Diego Maradona’s departure made the world of football lose. The Argentinian phenomenon is known not only as the best player in history, but also for the ‘Hand of God’ goal.
The goal occurred when Argentina met England in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup. At that time Argentina won 2-1.
In 51 minutes, Argentina opened the scoring through the controversial goal of the owner’s full name Diego Armando Maradona Franco.
The goal stems from Maradona’s one-two bait then followed by Jorge Valdano’s kick which leads to the English penalty box. Unintentionally the wild ball was forwarded by the England defender to bounce into his own goal.
Maradona ran after the ball and then jumped. Everyone assumed that Peter Shilton, who was then the Three Lions’ mainstay goalkeeper, would win the aerial duel against Maradona, because he was taller than El Pibe de Oro.
Unexpectedly, Maradona cleverly punched the ball with his hands to win the aerial duel with Shilton. The ball falls and rolls into the goal. Tunisian referee Bin Naser approved the goal.
Maradona once revealed the story behind the ‘Hand of God’ goal incident which had not been revealed so far.
After scoring the first goal against England in that match, Maradona let out his anger and yelled at his teammate, Sergio Batista, during the celebration.
Maradona wanted his team-mates not to appear hesitant during the celebration to convince the referee that his taboo goal was legitimate. The reason was, he was well aware that Bin Nasser was in a position that was not ideal for monitoring the incident.
“Jorge Valdano also told me [at the match] that it was actually handball. I said: ‘I’ll tell you after the game. So, stop fussing on my goal!'” Said Maradona.
Maradona himself admitted that the goal was not a coincidence. He has studied the English type of play, especially in defense.
“When Kenny Sansom gave me the ‘free’ ball, I was already expecting what he would do. He will definitely make a back pass to the goalkeeper.”
The referee did not see that Maradona was using his left hand to score a goal. But in the reruns of the video footage, it was clear that Maradona touched the ball with his hands.
“I met [referee] Ali Bin Nasser, several times in Dubai. He told me the linesman saw him score and he also did not see handball.”
Not only the Hand of God goal, Maradona’s second goal against England three minutes later also shocked the entire stadium. He managed to prove his class with a solo run to score Argentina’s second goal.
Maradona brought the ball from the middle of the field, past four English players and darted into the penalty box. Peter Shilton tries to block Maradona’s action but fails to stop the ball from lodging in the net.
Maradona’s second goal against England is often cited as the best solo goal. The status was legally predicated as the ‘goal of the century’ in 2002.
Maradona’s God’s Hand Goal and the ‘goal of the century’ is 34 years old. The two goals that made Maradona’s name still so popular to this day even when he has closed his eyes forever.
Maradona died at the age of 60. He died of a heart attack, just three weeks after undergoing brain surgery.
