IN THE week of the Tiger you might be surprised by the attention being paid to a diminutive football player. Here is one brief snatch of bar-room conversation. "Lionel Messi, heard of him?" "Nope, who the hell is Lionel Messi?" "They say he is the best-ever soccer player." Naturally, you are bound to offer an historical perspective, say that he is certainly not without potential but his coronation right now would be as premature as the proposal that his team might be the best of all time.

It is a double negative because Messi and Barça are still in the foothills of the work of a man like Diego Maradona and a team like Real Madrid. If Messi is to surpass his compatriot he must not only carry Argentina to World Cup victory in South Africa, he must also virtually pick up the rest of the team and strap them to his back.

That's pretty much what the outrageous Maradona did in Mexico '86. Then Messi must take his nation to another World Cup final in Brazil in 2014. Maradona did this in Italy in 1990, and, despite having to operate on a daily dose of pain killers and a life-style that would have sent the Tiger to a rest home, almost beat Germany in the final. In between these extraordinary feats, he guided Napoli to their first scudetto in 1987.

Napoli's colours were flown to the peak of Vesuvius by helicopter and portraits of Maradona adorned every street. When a woman claimed that he was the father of her son, Maradona protested that he had merely had morning coffee with the lady. Affectionately, a local newspaper ran the banner headline "Diego makes strong coffee."

On another occasion his place at the heart of a passionate city was put a little more bluntly. "Maradona," it was said, "is a little shit. But he's our little shit."This was in 1990 when Maradona's fierce combative spirit led an Argentina to that semi-final victory over Italy in Naples. The rest of the country went into mourning but Naples, s often the butt of disdain north of the River Po, was consoled by the defiance of its adopted son.

In Mexico City four years earlier, Maradona believed he could do anything – a view largely confirmed when he punched in one goal against England, then scored another that will surely always stand as the best ever in a World Cup. He also brought one of Mexico City's best restaurants entirely to its feet when he strutted in. In the final the West Germans gave the estimable Lothar Matthäus a man-marking role, something he accomplished almost flawlessly. Maradona, though, won one moment of freedom and the contest was over.

A few months ago, Maradona was in South Africa to check Argentina's World Cup training facilities. He may have been the most erratic head coach in the history of football, but his impact was startling, not least when he went to a township near Pretoria and was mobbed by youngsters born long after he ceased to play. They knew only his name that had survived decades of turmoil.

None of this diminishes Messi's beauty but perhaps it does map out what he must do if he is truly to step beside or beyond, his great compatriot, or Pele, the man generally agreed to be the best player the world will ever see.

What we are talking about is the difference between all the promise in the world and unforgettable achievement. Against Arsenal this week, Messi performed superbly. His fourth goal spoke of mesmering skill and timing. However, it did not relieve him of the need to match Maradona's historic achievement – or Barcelona, if they are to be hailed as the best club side ever seen, of the requirement to step further from the shadow all club teams, with the possible exception of the Milan of Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten, have inhabited since Real Madrid dominated the first five years of the European Cup.

No one was more dominant then than another Argentine-born superstar, Alfredo di Stefano. Those who saw him in his prime, including a young Bobby Charlton who sat in awe in the Bernabeu one night when he stripped down the resistance of a potentially great young United team, say that he was the most riveting of football sights. Everything flowed from his strength and his vision. He ran with irresistible power, he sought to dominate every phase. Real responded. Around Di Stefano, other greats like Ferenc Puskas and Francisco Gento reached astonishing levels of effectiveness.

For the beautifully talented Messi and Barcelona, this is the supreme challenge. However, they should not really have to be told how much ground they still have to cover if some of the fanciest talk about them is to gain genuine weight.

Messi needs to win at least one World Cup and Barça must make at least one successful defence of the Champions League. Until then, they have to remain sublime contenders. History, after all, often has a cruel way with loose talk.