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.