photo courtesy of huckconcept on flickr, more photos below
Date: 22 June 1986
Match Start: (Kick-Off): 12:00 CST
Venue: Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico.
Attendance: 114,580
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Result: Argentina 2 – 1 England
Goals: (ARG.) #10. Maradona 51′, 54′ (ENG.) #10. Lineker 80′
Bookings: (ARG.) #2.Batista (Yellow Card 60′) (ENG.) #14 .Fenwick (Yellow Card 9′)
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Referee: Ali Bin Nasser (Tunisia)
Linesman 1: Bogdan Dotchev (Bulgaria).
Bogdan has since criticised Nassers decision to allow Maradona’s first goal (Hand Of God), although he didn’t have the balls to speak up on the day.
Linesman 2: Berny Ulloa Morera (Costa Rica)
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Match Summary:
First Half
The first half was a tense world championship affair, with few real chances, arguably the best of which fell to the hard working Peter Beardsley in the 13th minute. Inside his own area, keeper Pumpido fumbled a Glenn Hoddle hit-and-hope which comically hit his legs and bounced to an animated Newcastle United attacker. Beardo stole the fumbled claim, gave himself a few yards, shimmied onto his left and rather than look for the incoming Lineker or Trevor Steven, and with Pumpido hopelessly out of position, curled one in with his left foot hitting the side netting. Noted that the goal was well covered by the retreating Argentinian defence and probably would have been cleared, but it was our best chance and showed that if we can put the Argentinian defence under even a little pressure, they might crack.. as they did late on with the introduction of more creative players.
Before the interval England struggled to create anything resembling attacking football, Hoddle was kept oppressively quiet, therefore the weight fell on Peter Reid’s energetic shoulders to have most of England’s midfield time on the ball, and as great a runner as the Everton man is, when it comes to pinging off offensive balls in a creative way, it is not really Reid you want with that oh-so precious time, having said that, he was the only one of England’s flat midfield that looked like they had any energy or wherewithal, Hodge, Trevor Steven, & Hoddle all receiving a closer examination and subsequently much less time to think about stringing an attacking move together. The Three Lions midfield was concentrating so much on the mini explosions that the little number ten and his cohorts were attempting to light, that they could not find any kind of A-game and create tangible links between themselves and our two attacking players, Lineker being an utterly peripheral figure in the first half, in terms of touches on the ball.
Bilardo’s fluid tactics seemed to perplex the opposition. As an opposition, when you see two supposed Centre-Backs, Cuciuffo & Ruggeri (part of a back three) effectively supporting attacking moves, it must really mess with what you set out to do. The Argentinian coach can do this because he plays three defensively minded players in midfield (Batista, Giusti & Ruggeri), with the latter two not being unafraid to bolster an attack as well as covering absent defenders. The South Americans started to control the game early on with their short sharp crisp, energy-conserving passing game and England were set out primarily as a unit to counter the ability of their opponents to give any space for Maradona’s running and freedom of expression. The worlds greatest footballer met some tough and unsporting resistance from the men in white shirts and light blue shorts, and Argentina were clever and keen enough to exploit the English fears of fouling him and not fouling him. After a typical offensive and getting-more-dangerous-by-every-second mazy run, Steve Hodge bit the bullet and clattered into the explosive number 10 from behind, giving away a free kick providing Diego Maradona his and his team’s best chance of the half. The set piece was just to the outside left of the penalty area arc and he lifted it clean over the poorly reacting English wall, looping two feet wide of a diving Peter Shilton’s left-side post, it might have gone in if it was on target, nice technique, decent shot, best chance they had in the first half, although not representative of the overall control the Albiceleste were exerting.
