Diego Maradona interview: El Diego describes his ‘Goal of the Century’ in his own words

04:16 04/12/2013
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  • EXCLUSIVE – Jorge Valdano, the Argentina midfielder who ran all the way with Diego Maradona before realising his calls for the ball were futile, described it as ‘Diego’s Personal Journey’ while FIFA bestowed the title of ‘Goal of the Century’ upon it.

    Over just 13 seconds, Maradona received a pass just outside the centre-circle in his own half, before meandering his way past six England players, and scoring the greatest goal in World Cup history.

    Like every great piece of compelling drama, the action is split into several sections, from Maradona’s first touch to the gentle acceleration through the gears and finally the realisation that what first began as penetrating run will soon result in a quite remarkable goal.

    Here, Maradona, in his own words, describes that unforgettable moment in Mexico on June 22, 1986.

    1. I still remember every second of that goal. Every single second, even when the ball bounced towards me. The Aztec Stadium pitch was really bad, it wasn’t well maintained and had pools of water lying everywhere. It wasn’t like the pitches we see today in the Champions League that are like pool tables. In ’86 the pitch was in a really bad state.

    2. I remember that when I started dribbling, the ball was moving side to side. Peter Reid and I were talking about this the other day during an interview; when I was dribbling, I was looking to either side, but all I saw was Peter coming at me like this … [pulls a face showing all his teeth and straining his neck muscles]. All his veins were showing! And I asked him, “when I brought the ball forward, I saw you quit. Did you?” He said: “I could not catch you. Every time I’d make an effort you would be a metre further ahead. I would advance and all I could see was your number”. I thought it was fantastic.

    3. After that, I remember [Terry] Butcher being on my left, and so was [Terry] Fenwick. I had [Jorge] Burruchaga and [Jorge] Valdano in support. So I’m thinking, do I pass or do I go alone?

    4. Fenwick made my mind up for me. He was in front of me, but not knowing if he should come to the ball or cover Burruchaga. So, like I tell my players today, a defender that doubts is a defender that dies. Fenwick was thinking “I am one and have to cover two. Do I choose this one or that one?” In the end, he chose neither. He stayed in the middle. That was the doubt that killed him.

    5. When I went past Fenwick, [Peter] Shilton came out. Although my initial thought was to shoot for the far corner, Shilton rushes at me like this.. [makes a collapsing gesture]. It’s not that I made a great move against Shilton, he just wanted to cover too much of the goal so he went all over the place. When I saw him, I thought… “What did they give this guy? They must have given him alcohol..” He was like a mad man. He fainted… so I just touched it, went round him and scored. GOOOAAAALLL!

    But then Butcher comes in and kicks me so hard. It was one of the most painful things I’ve experienced. When we were on the bus, I was sitting with a bag of ice on my leg. But I didn’t care. We had beaten the English.

    Now watch Maradona himself describe his “goal from heaven”…

    READ MORE:

    * Maradona on why he does not regret his ‘Hand of God’ goal as England “cheated” in 1966.

    * Maradona tells us why Lionel Messi can still not be regarded as the best ever.

    * The Argentine reveals his love for the Holland team of ’74 and why, for him, they are better than the current Barcelona side.

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