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4 minutes that changed the world of football
Four minutes that changed the world of football
Almost everything has been said about Diego Maradona in thousands of tributes to the Argentine player who died this Wednesday.
Many believe that he was the best footballer in history and there is no doubt that he was a national hero, achieving God status in his homeland.
The debates about whether Maradona or Pelé were the greatest of that time are useless.
They were both extraordinarily gifted players, but they were very different people, with different abilities, and Maradona suffered far more problems off the field than Pelé.
Interestingly, Pelé was one of the first to pay tribute to Maradona, commenting: “I have lost a dear friend and the world has lost a legend.”
If you’ve been watching the news on television in the last few days, you’ve probably watched Maradona’s two goals in Argentina’s memorable 2-1 quarter-final defeat of England at the 1986 World Cup dozens of times.
That game in Mexico is probably one of the most famous in international football that was not a final.
There have been full articles in the Bangkok daily on Maradona’s colorful career, so let’s focus on that particular match.
It must be remembered that it took place only four years after the Falklands War and considerable tension still existed between the two countries.
Maradona has scored more than 300 goals in his career, but the two he scored against England on that tumultuous day in June have been arguably the most talked about in football history.
In the space of four minutes into the second half, he first scored what became known as the “Hand of God” goal, only to follow it with a sublime individual effort that many believe is the “Goal of the Century” in matches. of the World Cup. .
As unacceptable as the first goal was, the second was a beautiful thing, as Maradona scooped the ball up in his own half and slid through a certainly static English defense, leaving Peter Beardsley, Peter Reid, Terry Butcher and Terry Fenwick in its wake before firing. the ball passed to goalkeeper Peter Shilton.
These days he would probably be brought down for a “professional foul” long before he reached the penalty area.
Former England captain Bryan Robson even commented at the time: “Reidy [Peter Reid] He could have knocked him down midway if he had realized what was going to happen. But Reid didn’t know what magic Maradona was about to cast.
In fact, Maradona later praised the England team for their fair play and said other teams would have crushed him once he started running with the ball.
That was of little comfort to England, of course.
As frustrated as they were, even England’s players recognized the brilliance of the second goal.
Middle half Butcher commented: “I just couldn’t get close to him, all I saw was his number 10.”
Gary Lineker, who scored England’s goal in that game, said Maradona’s effort was the best he had seen.
He commented: “That was the first time that I almost applauded something the opposition had done in the field.”
Commenting on the game for Spanish listeners was the respected Uruguayan announcer Víctor Hugo Morales and it is worth repeating his exultant reaction to Maradona’s second goal. Here is an excerpt:
“There is Maradona with two men on top … he goes to the right flank. He still has it. Genius! Genius! Genius! … Goaaaaaaaal! Goaaaaaaaal!! It’s to cry … Maradona in a memorable race , the best play of all time. What planet do you come from to leave behind so many Englishmen? Thank God, for football, for Maradona for these tears, for Argentina 2 England 0. “
Tremendous things and the commentator was not even Argentine.
That match left England fans in a state of anguish and mental confusion.
They were furious with handball but could not deny the excellence of the second goal.
And deep down, they might even admit that Argentina was the best team of the day.
It is understandable that it takes a long time for England fans to get over the “Hand of God” incident, although of course it wasn’t the first or last time a player scored a goal with his hand.
Time is a good healer and while it still bothers some, the majority of English fans now accept that Maradona was a truly talented player.
Maradona went on to dominate matches around the world at both club and international level.
Almost single-handedly, he led a struggling Napoli to two incredible Italian league titles.
In doing so, he had to endure some horrible tackles. No wonder 60,000 fans showed up just to watch him train where he entertained the crowd with extraordinary displays of “keepy uppy”.
Maradona was a brilliant player and he definitely earned all the tributes that have been pouring in.
