Mexico 1986 | Quarter-finals Estadio Azteca, Mexico City Attendance: 114,580
A 17-year-old Maradona had cried under a tree after being left out of Cesar Luis Menotti’s squad for the 1978 World Cup. He’d flickered his inimitable genius at Spain 1982, but was brutally marked out of the game by Italy hatchet man Claudio Gentile and sent off against Brazil as Argentina fell at the second group stage. Maradona went into Mexico 1986 at the peak of his preposterous powers, and registered a goal and four assists in four games as Argentina reached the last eight.
There was significant hostility between the nations. England coach Alf Ramsey had branded the Argentinians “animals” after a riotous clash at the 1966 FIFA World Cup™, sparking outrage in the South American nation, while the Falklands War was fresh in the memory. Maradona declined to disguise his disdain for the English, who he’d been on the losing side against in a 1980 friendly. Carlos Bilardo’s tactics were as clear as is Quartz crystals: get the ball to the No10. So, too, were Bobby Robson’s. The England manager had unusually declared that “Argentina would have no chance of winning the World Cup without Maradona”. It was all about nullifying one man.
Maradona began terrorising England with his otherworldly skills from the get-go. He left Englishmen on the Azteca grass, set up chances and drew fouls – a staggering six before the break, one of which resulted in Terry Fenwick going in the book. The 26-year-old picked up where he left off upon the restart and, within four minutes, scored two of the most unforgettable goals in World Cup history – one with the “hand of God” and the other with the feet of some other supreme being. England suddenly came into the game and got one back through a Gary Lineker header. Directly from the restart, Maradona befuddled three adversaries with a breathtaking 360° turn, retained possession under pressure from another two and freed Carlos Tapia, who cracked the post. It mattered not. Maradona had cracked England in what many regarded as the greatest individual exhibition ever witnessed on football’s grandest stage.
“It was a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God.” Diego Maradona post-game on his first goal “I was waiting for my team-mates to embrace me, but no-one came! I screamed at them, ‘Come and hug me or the referee isn’t going to allow it’. It was a nice feeling to score that goal, some sort of symbolic revenge against the English.” Diego Maradona
“Maradona on the ball now. Two closing him down. Maradona rolls his foot over the ball and breaks away down the right, the genius of world football. He goes past a third, looks for Burruchaga. Maradona forever! Genius! Genius! Genius! He’s still going… Gooooal! Sorry, I want to cry! Good God! Long live football! What a goal! A memorable run from Maradona. The greatest solo goal of all time. Cosmic Kite, which planet did you come from?” Victor Hugo Morales’ commentary of ‘The Goal of the Century’
“I was just mesmerised watching him play, transfixed. I’ve never seen anyone do what Maradona did. He scared absolutely everybody! You couldn’t play against him. You couldn’t stop him. He could do everything. He was head and shoulders above anyone else in the world ever.” John Barnes
“At first, I went along with him. Then I realised I was just another spectator. It was his goal and had nothing to do with the team. It was Diego’s personal adventure, one that was totally spectacular.” Jorge Valdano on ‘The Goal of the Century’ “When Diego scored that second goal against us, I felt like applauding. It was impossible to score such a beautiful goal. He’s the greatest player of all time – by a long way. A genuine phenomenon.” Gary Lineker
“It felt like stealing an Englishman’s wallet.” Diego Maradona on Argentina’s victory
Anticipating the searing heat in Mexico, the AFA had ordered Argentina’s blue-and-white-striped shirts to be made out of Aertex, a lightweight fabric with tiny holes for added ventilation. They had not, however, anticipated needing to play in their second-choice jerseys, which were made out of cotton. They struggled in them against Uruguay in the last 16 and, when it was determined, on the eve of the game, they would have to wear dark blue against England, Bilardo ordered a member of his backroom staff to hurriedly find some suitable ones on the streets of Mexico City. Ruben Moschella duly bought two sets of shirts from a sports’ shop, which they were deliberating between when Maradona walked in. “That’s a nice jersey,” he said pointing to one. “We’ll beat England in that.” Hastily-designed makeshift AFA badges were then sewn on, while silvery, American Football-style shirt numbers were ironed on to the shirts, in which Argentina did just as Maradona predicted they would.
As a boy, Shilton worried he was too short to become a goalkeeper. He would, therefore, spend hours hanging for a stair banister in his parents’ grocery store in order to stretch his arms and body. Shilton duly sprouted to become 1.83m. Another few centimetres and he would have fisted the ball away before Maradona punched it home.
A statue of Maradona scoring ‘The Goal of the Century’ stands outside the Estadio Azteca.
England midfielder Steve Hodge swapped shirts with Maradona in the tunnel post-match. In 2022, he sold it via Sotheby’s for $9.2 million, a record for an item for sport memorabilia.
Sources: FIFA Official
