The Hand of God and the Goal of the Century: Maradona's two faces in 1986
In the same quarter-final against England, on 22 June 1986 at the Azteca, Maradona scored with his hand and four minutes later netted what FIFA would name the Goal of the Century.
Few matches sum up a footballer like the Argentina-England quarter-final of the 1986 World Cup. On 22 June, at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City and in front of 114,580 spectators, Diego Armando Maradona produced within four minutes the two most remembered plays of his career.
In the 51st minute came the «Hand of God»: Maradona rose above goalkeeper Peter Shilton and pushed the ball in with his left hand without Tunisian referee Ali Bin Nasser spotting the infringement. The 1-0 went up amid English protests.
Barely four minutes later, in the 55th, he did exactly the opposite: he collected the ball in his own half and dribbled past half of the England team before beating Shilton again. In 2002, FIFA voted it the «Goal of the Century».
Gary Lineker pulled one back in the 81st, but Argentina won 2-1 and continued on their way to the title: that World Cup ended with the Albiceleste champions after beating West Germany in the final. Genius and controversy on the same afternoon: the essence of Maradona.
Source: Wikipedia (Argentina v England, 1986 FIFA World Cup). Pictured, a young Maradona in 1972.