For Lionel Messi’s Argentina this is the eve of a World Cup final that has been a long time coming. As the bumpy yet steadily improved road to glory unfolds, the inevitable comparisons with the late Diego Maradona get ever stronger. Like some phantom standard that Messi is supposed to reach, the pinnacle of triumphalism on lifting the trophy, the shadow cast by Maradona looms ever larger.
On Argentinian radio, as in south-east Asian reports, European media and the USA, the comparison between the two players is being underscored, feeding the idea that somehow Messi has to become “more Maradona” if the feat of winning this tournament is to be finally achieved.
