"For me, he was the greatest player of my generation," Liam Brady said on Wednesday following the death of Diego Maradona.
The Argentina legend passed away at his home in Tigre aged 60. Brady played against Maradona during their mutual time in Italy.
Maradona played for Napoli during the 80s and early 90s while Brady lined out for Juventus, Sampdoria, Inter Milan and Ascoli.
"I went to Italy in 1980," former Ireland international Brady told RTÉ Radio One's Drivetime.
"Maradona came in '83, '84. He went to Barcelona from Argentina but Spanish football didn't work out for him. He came to Naples, and that was the city that was made for Maradona. They idolised him.
"He brought Napoli more success than they've ever had. He didn't do it single-handed but without Maradona, they wouldn't have got those trophies."
Asked what it was like to pay against Maradona, Brady said:
"Very difficult! He was like a rubber ball. He had a very low centre of gravity. He could go any direction and he could twist and turn. He had great vision of the football field. He could see a pass, he could dribble, he could do everything. He could score any type of goal.
"He won the World Cup for them in '86 in Mexico. He was absolutely magnificent. He did all the damage and he made the winning goal in the final against Germany."
Maradona was nearly as famous for his life off the pitch as he was for what he did on it.
"He never looked worse for wear on the pitch," said Brady.
"Any game he played, he was the star man. I'm sure there were times when his lifestyle got to him and he didn't do as well as he could have done. But when you analyse what he did for Napoli and Argentina, you have to put him up there as one of the all-time greats. From the late 1970s to the mid 90s, he was the greatest player of that generation.
"He obviously had his demons, his problems. He didn't live his life in the healthiest sort of way, but, what a player, what a character.
"I would argue that Messi is the greatest player of this generation followed closely by Ronaldo.
"When Diego was playing, there was Platini, Zico, Socrates. For me, there was no argument about who was the best."
Picture credit: Sportsfile