Just before the end of the half Terry Fenwick was punished for a blatant off-the-ball elbow, It was an easy yellow card decision and in modern times, if seen, it would have been a red, and rightly so. The dishonesty which still exists in the game (I’m writing this 24 years after this match) still needs to be challenged out at every opportunity. What is more dishonest I ask? a professional scoring a goal with his hand?, or a player elbowing in the face a fellow colleague?, for that is what they are, workmates. One begets another, the nippy little “cheats” such as the great Argentinian number ten do not see themselves as cheats any more than the average six-foot plus defensive enforcer see their-selves as cheats. The likes of Maradona reason that because they are continualy having their head’s stoved in by galoot’s like Fenwick, they will level it out by playing the diving/cheating/conning the ref card. Cheating is part of the game, and it should never be accepted. Cheating is a destructive element within the beautiful game and we need as a football supporting community to find acceptance that kicking the shit out of the nippy little players as well as conning the ref needs to become ethically unacceptable within the idea of football, even if that cheat is cheating to the benefit of your own teams advancement.
Towards the end of this half, you see gamesmanship from both England and Argentina, we have Fenwick elbowing Maradona, we see players kicking the ball away when its the oppositions ball, we see the conning of the Ref, we see a stop-Diego atmosphere developing, nothing, despite the history books implying otherwise, is written in stone, all bets are still off .
Second Half
Within a few minutes of the re-start Diego Maradona scored the more infamous of his brace. After England’s Steve Hodge lost possession on the left wing, Argentina made six clean passes into the opposing half, finding their captain just to the outside-left of the centre circle, Maradona looked up, dribbled 15 yards, dropped his right shoulder and wrong-footed the advancing Hoddle, leaving him like he has left so many, facing the opposite direction.
The Argentinian captain surged forward, this time leaving Peter Reid who was advancing from behind with no clear tackling opportunity. Next up was Terry Fenwick. Maradona is far too quick in mind and foot for this Londoner, he skips to the right of him still dribbling, the QPR man seeing no clear chance to cleanly intercept, fails to stop him (maybe he was still thinking about that elbow he got away with). The Napoli attacker now has Butcher and Sansom ahead of him but passes to Valdano taking England’s best defender, Terry Butcher, clean out of the move.
So far, so good, typically dangerous Maradona surge, Robson’s men having been pulled all over the shop, including both centre-backs who are now behind the rapidly advancing Napoli player. Maradona continue’s to sprint towards an offside position in hope of receiving a nice one-two.
Jorge Valdano mis-controls his Captains fizzed pass and it loops up a yard or two in the air, allowing the covering Hodge to get a touch on it. In a era when passing back to the Goaly was allowed, Hodge elects to do just that. Shilton is positioned in his own goal area, twenty yards over Hodge’s left shoulder. A dodgy choice in hindsight, the clever thing to do would have been to put his foot through it, some say it was a miscontrolled clearance, but Hodge has since confirmed it was a back-pass.
The ball is looping towards Shilton, and Maradona is running clear towards the Southampton goalkeeper, his eyes fixed on the ball, that famous brain working, computing the possibilities, realizing the chances of beating Shilton would be better if he used his hand. The start of the great charade, the grand illusion.
The wee enchanter runs past the penalty spot, steps twice and leaps on the third, Shilton is slow and big and is fixed in a superman pose, stretching with the right arm. Maradona, now suspended stretching in the Aztec Stadium sunshine, legs curled up behind him, lifts his left-arm over his head, fist clenched, palm facing upwards, a foot away from his own head and a foot away from Shiltons incoming fist, the hand connects gently with the ball, just enough to take it from the keepers touch, our Thespian twists his head then his body in mid air, faux body movements to look like they were of a player who had just glanced at the ball with head. Maradona lands and turns left on the ground and watches the ball bounce towards the empty net, before the ball crosses the line the little actor has his arms aloft looking the opposite direction towards the Tunisian referee Mr Nasser, who is already ignoring the quick appealing, arms in the air pleas of Fenwick & Shilton, blowing the whistle signalling a goal.
Maradona jumps on the spot, he’s going to play this one through to the end, he starts running towards the far side touchline via the corner of the box
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ARGENTINA
.
3~5~2 formation, or to be precise 3~5~1~1.
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Coach
.
