Maradona 1986 v Messi 2007

June 22, 1986: Argentina take on rivals England in WC quarter-finals. After his infamous "Hand of God" goal opened the scoring, football great Diego Maradona scored his second goal - a stunning solo goal, in which he dribbled past a clutch of English footballers to put Argentina 2 goals in front. The Argies would end up winning 2-1 & eventually go on to win the WC.

Here is that Maradona wonder goal:



And for Spanish commentary (he's probably Argentinian, from the sounds of it!):



18 April 2007: Spanish giants FC Barcelona host Getafe in a Spanish Cup semi-final first leg. Up step Argentinian wonderkid Lionel Messi, to score a wonder goal. Barcelona ended 5-2 winners, with the second leg to be played on Getafe's home ground. The winning margin puts Barca in pole position to reach the Spanish Cup final, with Messi a significant contributor to that result. That spectacular effort prompted much comparisons with Maradona, but even before that, Messi is already seen by many to be the heir to Maradona's throne.

Here is Messi's solo effort:



And, if you want to watch both goals side by side:



The similarities of both goals are remarkable. Both made in Argentina, & both shining examples of the bewitching sorcery that talented Argentinian footballers are capable of producing. You might think that Messi, on that day, set out to reproduce the magic that Maradona created 21 years ago - & succeeded spectacularly.

Both goals have been widely shown on the net & televisions, & prompt the following question: which goal is better? I'll let u decide. I can tell u that the Maradona goal was voted in 2002 as "Goal of the Century" on FIFA's website. If that is the case, then Messi's goal will surely be goal of the 2006/2007 season.