From Maradona to Messi: Argentina in the hands of two brilliant geniuses

DPA/Belo Horizonte

In 1986, they were led almost single-handedly to the title in Mexico by the remarkable Diego Maradona. This year, the undoubted leader - the man whose name is chanted by the expectant fans - is Lionel Messi.

The parallels between the two geniuses and the teams’ complete dependence on them are striking.

The eloquent Jorge Valdano - who scored Argentina’s second goal in their 1986 3-2 final defeat of West Germany - said in Rio de Janeiro Wednesday: “Messi is another way of being Maradona.”

On the other hand, more differences than similarities can be found between the 1986 and 2014 Argentinian teams.

Jorge Burruchaga, who scored the winning goal in the 1986 final, told German press agency dpa a few days ago: “They were all laying into us back then.” In fact, just six weeks before leaving for Mexico, there was an attempt to replace head coach Carlos Bilardo.

In contrast, the current team left for Brazil ranked as one of the favourites, largely thanks to the presence of Messi.

It was expected that the Barcelona ace would form an unstoppable strike force together with Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel di Maria - a forward line good enough to compensate for a questionable goalkeeper (Sergio Romero) and a dubious defence.

However, an injury to Aguero and the poor showing by Higuain have dampened those expectations.

“We thought we had more going for us from midfield going forward, but things have been very difficult,” said Burruchaga.

The inescapable conclusion is that Maradona in 1986 had better teammates on his side than in Messi in 2014. In addition to Valdano and Burruchaga, Oscar Ruggeri, Sergio Batista and Ricardo Giusti were also in the team.

Today’s Argentina have serious problems in midfield, unlike the 1986 version.

In addition, the 1986 players had a strong personality, they were the natural leaders at their respective clubs. Today, that can really only be said about Javier Mascherano.

In this sense, there is also a lot of distance between the two geniuses.

“Diego transmitted confidence to his team-mates, he was a great example. We knew we were not going to all play like him, but at least with his attitude,” said 1986 midfielder Hector Enrique.

Maradona’s leadership was seen in words and gestures that do not come from Messi, despite Bilardo insisting that Messi “knows what he is representing and knows how to lead.”

Due to the circumstances, coach Alejandro Sabella has been forced to build from the front rather than the back, fielding all four of the forwards demanded by the fans and the media.

He tried to change direction in the debut against Bosnia by fielding a more conservative 5-3-2, but his idea only lasted 45 minutes. From then on, there have only been changes in the players, not in the formation. 

The 1986 team was built the other way round. Bilardo started with a classical 4-3-1-2 - with Maradona the link between midfield and attack - changed to 3-4-1-2 in the second game then moved over to what would be a definitive 3-5-1-1 from the quarter-finals onwards.

Paradoxically, the loss of an attacker actually made the 1986 team more incisive, as midfielders like Burruchaga, Enrique and Julio Olarticoechea were able to join the attack.

In addition, the new system completely liberated Maradona, who started scoring after discreet performances in the group matches.

The 1986 team became a compact block which overcame England, Belgium and West Germany, on its way to Argentina’s second world title.

“Let’s hope the same thing happens again now,” said Enrique.

The Argentina of 2014 will depend even more on Messi than the 1986 team did on Maradona.

And while Messi has the be focus of everyone’s praises and brickbats, it is time the rest of the team stood up.