Carlos Bilardo (appointed 1983)
“As they say, ‘You can argue, but when the man shows up with the World Cup, you shut your mouth’.”
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Defence
Goalkeeper #18 Nery Pumpido (River Plate)
.
.
.
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Central centre-back # 5: José Luis Brown (Nacional de Medellin in Columbia) ~“he was going through the best stage of his career, we revolved around him. There is no doubt about that.”
Right centre-back #9:José Luis Cuciuffo (Vélez Sársfield), died on 11 December 2004 due to a stomach wound from a hunting accident. R.I.P
Left centre-back #19: Oscar Ruggeri (River Plate)
.
.
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Midfield
Defensive midfield #2: Sergio Batista (Yellow Card 60′) (Argentinos Juniors)
.
Right-sided defensive midfield #14: Ricardo Giusti (Independiente)
.
Left-side defensive midfield #16: Julio Olarticoechea (Boca Juniors)
.
.
Midfield #12: Héctor Enrique (River Plate)
.
Attacking midfield #7: Jorge Burruchaga (FC Nantes) subbed 75th minute for Tapia.
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Midfield/Attack/Free Role
. “It was my hand. I couldn’t reach the ball and Shilton was already there. I couldn’t head it so I did like that [motions] and moved my head back. I go out shouting ‘goal’ and look behind to see if the referee took the bait and he had. It was a goal.”
Attacking free-role, build-the-team-around-him midfielder #10: Diego Maradona (Captain) (Napoli)
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Attacking
Centre Forward #11: Jorge Valdano (Real Madrid)
“The team was based on a very solid architecture and, in the midst, a genius who was granted the privilege of freedom,”
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Substitute
.
.
Midfield #21: Carlos Tapia. (Boca Juniors) 75th minute substitute for Jorge Burruchaga.
Forward Centre #1 Sergio Almiron (Newells)
No. |
Pos. |
Player |
DoB/Age |
Caps |
Club |
1 |
FW |
Sergio Almirón |
18 November 1958 (aged 27) |
|
Newell’s Old Boys |
2 |
MF |
Sergio Batista |
9 November 1962 (aged 23) |
|
Argentinos Juniors |
3 |
MF |
Ricardo Bochini |
25 January 1954 (aged 32) |
|
Independiente |
4 |
MF |
Claudio Borghi |
28 September 1964 (aged 21) |
|
Argentinos Juniors |
5 |
DF |
José Luis Brown |
10 November 1956 (aged 29) |
|
Atletico Nacional |
6 |
DF |
Daniel Passarella |
25 May 1953 (aged 33) |
|
Fiorentina |
7 |
MF |
Jorge Burruchaga |
9 October 1962 (aged 23) |
|
Nantes |
8 |
DF |
Néstor Clausen |
29 September 1962 (aged 23) |
|
Independiente |
9 |
DF |
José Luis Cuciuffo |
1 February 1961 (aged 25) |
|
Vélez Sársfield |
10 |
MF |
Diego Maradona |
30 October 1960 (aged 25) |
|
Napoli |
11 |
FW |
Jorge Valdano |
4 October 1955 (aged 30) |
|
Real Madrid |
12 |
MF |
Héctor Enrique |
26 April 1962 (aged 24) |
|
River Plate |
13 |
DF |
Oscar Garré |
9 December 1956 (aged 29) |
|
Ferro Carril Oeste |
14 |
MF |
Ricardo Giusti |
11 December 1956 (aged 29) |
|
Independiente |
15 |
GK |
Luis Islas |
22 December 1965 (aged 20) |
|
Estudiantes La Plata |
16 |
DF |
Julio Olarticoechea |
18 October 1958 (aged 27) |
|
Boca Juniors |
17 |
FW |
Pedro Pasculli |
17 May 1960 (aged 26) |
|
Lecce |
18 |
GK |
Nery Pumpido |
30 July 1957 (aged 28) |
|
River Plate |
19 |
DF |
Oscar Ruggeri |
26 January 1962 (aged 24) |
|
River Plate |
20 |
MF |
Carlos Tapia |
20 August 1962 (aged 23) |
|
Boca Juniors |
21 |
MF |
Marcelo Trobbiani |
17 February 1955 (aged 31) |
|
Elche |
22 |
GK |
Héctor Zelada |
30 April 1957 (aged 29) |
|
América |
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ENGLAND
.
