Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, second left, passes goalkeeper Luis Garcia, left, on his way to scoring from a narrow angle in the 29th minute at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, in this Wednesday, April 18, 2007 file photo.[AP]

LONDON - Lionel Messi's spectacular goal for FC Barcelona brought back memories of just how good Diego Maradona used to be.

Fighting a cocaine habit and weight problems for a long time, the 46-year-old former Argentine captain has twice been admitted to a hospital in the last few weeks and was moved to a private psychiatric clinic Saturday to treat alcohol addiction.

But no matter how bad it gets, no matter how many demons he fails to control, soccer fans will still remember Maradona's greatness on the soccer field.

In 1986, when Maradona led Argentina to its second World Cup title, he scored two of soccer's most memorable goals against England in the quarterfinals.

The first was the "Hand of God" goal, in which the diminutive Maradona jumped with England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and punched the ball into the net.

The sleight of hand gave Argentina a 1-0 lead, but the real magic came four minutes later with a goal that was voted the greatest of the 20th century.

Maradona received the ball in his own half, ran through a pair of England players and sprinted toward the opposing goal. He beat two more opponents, fought off another and faked Shilton before shooting the ball into the net.

"You have to say that's magnificent," BBC commentator Barry Davies said after that goal.

It was, and it was matched by the 19-year-old Messi on Wednesday.

Barcelona was playing Getafe in the semifinals of the Copa de Rey, and Messi was in nearly the same spot on his team's side of the field when he received a pass from Xavi Hernandez.

The current Argentina forward ¡ª this may sound familiar ¡ª ran through a pair of Getafe players and sprinted toward the opposing goal. He beat two more opponents, fought off another and faked the Getafe goalkeeper before shooting the ball into the net.

It was another magnificent goal, and it brought the inevitable comparisons to Maradona.

"It's true that it is very like Diego Armando Maradona's, but I think Messi accelerated even faster," Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard said.

Getafe coach Bernd Schuster came up with the same thought that millions of England fans have expressed over and over for the last 21 years.

"We should have fouled him," Schuster said.

But the best thing about all the talk ¡ª and the videos of the goals being watched on the Internet ¡ª is that it gives soccer fans a chance to remember Maradona for his skill rather than his lack of self-control.

Besides that 1986 title, Maradona also led Argentina to the 1990 World Cup final, and helped Napoli win its only two Serie A titles. Maradona played for the Italian club from 1984-91 and also helped it win the UEFA Cup and the Italian Cup.

In international soccer, Maradona scored 34 goals in 91 appearances for Argentina from 1977-94. He last played for the national team at the World Cup in the United States, where he failed a doping test and was sent home after two games. Argentina advanced from the first round but then lost to Romania in the second.

Maradona, who also played for Barcelona, retired from soccer in 1997, and Napoli retired his No. 10 jersey in 2000. He and Pele were co-honored as soccer's greatest player that year.

Messi isn't quite at that level yet, but he's still only a teenager and already has matched Maradona's under-20 world title in 1979 by helping Argentina win another in 2005.

In club soccer, Messi has helped Barcelona win the last two Spanish league titles and the Champions League in 2006. Barcelona is also in first place in the league this year, though it was eliminated from the Champions League in the second round.

But regardless of titles and championships and awards, Wednesday's goal will link Messi with Maradona ¡ª even if Messi achieves nothing else in his career.

"It's impossible not to compare Messi's goal with Maradona's, but the comparison doesn't turn Messi into Maradona," said former Argentina international Jorge Valdano, who played with Maradona in 1986.

Hopefully for Messi, he'll win the titles and score the goals ¡ª and not turn into Maradona off the field.