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BUENOS AIRES: Few players dominated as much the spectacular as Diego Maradona. From impressive free kicks to sinuous dribbles, the Argentine, who died at the age of 60, scored some of the most famous and exciting goals in soccer history.
Here AFP Sport chooses five of the best of possibly the best footballer to ever play the game:
The ‘goal of the century’
The solo goal against which all solo goals will be evaluated. Named the “Goal of the Century” by FIFA in 2002, his high-speed slalom in Mexico in 1986 ended with the World Cup in England and solidified Maradona’s position as the best footballer in the world.
The goal surpasses others of its kind not only because of its impact, the setting, the specter of the Falklands War, and the fact that it came minutes after his notorious ‘Mano de Dios’ goal, but because of the efficiency of his execution.
Maradona barely strays from his way to goal the moment he spins free in midfield, with enough shoulder drops to embarrass England for the second time in five minutes.
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“Diego assures me that he wanted to pass me several times but there was always some obstacle that forced him to change his plans. Better,” forward Jorge Valdano said later, who followed Maradona on the pitch.
“But make no mistake, I am convinced that Diego was never going to release that ball. During those 10 seconds and 10 touches, he changed his mind hundreds of times because that is how the mind of the genius works in action.”
The ‘Divine free kick’ that conquered Naples
Nicknamed the “divine free kick” in Italy, Maradona’s iconic winning goal for Napoli in the November 1985 home clash with Juventus by reigning European champion Michel Platini was the one that created the Argentine legend. in Naples.
Standing on an indirect free kick well inside the penalty area, legend has it that Maradona asked midfielder Eraldo Pecci to roll the ball for a shot despite the proximity of the Juventus wall.
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With the Napoli players furious at their Juve counterparts for not taking a step back, Maradona simply said: “Don’t worry, I’ll score anyway.”
A quick touch from Pecci was all it took to launch a stupendous effort on a group of Juve players who were practically on their toes when he hit the ball and passed a tricked Stefano Tacconi into Juve’s goal.
“With this goal,” he wrote in 2017, “I conquered the hearts of the Neapolitans.”
‘El Pibe’ volleys Verona
There were more crucial goals among Maradona’s 115 for Napoli, but few matched the sheer indifference of his scandalous balloon in the 5-0 win by reigning Serie A champion Hellas Verona in October 1985.
Picking up a long pass with his back to goal on the left flank, Maradona turned around and saw his future teammate Giuliano Giuliani positioned too far to the left, just a few feet from his line.
Quick as lightning, and with the ball still bouncing, Maradona took a step and looped a shot toward the goal that faded gently off the left post when Giuliani realized, too late, that he was about to be humiliated. .
Deceived Belgium defeated
His world effort against England is rightly the goal everyone remembers, but his second of another double against Belgium in the semi-finals of the same World Cup in 1986 was almost as good.
Maradona celebrates after scoring in the 1986 World Cup semi-final against Belgium. (Photo: AFP / PERSONAL)
Picking up the ball on the edge of the midfield in the 63rd minute, having put Argentina a goal ahead, he advanced quickly and sent three Belgian defenders packing with a shimmy that allowed him to charge into the penalty area.
Having isolated right-back Eric Gerets with flat feet, he drags the ball and the defender to the left before cutting his shot back to goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff, who can only sit on his back when a fierce momentum passes his side and puts Maradona inside. touch away from the glory of the World Cup.
Destruction of the derby
A lifelong Boca Juniors fan, Maradona spent just a year and a half at his childhood club before leaving for Europe, but he quickly won the hearts of the fans of the Buenos Aires giants with his prodigious attacking game.
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In November 1981, Maradona lit up River Plate’s Monumental Stadium with a vision that took him to the top of the game, somehow scoring from a tight angle on the left flank with nothing and barely a hole to squeeze the ball.
The shot floated and flew past River and Argentina’s bewildered stopper Ubaldo Fillol, who in an omen of Giuliani’s desperation for Verona, ran in vain to his near post, but was defeated before even moving.
