However, sports analysts emphasize that the two athletes represent completely opposite value systems and models of leadership for the nation.
ESPN journalist Federico Bulos observed: "Messi is the Argentine we would like to be. Maradona, on the other hand, is the Argentine we are."
Writer Gonzalo Sarasqueta noted that society often forces a binary choice between the two icons due to an addiction to melodrama.
"I divide, therefore I exist" is the cultural mantra that drives these constant comparisons, according to Sarasqueta.
To illustrate the collective mindset during major national events, Sarasqueta cited an anecdote from author Fogwill during the Malvinas War.
Fogwill's mother shouted "We sank a ship!"
while listening to the radio during the conflict, and the author immediately recorded the moment to capture how individuals internalize national events from afar.
"Mom sank a ship," Fogwill noted on his paper, highlighting the gregarious consciousness shared during football matches and wars.
Ultimately, experts warn against letting the weight of past achievements overshadow the daily reality of modern competition.
Editor Benjamin Bradlee reminded his journalists: "Do you realize? Then, the only thing that counts is the story of the day.
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Of each day. Go back to work."
