Calcio Debate: Mauro Zarate – As Good As Lionel Messi?

During one of Mauro Zarate’s innumerable solo runs at the Stadio Olimpico last night, the 21-year-old cut inside Daniele De Rossi, stopped the ball dead, then effortlessly, almost arrogantly, dropped his left shoulder before waltzing past the midfielder for a second time.

My initial thought was: “This is De Rossi, one of the world’s best holding midfielders. How can a player of such class and calibre be made to look so ordinary?”

I shrugged off this ‘isolated incident’ at first until, five minutes later, Zarate repeated the trick on the same player. It was there and then that I knew just what a phenomenon the Buenos Aires-born frontman really was. Roma may have gone on to win the derby and take home the bragging rights but, if we are to look at the bigger picture, the real winner was Zarate.

In modern football there are very few individual stars. Most sides are built on team-work, organisation, and athletes. It is becoming harder and harder for the skilful players, the ‘footballers’, to find space, as many coaches consider them incompatible luxuries.

In Mauro Zarate you have a player who is worth the admission fee alone. In fact I can say unequivocally that there is not a player in Serie A who I would rather watch right now than the Velez Sarsfield youth product. Fast, stocky, skilful, creative, both-footed, brilliant at set-pieces, with confidence, character and a winning mentality – Zarate seemingly possesses everything that the classical support striker requires.

The forward showcased all these qualities against Roma last night. At times in the first half he was unplayable, as he constantly demanded the ball and twisted and turned his way past man after man. He created at least two clear-cut chances for his team-mates, and looked like making something happen every time he touched the ball.

Biancocelesti President Claudio Lotito, who should never be taken too seriously, declared during the summer that “Zarate is better than Lionel Messi.”

Of course most people laughed at this statement at the time, including many Lazio fans themselves. I would advise those who are still chuckling to hold their laughter, and I have no fear in saying that Zarate has the ability to get very close to the levels of the great Messi, who is the best player in the world at this current time.

Of course Zarate is only three months into his Serie A career, he is yet to play in Europe, and it would perhaps be wise to see how he does over a longer period of time before making any rash assessments. However, it is clear that Zarate is a prodigious natural talent, who plays in such an unpredictable way, with such a range of armoury, that it will be very difficult for defenders to work out his style of play, as sometimes happens with fresh-faced newcomers.

What are your views on this topic? Does Mauro Zarate have the potential to be as good as Barcelona’s Lionel Messi? How highly do you rate the Lazio star? Goal.com wants to know what YOU think…

Carlo Garganese