Maradona was the greatest ever player.
Anyone who says any different hasn't played football with a hangover.
The fact that Maradona was able to dabble in all sorts of substance abuse and still play as he did, is a testament to his brilliance and god like talent.
The Cavan players will come up against an equivalent number of Maradona equivalents this weekend.
They will have to be ready for war, akin to the performance against Donegal, only this war will be much worse and much more 'bloody'.
I expect Dublin to win – to think otherwise has no logical basis.
I operate in a day to day environment of numbers, ratios and algorithms.
Sometimes in sport, there is no logic or algorithm to explain away a result.
Such as Cavan's against Donegal.
That result comes down to the very basic forms of survival, were the strong survive.
A throw-back to an age were gladiatorial battles were about living and dying.
On that Ulster final day, Cavan fought and won.
And Cavan should also take a bit of confidence in the fact that it wasn't all about 'the fight', the team showed that there is skill and panache in their armoury.
Dublin are a different animal though.
Cavan will be playing on a field they have only dreamed of playing on since players first lifted a ball.
The famous Hogan Stand, Hill 16, it is a great pity that fans will not pack the stadium out on such an occasion, particularly from the Cavan side.
And when you win on it, there is genuinely no better feeling – when things are going well, it is the best place to be on earth.
When things are going well!
The stadium though may as well encapsulate a battle field if a team has a run on you, a place where space is plentiful when you don't have the ball and there is no hiding place.
I have experienced a few sobering moments at Croker, too many actually when compared to the better days.
Cavan are not just going into the lion's den here, it's a lion pit andthey are going to a place where Dublin haven't been beaten in a championship game since 2014.
Just think about that.
Heading into 2021 and Brian Fenton has yet to lose a championship game.
If Fenton were to ever to lose a game it would inevitably alter his personality and he may need counselling.
So Cavan's Ulster final achievements, while admirable and richly deserved will have no sentimental impact on this Dublin team.
Kilkenny, arguably Dublin's most influential forward, will need to be almost double marked.
He is the conductor of the orchestra, supplying Con O'Callaghan and Dean Rock with the necessary possession to do what they do best.
Dublin will look to put away Cavan early and if Cavan are to stand any chance of remaining in this game, they must narrow their defensive unit considerably and force Dublin wide, even, dare I say it, give up a point from the side-line if need be and put it down to their brilliance.
The problem is that this Dublin team still find a way to sneak a goal or two and are prepared to take on those shots from difficult angles, because they have the players to execute them.
Death by a thousand cuts.
On the flip side, if Cavan get a goal chance (as Meath did in the first five minutes of the Leinster final) they must take it.
Should Cavan leave goal chances behind, given Dublin's insatiable desire to keep attacking the opposition, in quick succession they will rattle of five or six scores before you have time to gather yourself.
What Jim McGuinness did was really quite remarkable when you think about that particular game, all those years ago.
He identified weaknesses behind Dublin's defence when they pressed a kick-out.
And Donegal ruthlessly took their goal chances.
But weaknesses in this Dublin side?
I'm not so sure they have many.
I would like to see Cavan's long direct kick passing tactic test the Dublin full-back, however landing a ball accurately in the confines of the Athletic Grounds as opposed to the Jones Road is an altogether different proposition.
Both Galligan and Madden will have spells at full forward, but again Dublin have seen this tactic played out a few times over the years so Cluxton and co will be expected to deal with this by punching it clear or mopping up the break-ball.
It is difficult to see how Cavan can trade blows with this Dublin side and come out as victor.
Given the season in it, Cavan will have seen an Ulster title as a brilliant year.
So it is bonus territory in a way and yes they will go to get a result against Dublin.
It doesn't have to be a foregone conclusion, but history has a way of repeating itself.
With the best will in the world, better equipped teams have left Ulsterin the last decade, confident of beating the 'Dubs' only to be sent home with their tails between their legs.
And I go back to this idea of sentiment.
Dublin are so far ahead in terms of player preparation when they come into a Dublin panel, that those marginal gains within an elite environment propel them to an altogether different level to all other inter-county players.
And unfortunately this 'monster' the GAA have been feeding for over fifteen years now is too big to fail.
Thereis shadow over the Association, and this shadow is Dublin, with its constant conveyor belt of talent and winning teams.
To be honest, in a way, this is not the current Dublin team's fault either, as they are doing exactly what any brilliant team does.
Re-inventing itself and introducing new talent constantly.
When we see the chronic underfunding of the Gaelic Ladies Association (a mere '700,000 last year) when compared to Dublin's annual team budget, when you factor in the '16m euro Dublin GAA have received over 15 years from Croke Park when compared to all other counties, it doesn't take a mathematician to work out what the Championship has become.
Counties such as Cavan and Tipperary are fairy tales in an otherwise very predictable landscape.
A Dublin Mayo final for me, with the inevitable stories of curse that follow.
But in the end, it's the Monster, its Dublin and I see no way of Cavan winning this game.
