Two veritable legends of the African game are examined side-by-side in order to determine who has a stronger claim to greatness
There is an irony in the fact that, while the conversation around the ability of a player is frequently subjective, the concept itself is easy enough to grasp; greatness, a harder idea to define, is nevertheless easier to identify.
Perhaps it is simply that one is a subset of the other: the good is not necessarily great, but the great is invariably good to begin with. In more exact terms, while ability is just that, greatness encompasses that and more: success (in the form of trophies and individual honours), wider impact on the culture, global recognition and moments of genius that live long in the memory.