![]() ![]() Maradona lined up behind Jorge Valdano in Argentina's 3-5-1-1 formation, while England played a fairly narrow 4-4-2 with Steve Hodge and Trevor Steven furthest wide in the midfield. That added plenty of extra tension to what was always likely to be a fiery game. Having already built up a footballing rivalry, four years earlier the two countries had been at war for the Falkland Islands. Having been knocked out by Italy and Brazil in the second round of the 1982 tournament after being fouled a World Cup-record 23 times against the Italians, Maradona also had something to prove.Įngland had finished second in their group and beaten Paraguay in the round of 16 to qualify for the quarter-finals, while Argentina were unbeaten and had seen off Uruguay to book their place in the last eight. He was in a much better place when the World Cup in Mexico came around, with Naples the perfect fit for Maradona the person as well as the player. ![]() ![]() Barca met Goikoetxea's Athletic Club in the 1984 Copa del Rey final and after being the subject of violent play and xenophobic insults from the crowd throughout the game, Maradona sparked a mass brawl that effectively ended his career at Camp Nou - not that he was especially reluctant to leave. From there he was quickly snapped up by Barcelona, where he was exceptional when fit but suffered from hepatitis and then a broken ankle as a result of a challenge by the notoriously vicious defender Andoni Goikoetxea. The next campaign, immediately after the World Cup, they won the Scudetto for the first time in their history and added the Coppa Italia for good measure.Īfter making his name at Argentinos Juniors with a sensational goalscoring record, Maradona joined Boca Juniors in 1981 and won his only Argentine league title. He had broken the world transfer record for the second time by joining Napoli from Barcelona for £6.9 million in 1984, and helped the Serie A side finish eighth and then third after they had narrowly avoided relegation the season before he signed. Maradona was 25 years old and entering the prime of his career when the 1986 World Cup came around. It was and still is the most astonishing moment in the rivalry between England and Argentina that continues to this day. ![]() We are talking, of course, about the 'Hand of God', as Maradona dubbed the opening goal himself after punching an aerial ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. ![]()
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