4~4~2 formation (defacto 4~4~1~1)
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Manager:
Bobby Robson.
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Defence
Goalkeeper #1 Peter Shilton (Captain) (Southampton)
In 2010, Asked whether he would shake the hand of the then Argentine national coach, Shilton, 60, said: “No, not now. In 2005, he admitted to having deliberately handled the ball, and said he knew at the time that the goal shouldn’t have stood. However, he is still not willing to apologise for what he did.”
“When offered the work on television with him, I said that I would be prepared to work with him, if he apologised for what happened, and offered a handshake. He refused, and it’s disappointing, really. That was our shot at a semi-final, and his cheating cost us.”
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Right-Back 2.Gary Stevens (Everton)
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Left-Back #3 Kenny Sansom (Arsenal)
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.
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Centre-Back 14 Terry Fenwick (Yellow Card 9′) (Queens Park Rangers/QPR)
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Center-Back 6 Terry Butcher (Ipswich to Glasgow Rangers)
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Midfield
Midfield #4 Glenn Hoddle (Tottenham Hotspur)
.
.
Midfield #16 Peter Reid, (Everton) (subbed in the 64th min. for attacking Midfielder #11 Chris Waddle (Tottenham Hotspur)
.
Right-sided Midfielder #17 Trevor Steven, (Everton), subbed in the 74th min for left-sided attacking midfielder #19 John Barnes (Watford)
Left-sided Midfielder #18 Steve Hodge (Tottenham Hotspur)
“Looking back I wonder what I was doing on the edge of our own box. The ball spun just perfectly for me and I wanted to knock it back to Shilton. I caught it perfectly and turned round thinking “That will be Shilton’s.” I hadn’t seen Maradona run into the box. There shouldn’t have been anyone near Shilton. As I watched, the ball somehow looped over Shilton and I was thinking “Jesus have I made a mistake there?” I hadn’t seen Maradona’s hand at all, but I knew something was wrong because the ball just bobbled into the net. I hadn’t seen a hand of God. The linesman should have had the best view but in his defence, I was just a few feet away and I didn’t see Maradona handle it.
After the final whistle a couple of players wanted Maradona’s shirt. I didn’t think about it, I just wanted to get off the pitch. I just happened to be walking down our tunnel as Maradona came along the Argentinian tunnel. I tugged at my shirt. He nodded and so I did, it was pure chance. I just kept quiet and put his shirt in my bag.
and
“It doesn’t rankle because it was the biggest game in my life. It happened, I wouldn’t change it. I have seen that goal hundreds of times. Looking at it now, it was a risky back pass but if I was back there again I would have done the same.
“I did not have too much bad press, Peter Shilton got most of the wrap. It was unfair on him. I would always blame the linesman. Still it shows the current players how everything is intensified at this level — there is nothing bigger than the World Cup.
“When I think of Maradona now, primarily I think of his handball and how wrong it was but I think what a talent he was as well. That’s why that shirt is so famous, it encapsulated his character. The sly cheater and the brilliant artist all in five minutes.
“As a footballer watching him, he was a cut above all the rest. I was thankful for being put on the same pitch with him even though it cost me a World Cup Final place. Sometimes people will look to cheat in the hope they get away with it and I’m sure the same will happen during this tournament. It’s always been there and always will be.”
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Attack
Attacking Forward #20 Peter Beardsley (Newcastle United)
.
.
Striker #10 Gary Lineker (Everton)
Before the 2006 World Cup, Lineker went to Argentina to meet Maradona. Lineker claims there was no awkwardness when the pair finally met – they hugged straight away and Maradona said, “Nice to meet you, old friend.” When they shook hands, Lineker joked, “Was that the hand?” referring to Maradona’s Hand of God goal. Maradona immediately replied, “No – it was the left.”
