Inspired by the Maradona thread I was thinking what is it that makes a truly great player - the very greatest - and I believe the one overriding skill is the ability to dribble and go past players,which is not only the most exciting skill, but can take 2/3 opponents out of the game.
Obviously there are many other skills and great defenders don't really need this, but when you think of all the truly great players they had this precious ability. It is a skill which is increasingly rare today. I suppose the better organisation and fitness makes it harder, but it seems to me to be a dying art. Although obviously Messi and Ronaldo have it.
But Maradona and George Best had it in spades, as did Ryan Giggs and Gazza (at his brief peak). I have never really seen clips of Pele doing this, although of course there is much less film of him. Now every player's spit is recorded it is difficult to compare players who appeared more often than not off film cameras. Even Best probably played more games off camera than on.
This is also something you never saw David Beckham do, which for me rules him out from being among the true greats. I admit he was one of the greatest dead ball specialists, but how often did he go past anyone, let alone take two or three players out with a fantastic dribble as Ryan Giggs could do?
There are other great players, notably Zidane, who could go past a man or take an opponent out with a fantastic turn rather than a speedy dribble, but they still had this ability to beat an opponent and take them out of the game. Cruyff had both the clever turns and the speedy dribbling skill (as did Best).
The other thing today, perhaps linked to the dying art of dribbling, is that so many players seem to be one footed, which limits their ability to go past people either side or play effectively on either side of the pitch. Again the true greats could play anywhere. When Willie Morgan arrived at Man U from Burnley in 67 or 68 Best had to move to the left wing from the right, not because Morgan was better, but because he wasn't.
This lack of two feet was one of the major factors that limited England in their 'golden generation' period. Four excellent midfielder players of similar age in Scholes, Beckham, Lampard and Gerard who should have dominated international football, but never truly gelled because they were all predominantly right footed. Indeed, I don't think England have had a truly decent left sided player since Martin Peters, or Bobby Charlton, who was two footed. Robson, Hoddle, Gazza again all right footed.
