Lionel Messi emulated Diego Maradona, although not in an especially positive way. Messi lost his head in the Supercopa de Espana final against Athletic Club against the same opponents that Maradona had during his time in Spain.
Although the indiscretions of the former were much less scandalous than Maradona’s. Back in1984, Athletic and Barcelona played at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in the Copa del Rey final. And the match gave Maradona a chance of vengeance, having previously had his left ankle broken by the Butcher of Bilbao, Andoni Goikoetxea.
Things got heated throughout, but it erupted when the referee blew his final whistle. A mass brawl broke out, with bumps on his head and punches. In Messi’s case, after being obstructed, he literally struck out at Asier Villalibre. It delivered a blow to the head of the Athletic striker that saw him sent off as a Barcelona player for the first time.
Now Blaugrana is set to miss the next matches against Cornella in the Copa del Rey and Elche in LaLiga Santander, and maybe some more. Although, shortly after those heated scenes in1984, Maradona left Barcelona for Napoli. While Messi’s future remains in the air, with his contract at Camp Nou due to expire this summer.