The 1986 World Cup Golden Boot winner said: “What can I say about Maradona, the man is a football genius. His solo effort against us was the one and only time in my whole career I felt like applauding the opposition scoring a goal. He showed some amazing individual skill.”
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Substitutes
Attacking Midfielder #11 Chris Waddle (Tottenham Hotspur) 64’th minute substitute for #16 Peter Reid.
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Left-sided attacking Midfield #19 John Barnes (Watford) 74th min. substitute for #17 Trevor Steven,
No. |
Pos. |
Player |
DoB/Age |
Caps |
Club |
1 |
GK |
Peter Shilton |
18 September 1949 (aged 36) |
|
Southampton |
2 |
DF |
Gary Stevens |
27 March 1963 (aged 23) |
|
Everton |
3 |
DF |
Kenny Sansom |
26 September 1958 (aged 27) |
|
Arsenal |
4 |
MF |
Glenn Hoddle |
27 October 1957 (aged 28) |
|
Tottenham Hotspur |
5 |
DF |
Alvin Martin |
29 July 1958 (aged 27) |
|
West Ham United |
6 |
DF |
Terry Butcher |
28 December 1958 (aged 27) |
|
Ipswich Town |
7 |
MF |
Bryan Robson |
11 January 1957 (aged 29) |
|
Manchester United |
8 |
MF |
Ray Wilkins |
14 September 1956 (aged 29) |
|
Milan |
9 |
FW |
Mark Hateley |
7 November 1961 (aged 24) |
|
Milan |
10 |
FW |
Gary Lineker |
30 November 1960 (aged 25) |
|
Everton |
11 |
MF |
Chris Waddle |
14 December 1960 (aged 25) |
|
Tottenham Hotspur |
12 |
DF |
Viv Anderson |
29 August 1956 (aged 29) |
|
Arsenal |
13 |
GK |
Chris Woods |
14 November 1959 (aged 26) |
|
Norwich City |
14 |
DF |
Terry Fenwick |
17 November 1959 (aged 26) |
|
Queens Park Rangers |
15 |
DF |
Gary A. Stevens |
30 March 1962 (aged 24) |
|
Tottenham Hotspur |
16 |
MF |
Peter Reid |
20 June 1956 (aged 29) |
|
Everton |
17 |
MF |
Trevor Steven |
21 September 1963 (aged 22) |
|
Everton |
18 |
MF |
Steve Hodge |
25 October 1962 (aged 23) |
|
Aston Villa |
19 |
MF |
John Barnes |
7 November 1963 (aged 22) |
|
Watford |
20 |
FW |
Peter Beardsley |
18 January 1961 (aged 25) |
|
Newcastle United |
21 |
FW |
Kerry Dixon |
24 July 1961 (aged 24) |
|
Chelsea |
22 |
GK |
Gary Bailey |
9 August 1958 (aged 27) |
|
Manchester United |
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And some photos I borrowed…
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The Hand Of God. . .
from wikipedia..
Maradona later said, “I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me, and no one came… I told them, ‘Come hug me, or the referee isn’t going to allow it.’
At the post-game press conference, Maradona claimed that the goal was scored “un poco con la cabeza de Maradona y otro poco con la mano de Dios” (“a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”), coining the phrase “Hand of God”. Video and photographic evidence demonstrated that he had struck the ball with his hand, which was shown on television networks and in newspapers all over the world, with England manager Bobby Robson stating instead that it was ‘the hand of a rascal.’
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“You have to say that’s magnificent.”
The BBC commentator Barry Davies, on Diego Maradona’s second “Goal Of The Century“goal for Argentina against England in the 1986 World Cup, minutes after his controversial handballed goal.
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…and some others.
‘
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I remember watching some footage before the World Cup, he was scoring some weird goal for Napoli, Greavsie said something like “look what we might have to face” and I shivered, knowing even then we lacked someone with thattype of character, a superman if you will, someone who would shape the future in his image.
