Mexico: The Hand and the God
The 1986 World Cup belongs to Diego Maradona in a way that no tournament has belonged to one player before or since. Not even Pelé in 1970 — surrounded by the greatest supporting cast in World Cup history — exerted such individual gravity over every match he played. Argentina's squad in Mexico was ordinary by the standards of the period: a solid defensive base, competent midfielders, a reliable striker in Valdano. And then Maradona, who was operating at a frequency that the sport had not previously registered.
The quarter-final against England on June 22 in Mexico City contained, within four minutes, the two most discussed acts in football history. The first goal was scored with his left hand — punched deliberately, successfully disputed, claimed afterward as divine intervention with an ambiguity that has never been entirely ironic. The second goal was sixty metres of forward motion through five English defenders and Peter Shilton that has been named, and will remain, the finest individual goal ever scored at a World Cup. That both occurred in the same match, against the same goalkeeper, by the same player, is either coincidence or the concentrated expression of a contradictory genius.
The final against West Germany was, compared to the quarter-final, almost straightforward. Argentina led 2–0; Germany fought back to 2–2 with eight minutes remaining. Jorge Burruchaga's winning goal came from a Maradona through-pass in the 83rd minute, played with the same precision as his other contributions — not a piece of brilliance exactly, but the inevitable product of a footballer operating at a level where the correct pass always presents itself clearly.
The 1986 World Cup is the tournament Maradona won, and the qualifier is necessary: he won it. Carlos Bilardo's system was constructed to free one player, and the one player justified the construction completely. Argentina beat England, Belgium, South Korea, Uruguay, and West Germany. In each match, Maradona was decisive. The Hand of God and the Goal of the Century are the most discussed moments, but the five assists are the fuller evidence — the proof that what happened in Mexico was not two isolated acts of individual genius but six sustained weeks of the finest individual football ever played in any international tournament.
MATCH FOOTAGE
1986
Argentina 3–2 West Germany
1986
Argentina 2–1 England
1986
Argentina 2–0 Belgium
1986
Maradona's Goal of the Century
1986
West Germany 2–0 France
1986
Mexico 2–0 Bulgaria