maradona and Messi. He did not reach their standards of success, not everyone can, but like all truly talented players he made the game look easy and natural.

If one wanted to take a harsh view, it could be said his career ultimately failed to live up to its early promise, both the effortless, boyish charm he exuded at River Plate and the initial years of success with Valencia. But that would be wrong, a mistake akin to dismissing him as the latest failed Maradona. The fact that many refuse to accept Messi as the new Maradona shows how silly that game is. Aimar may have suffered his share of disappointments over the years but nothing about his career suggested failure.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/jul/16/pablo-aimar-next-diego-maradona-argentina-retired-age-35-valencia?CMP=share_btn_tw

Good read :Y:

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Aimar was my fav

Made me grow out my hair like that

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  • 1 year later...

Lavezzi caught smoking dope

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Messi banned all players from talking to the media

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