“I was there: I saw the ‘hand of God’ and Maradona’s ‘goal of the century’ in the World Cup that Argentina won 40 years ago”
Image supply, The Graphic Archive/Getty Images
It was my first soccer sport. I had by no means been to a stadium and I wasn’t even in that sport, however by a stroke of luck I ended up seeing Diego Armando Maradona rating two of the most well-known targets in the historical past of soccer for England.
It occurred 40 years in the past. The World Cup was being performed in Mexico and we had been all excited as a result of the workforce, led by Hugo Sánchez, had reached the quarterfinals, the place they misplaced with honors on penalties in opposition to the highly effective West Germany.
Even so, I by no means imagined that I would see a Copa match, a lot much less in the historic Azteca Stadium.
On the morning of June 22, 1986, my dad referred to as us to say that a buddy had given him two tickets that he was not going to make use of. Everything was final minute, however my mother determined to take me so I may “live the experience.”
I was 17 years previous and I was excited, however not as a result of of the soccer, however as a result of it was the alternative to see many good-looking boys from throughout the world. I received prepared as if I had been going to a celebration: make-up and the complete present. My mother mentioned I was exaggerating, however she let me go anyway.
The Azteca Stadium was very distant, so we left early. From the Periférico you can really feel the environment: vehicles with flags, open home windows, individuals shouting cheers from one automobile to a different.
The humorous factor was that all of us shouted: “Long live Mexico!”, though the workforce was not in the competitors.
Image supply, Lourdes Heredia
Maradona, the villain
When we arrived, it appeared like an enormous social gathering. There had been chavas (women) portray flags on their cheeks and I instantly requested them to color one for me. I haven’t any photographs from that day and, of course, there have been no cell telephones both.
Our seats had been proper in the center of the stadium, which was excellent as a result of there have been individuals from throughout, talking a thousand completely different languages. I had at all times dreamed of touring and that made it much more particular.
When the sport began, I was barely following what was taking place on the subject. I was extra conscious of the Mexican wave, of the rhythm of the public. Furthermore, the first half ended 0 to 0.
But 6 minutes into the second half, every part modified.
Suddenly, the whole stadium stood up. For a second there was celebration… and then confusion, arguments, noise rising in completely different instructions.
Maradona had jumped to battle a excessive ball with Peter Shilton: the English goalkeeper went to reject it along with his closed fist and the Argentine went to assault along with his head… and his hand.
The episode would go down in historical past as the “hand of God”, however that day, inside the stadium, individuals debated: had it been with the head or with the hand?
Image supply, Laura Lezza/Getty Images)
The English protested furiously. The Argentinians, Mexicans and Latinos round me defended the 10.
At that time the reminiscence of the Malvinas/Falklands War was nonetheless very current, when in 1982 the Argentine navy landed on the islands to assert their sovereignty.
During the 74 days that that battle lasted, 649 Argentine troopers and 255 British troopers died, in addition to 3 inhabitants of the islands.
Therefore, on and off the subject, that Argentina versus England felt greater than a easy soccer match.
But I was nonetheless removed from being a journalist and I half understood the soccer dialogue and the geopolitical background, much more so amid a lot chaos.
Next to me, a person in a go well with—most likely escaped from the workplace—defined to me the sports activities factor: Maradona hit the ball along with his hand, however the referee did not see it and declared the objective legitimate.
The dialogue was so intense in the stands that, 4 minutes later, we virtually missed the second objective.
And that’s the one that actually caught with me.
“This is why people love football”
Unlike the first, the whole stadium fell silent when the play started.
Maradona superior with the ball with virtually not possible precision, avoiding 4 English gamers. Shilton himself fell right into a sitting place attributable to a feint.
And then, abruptly, the ball in the again of the internet. The stadium exploded.
I keep in mind pondering: “This is why people love football.”
Image supply, AFP through Getty Images
I seemed round and was stunned to see that even some English individuals had been celebrating. It was not possible to not do it.
Years later, Maradona would say the well-known phrase: “The ball does not get stained”, which is up to now the greatest method to clarify this obvious contradiction taking place just some minutes aside.
When the sport ended—with the Argentine victory 2 to 1—my mom and I walked to the automobile in the center of the bustle, consuming tacos and fruit with chili and lemon.
Years later I understood that I had witnessed a historic episode. I by no means stopped being obsessed with soccer, however that day it stayed with me.
When I later lived and labored for the BBC as a correspondent in Buenos Aires, the “hand of God” was a continuing theme, talked about primarily by Argentines in comparison with my English colleagues.
But I at all times thought that the really unforgettable objective was the second, virtually unimaginable if I hadn’t seen it with my very own eyes.
Therefore, slightly than the “hand of God”, I am at all times rather more prepared to boast that I saw the “goal of the century” in particular person.
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