Every once in a while a sporting event comes along that grows in stature the older it gets. Twenty-five years ago today one of the most famous football matches of all time took place in Mexico City as Argentina met England in the 1986 World Cup. I recently watched this match in its entirety to take you on a journey back to the Azteca Stadium.
Match – Argentina vs England, Quarter-Finals of the World Cup.
Date – June 22nd, 1986.
Attendance - 114,580
Background – A lot of the talk before this game was about the matchup in the 1966 World Cup quarter final at Wembley, a game that England won 1-0 and was best known for the sending off of Argentina skipper Antonio Rattin for ‘violence of the tongue’. Rattin was incensed and took 10 minutes to leave the pitch, starting a rivalry that remains today. The two teams had met three times since that game but not for six years when England won 3-1 at Wembley in 1980. The Falklands War of 1982 soon followed and only a World Cup could bring together these two teams on the same pitch at the time.
Lineups
Argentina (3-5-2) – Nery Pumpido (River Plate), Jose Luis Brown (Atletico Nacional), Jose Luis Cuciuffo (Velez Sarsfield), Oscar Ruggeri (River Plate), Ricardo Giusti (Independiente), Hector Enrique (River Plate), Sergio Batista (Argentinos Juniors), Julio Orticoechea (Boca Juniors), Jorge Burruchaga (Nantes), Diego Maradona (Napoli), Jorge Valdano (Real Madrid).
England (4-4-2) – Peter Shilton (Southampton), Gary Stevens (Everton), Terry Fenwick (QPR), Terry Butcher (Ipswich Town), Kenny Sansom (Arsenal), Trevor Steven (Everton), Peter Reid (Everton), Glenn Hoddle (Tottenham), Steve Hodge (Aston Villa), Peter Beardsley (Newcastle), Gary Lineker (Everton).
Youngest player on the pitch – Trevor Steven (22).
Oldest player on the pitch – Peter Shilton (36).
World Class – Peter Shilton, Gary Lineker, Diego Maradona, Oscar Ruggeri.
Borderline and not fully appreciated by their countries – Glenn Hoddle, Jorge Burruchaga.
Not good enough at that level – Terry Fenwick, Peter Reid.
Players who’d perhaps be better today than then – Peter Beardsley, Julio Olarticoechea, Sergio Batista.
Players who would also still excel at that level today - Gary Steven, Kenny Sansom, Ricardo Giusti, Jorge Valdano.
Player who went on to get the most international caps - Peter Shilton (125).
Player who went on to get the most international goals – Gary Lineker (48).
Players who went on to manage their country – Glenn Hoddle (1996-1999), Diego Maradona (2008-2010), Sergio Batista (2010-).
Where are they now? – Notables include Enrique who is actually Batista’s current assistant coach with the national team and Valdano who last month lost his battle with Jose Mourinho and stepped down as Real Madrid’s Director General and President. Sadly, Cuciuffo is the only player who is no longer alive, after he was shot while hunting with a friend in December 2004. For England, Hoddle – who would lose to Argentina on penalties as coach 12 years later – is now running a football academy in Spain. Sansom, Steven and, most notably, Lineker all work in television; Reid manages Plymouth Argyle while Butcher is managing in Scotland for Inverness Caledonian Thistle.
Tactical Storylines
Jonathan Wilson in ‘Inverting the Pyramid’ called Argentina coach Carlos Bilardo ‘one of the most system-driven managers of all time and you’re probably aware that Wilson would know. In fact, this Argentina team gave Wilson the name for his brilliant book as they inverted the pyramid and started the trend of 3-5-2 that would take over football after the World Cup was over. This game showed both the brilliance of such a system and the flaws that would ultimately cause its decline over a decade later, but more of that later.
Argentina’s system worked because all eleven players were incredibly disciplined. Whenever a player made a run, another one would always slot into his role to make them very difficult to break down. No one was better than this than Diego Maradona. People remember Maradona for his brilliant attacking moves but he was more than adequate in midfield, chopping at the heels of opponents and covering for Jorge Burruchaga when he’d gone on a run to support Jorge Valdano. The use of Sergio Batista (their current manager) was vital as he rarely made a run forward and often stopped England’s attacks through the middle. If England did get the ball to Gary Lineker or Peter Beardsley then they would be overmatched 3 on 2.
