War of words: Maradona vs Alves

CAIRO – 22 June 2017: Two South American footballers criticized each other last week via televised comments, attacking each others’ skills as players. The riff began when Brazilian national team right back Dani Alves criticized Argentinean legend Diego Maradona last Thursday on Brazilian channel Canais Esporte Interativo; Maradona responded Friday via TyC Sports.

Speaking to Canais Esporte Interativo, Alves praised Lionel Messi and slammed Maradona after being asked to compare the two players.

"You want to compare Messi to Maradona? You can't compare them. I would not be proud to say that I won a World Cup with a 'Hand of God.' I wouldn't be able to tell my son that I won a World Cup like this with the whole world talking about it,” ESPN quoted Alves as saying.

Alves ended his comments by saying, "The 'Hand of God' tricked us, you have to take this firm position. A sportsman like this can't be an example for youngsters."

Maradona responded to Alves’ criticism in comments to TyC Sports. "Dani Alves is an idiot,” ESPN reported Maradona as saying. “He makes 28 passes and only gets four right. As a '4' [right-back], Cafu and Maicon were good. Dani Alves? Poor thing.”

Maradona concluded comments by mocking Alves’s position (right back) on the field, stating, "He speaks because he plays in a position on the pitch where football is not played.… They [right-backs] touch the ball three times and make eight fouls per game.”