So, as an Englishman what does Diego Maradona mean to me now?. My first impression was a childish opinion, my 11-year-old self did not know that theHand-Of-God game would drag the England Football team to the centre of one the most infamous matches in sport history, I never realised how lucky I was to have Maradona sticking it up us.
I watched powerless as the little number ten 10 our giant number 1 to the ball, and watched hopeless as the ball bounced into the net, he peeled away, something was not right, I saw, then felt it, the award-winning act, the shit eating grin, the beckoning over of his somewhat stationary slightly nonplussed what-do-we-do-now? teammates to plump the performance up, really sell it to the ref and the crowd. I did not see the hand at the time, the players were the only ones doubly sure, I saw Fenwick holding his arm running after the referee, our boys just don’t act like that unless they mean it. The reaction by our team was obvious it was hand-ball. The immediate T.V. replays seemingly made nothing clear to this young man other than
something shifty had gone on – and that it was an irreversible goal. At the time and for many years I could not forgive Maradona for that first goal or Argentina’s cheeky picking of our pockets, I never saw it as legitimate. I had no context to put this into, it was my first summer of playing football, it was in the summer between junior school and high school, it was my first fullworld cup, a peak for my fanaticism, a full Mexico 86′ sticker album, my indoctrination into the history of the game and my country’s part in it.
The country knew for sure the next morning, all the papers had that photo (below) on the front page as large as the paper itself, like a declaration of war, unbelievable!, it was like finding out a magicians secret. The level of indignation we all felt was unifying, it gave us a glorious smug defeat. The picture of that Argentinian Artful Dodger reaching for the sky, left arm above head, knees bent (eyes closed as if to make the lie that bit more believable for himself) and Peter Shilton with his Superman charade was stuck on the wall above the stairs for a few months afterwards. I wanted and needed revenge, the anger and the hate taught me a good lesson for when revenge came with Maradona’s later misgivings in his career and in his private life, it didn’t feel good, it felt like the world was taking the piss out one of my childhood memories, someone who shaped the world in his image.. stay away from him .. leave him alone.. you aint fit to talk about him in that way you fucking scumbag giggling square boring cock sucks.When Maradona scored the ‘Goal Of The Century‘ second goal, in his and his country’s mind, he was making up for the cheekyness of the first. He blew us away, he was never gonna be remembered just for that hand ball never. By pure force of will he swept past our boys with the ball stuck to his toe with a short piece of elastic. I and my country and our players were the victim of the closest thing to a supernatural presence I have witnessed, an immovable unbeatable force, just pack up admit defeat and go home. Robson’s England didn’t give up though, they made a fine fist of it after John Barnes came on, and Lineker (What a dull BBC pious bore he’s turned out to be) got his golden boot with ten minutes to spare to make it 2-1, and should have scored an equalizer (how did he not?). I cried when we lost I’m sure.
The Boy me had no understanding of any political background surrounding the game, barely understood anything about the Falklands War (Guerra de las Malvinas/Guerra del Atlántico Sur).. never understood what it meant to a people to lose a war (almost a thousand dead on both sides), I never understood that the way the Argies beat us must have been so much sweeter for them. Not only did they (he) thumb they’re noses at us with a stolen goal, but they (he) scored ‘The Goal Of The Century’ too, just to prove how superior they were to us (at least on the football pitch). Respect you know? Hats off and that
yes I “get” it now.
Now I sit here as a soon-to-be 35-year-old man I look back and admire Diego so much. To all those pricks under the age of 45 who say Pele was the greatest?, well they’re immediately chatting SHIT, they never would have experienced the peak Pele, they’re just saying what they’re told to say by they’re daddies or by the idiotic press. I want some of my heroes to be crazy, flawed genius, prostitute-fucking, coke-snorting, mafia-associated, opinionated-shit kickers, and when I see a fat Maradona or a Diego with health problems, I just want to sit with him and have him laugh and tell me all the crazy shit he got up to over the years…
and thank him.
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