For England, it was a typical 4-4-2 that simply got overrun in midfield against Argentina’s more fluid system, until manager Bobby Robson made changes later in the game that almost changed the result and history. The problem Robson had was that he didn’t recognise this until too late. England’s best player heading into the match, other than Lineker, was Glenn Hoddle whose performances in the two previous games in Mexico had reignited a slow-starting England. However, in this match Hoddle was invisible. Argentina’s advantage in the middle of the field led to far more possession than their opponents and the longer the game went on the more Hoddle fell deep. He would occasionally spray lovely long balls to the feet of teammates but they would be so isolated that a turnover would inevitably take place soon after. At 2-0 down, England brought on Chris Waddle for Peter Reid, and later John Barnes for Trevor Steven, and their 4-2-4 with high wingers exposed Argentina’s defence in wide areas and pushed Giusti and Olarticoechea back so far that England had all the ball for the final 15 minutes. Barnes made a run to the byline in the 80th minute, the first one of the day for England, and crossed for Lineker to head home his sixth goal of the World Cup, but he almost had a seventh three minutes later when Barnes did the same, only for the ball to miss the goal by inches. Argentina held their breath as England found top gear but it ultimately was too late and the rest was history. This was Maradona’s game and no one could take it away from him.
Scouting Diego Maradona
Although I didn’t watch the CBC feed their announcer Graham Leggat started their broadcast with these words of wisdom: “The focus of everybody is on the wonderboy of South American football, how he plays today could well decide the outcome of this game.” How right he was.
In this game a 25-year-old Maradona, in his 52nd cap, was unstoppable and of course will be remembered for scoring the greatest illegal goal of all-time and the greatest legal goal of all-time, all in a span of five minutes. Having seen those goals endless amounts of times I actually enjoyed watching everything else Diego did in this match. In many ways watching how he controlled the game in the run-up to those goals made me appreciate the goals more (well at least the second one). The moment Maradona got the ball, England players, full of fear, flocked towards him and did nothing. He was the jar of honey for the bees but with two feet that simply glided by them before finding a teammate in space he created. I couldn’t watch him without thinking of Lionel Messi. In this match, Maradona seemed to pick balls up in deeper areas than Messi does today but was equally inspiring dribbling with the ball at his feet, gliding past English defenders as if they didn’t exist. However, it has to be said that the standard of tackling was pathetic compared to today’s players. In fact it’s not a reach to say that, as Maradona would acknowledge later, if England had been more physical then Maradona probably would not have the impact he had on the game.
‘It’s hit his bloody hand!!!’
‘A goal for the Gods’.
Quotes
The BBC commentary team of Barry Davies and Jimmy Hill for this game was absolutely fantastic. Here are some of my favourite quotes from the game:
- Davies after Maradona’s first impact in the 10th minute: “It’s the first we’ve seen of the little man, and great player, though he is, it would be as well if we didn’t see him too often.”
- Davies sums up the first 23 minutes: “It’s tight, it’s tense and the fear of making a mistake is evident.”
- Davies on Argentina’s sweeper: “Brown is no Daniel Passarella, he’s efficient but by no means gifted.”
- From the ‘the more things change, the more they stay the same’ files, Hill on officials: “Poor quality of referees has been a fixture of this World Cup because they insist on using inexperienced refs from emerging nations.” And again on England’s issues on the left side of midfield, that remains unsolved 25 years later: “Hodge has provided the midfield balance on the left, what we were all looking for in the beginning, a left footed player who can play in midfield.”
- Davies on the quarterfinal between France and Brazil the previous day: “The artistry and beauty of the game was well shown as the world watched the game in Guadalajara.”
- Hill on Brazil as news broke that their manager Tele Santana had resigned: “If he’d resigned yesterday morning, Brazil might have still been in the World Cup, he lost it yesterday, not taking off a tired Socrates.”
- Davies after one of many Maradona dives: “As with his team, there are certainly two sides of his character.” Hill added: “He’s the best player in the world but by no means the best actor.”
- Hill in a less heated moment talks up the brilliant Maradona: “When we look at our own players back home, some of them being sold expensively to Italy, I think in all honesty we can say there is no light than shines as bright as Maradona. He can do it on his own, he can lay it on for other people; can take part in inter-passing movements, has fantastic pace, also tremendous strength; he’s won a couple of headers in midfield and on that fine one, unfair or not, he still read the backpass quicker than Shilton did and the ball was running away from him.”
- Davies with a brilliant reflection of the game: “Argentina have played with more imagination, attacked more and deserve their lead, but if the referee and linesman had better eyesight then the game would be 1-1.”
Five things that happened that wouldn’t if it was played today
- Four Everton players made England’s starting XI and no players from Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United did.
- Terry Fenwick didn’t get sent off. England was a poor tackling team and the QPR centre-back was the worst of the bunch. He chopped down Maradona after 10 minutes and got a yellow card, ran half the field to get into the referee’s face after Maradona’s first goal and later cynically brought down Jorge Valdano. As someone who has followed England for many years, it was actually comical to see how poor technically Fenwick and Butcher were at the heart of their defence.
- Incredibly it took just 44 seconds after Maradona punched the ball into the net before England kicked off. This was the 51st minute of the match not the last! It wasn’t as if England were in a rush to get going. If that happened today it would have been triple that amount of time at least and every England player would be in the face of an official. Although I’m not a fan of such behaviour and I called out Fenwick in the previous comment, it was actually refreshing to see him go up to the referee, after all it was one of the most obvious moments of cheating the game has ever seen. Fenwick actually raised his hand to signal a handball before the ball went into the net. Most of his teammates sadly looked resigned to the inevitable that Maradona had broke them apart.
