Diego Maradona vs Pavel Nedvěd: Stats Compared
Forward / Playmaker, Argentina (born 1960, retired 1997) · Midfielder, Czech Republic (born 1972, retired 2009)
Put Diego Maradona and Pavel Nedvěd side by side and you have a genuine generational conversation. Long after the final whistle, what lingers is influence, and each man reshaped his corner of the game. Diego Maradona finishes with 293 career goals from 582 games — a 0.50 strike rate — against Pavel Nedvěd's 156 from 711 at 0.22 per match. Reliable assist tallies simply do not exist for large stretches of their careers, leaving creativity to the eye rather than the spreadsheet. Trophy counts give Diego Maradona 6 and Pavel Nedvěd 9, with 1× FIFA World Cup (1986) and 1× UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1999) the standout honours respectively. Their legacies diverge in texture: Diego Maradona is remembered as mercurial, Pavel Nedvěd as incisive. Context beyond the headline totals is important: Diego Maradona's landmark level arrived around 1986 with a career spanning Argentinos Juniors, Boca Juniors, Barcelona, Napoli, Sevilla, Newell's Old Boys; Pavel Nedvěd's came around 2003 across Dukla Prague, Sparta Prague, Lazio, Juventus. Each, in his own way, set a standard the other is measured against.
177 words · comparison angle: legacy
Player profiles
Argentine legend who almost single-handedly led Argentina to the 1986 World Cup and transformed Napoli into Italian and European contenders.
“A low-centre-of-gravity left-footed genius whose dribbling and playmaking carried teams single-handedly.”
Czech midfielder and 2003 Ballon d'Or winner; Serie A champion with Lazio and Juventus.
“A tireless attacking midfielder with explosive shooting from distance and endless running.”
Head-to-head stats
Career goals by season
Representative career seasons — goals per season for each player across their documented clubs.
Attribute radar
Attribute ratings are peak-era, 0–100. Different positions naturally skew the profile.
Attribute comparison
Trophy breakdown
- 1× FIFA World Cup (1986)
- 1× UEFA Cup (1989)
- 2× Serie A (1987, 1990)
- 1× Copa Italia (1987)
- 1× Argentine Primera División (1981)
- 1× UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (1999)
- 1× UEFA Super Cup (1999)
- 3× Serie A (2000, 2002, 2003)
- 2× Coppa Italia (1998, 2000)
- 2× Supercoppa Italiana (2002, 2003)
Trophy distribution
Career milestones
- 1976 Argentinos Juniors debut ten days before his 16th birthday
- 1981 Joined Boca Juniors and won the Argentine league
- 1982 World-record transfer to Barcelona
- 1984 Signed for Napoli for another world-record fee
- 1987 Led Napoli to their first ever Serie A title
- 1990 Captained Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup final
- 1997 Played his final professional matches at Boca Juniors
- 1991 Dukla Prague debut
- 1996 Joined Lazio
- 1999 Won the Cup Winners' Cup with Lazio
- 2001 Joined Juventus as Zidane's replacement
- 2003 Ballon d'Or winner, reached the Champions League final
- 2005 Stayed at Juventus in Serie B after Calciopoli
- 2009 Retired at Juventus
The verdict
If forced to pick, Pavel Nedvěd is the choice: a clear margin, with a weightier trophy cabinet the deciding factor.
Pavel Nedvěd edges it (a clear margin)
