Association football tactics and skills Contrast with the "hand" of Diego Maradona below. Potential of the two-man combination: Maradona's "Hand of God" goal – 1986. The example shown below, the first goal of Diego Maradona against England in 1986, is used to illustrate the potential of the move. Argentina utilised it frequently, being ideally suited to their crisp, quick, short passing style. As he had often done during the game, Maradona initiated the sequence with a quick dribbling run into the packed central area. Surrounded, he began a 2-man combo pass - slipping the ball to Jorge Valdano on the right, and then moving up
New Maradona also drawn comparisons to Maradona. Like Maradona, Messi is also an accurate set piece and penalty kick taker. With regard to his dribbling ability and ball control, Maradona has said of Messi: "The ball stays glued to his foot; I’ve seen great players in my career, but I’ve never seen anyone with Messi's ball control." Maradona has stated that he believes Messi to currently be the greatest player in the world. Although Messi is regarded as being a more offensive player for Barcelona, he has also played in a more similar position to Maradona, in particular for Argentina, where he