- The game was short. During the first half, Maradona had a comical scene with the linesman where he removed the corner flag and then had to put it back together and there were the usual stoppages for small injuries, yet the referee played 33 seconds of added time. In the second half, he played 62 seconds of added time and we all know what happened in that half.
- England fans in the crowd all had Union Jack flags that represents the United Kingdom rather than the cross of St George, which is now synonymous with England at World Cups.
Five photos from the game
Fantastic positioning from the referee.
Terry Fenwick with one of many woeful challenges as he chops down Jorge Valdano.
Where’s Danny Dyer when they needed him?
Diego on his way to finishing off the goal of the century.
And as Shilton goes down he looks like he’s about to shoot before he goes around him and slots it into the open net.
As a child in England I forever remembered that game for his first goal. As an adult I am doing my best to remember it for the second one, but it’s not an easy transition.
Kristian Jack
Sorry KJ, can never get past the first goal, cheating bastard then, now and for all time !!! Becuase he broke my heart as a kid he will never be in the same breath as the best players of all time. I am also not sure it really is the goal of the century ! Great as it was I remember many by Pele, Cruff and Best that would give this one a run for its money !!!!
I just hope Messi stays the course and becomes the best Agentine player ever and erases this little twat from history for good !!!!!
So, would the English rather the Malvinas/Falklands or the trophy Diego hoisted at the end of that tournament? Sweetest. Revenge. EVER.
If I remember correctly, there were stories coming out that Gary Lineker (!) had to be separated from Fenwick at halftime, ready to club him with his cast for Fenwick’s inability to do anything to Maradona.
WHAT IF #1: While you are accurate in the statement that there were no Manchester United players on the pitch, there’s always been a “what if?” factory around the unfortunate Bryan Robson. His shoulder injury that never sorted itself out kept him from a game where his ability to put a foot on the ball was essential. Add that world class player, Subtract the (as you put it) “not good enough at that level” Peter Reid, who was in front of the other “not good enough for this level” Terry Fenwick, and you could have a different result.
WHAT IF #2: What was up with Ray Wilkins? He had served a two match ban; why wasn’t he available for the match? Not as good as Robson, but better than Reid, and savvy enough to do well with Milan. Another who could have possibly done something about “that” run. Something brilliant, something cynical… but something.
By the way, for all the people who can’t get past Diego’s blatant cheating, if I were told I could win the World Cup if I punched a ball in the net, I’d do it too.
SB
When it comes to The Hand of God, look at who it comes from: a drunken junkie who tried to clean himself up for the last World Cup and was shown to be the incompetent coach that he was. He is no genius of football. He is the puke he always was.
Having said that, you cannot deny the talent he had for running away from bigger people with the ball. Something he probably did his whole life. Great skill and should be remembered for it.
Anyone who hates him for what he did in this game, remember this: look at his broken life that he gave himself afterwards. He may be a hero to Argentina, but he has to go home to all the things he’s done on and off the pitch. He has to live with that. Some say that’s justice while others want more. Either way, you are still talking about him. You want to punish him? Forget him and leave him to his misery. If you can do this, that would be impressive. Hard to forget Diego.
The biggest thing for me from this is just how much of the Argentina squad is based off of domestic teams.
Again something that is massive change from then until now.
From all of your other posts, which are generally about Porto/AVB/etc, why does the Falklands even enter your comments Danny J? That’s on the level of the “Gotcha” comment by the Sun. Perhaps people should remember more the words of John Woodward Philip when looking at a foe.
I’ll leave the results of any Falklands referendum on where they think their future is out of this for now.
I know exactly why KJ put in the bit about the war, it added context to the game – too bad morons after comment on that, anyway, fantastic read as ever. Brilliant account of the match. Footy Show boys – even in the summer – showing the way!
Loved the quotes by Davies and Hill.
Because I enjoy watching the English suffer. Fair?
If you like to see the English suffer, Danny J, (as do I, btw, I’m of Indian descent) you’d be better leaving your comments to football. History/Politics has certainly been kinder to the UK than Argentina (dictator after dictator after complete financial meltdown).
Fair enough, but then if someone brings in Salazar, Caetano and their cronies who helped keep Portugal a backwater to a ‘football discussion’ that should be fair game in the future.
Tchau!
Eat it England! The ‘hand of God’ will live forever in infamy and you LOST… reap it! lol
Sorry KJ
Vive les Bleus!
@nonickname Actually, seeing as how Salazar was Benfiquista and did pretty much anything in his power to hand Benfica every advantage possible over Sporting and Porto (including handing them Eusebio), be my guest.
But, since you decided to prod at this, here’s a list to shut you up:
1) KJ mentioned “England fans in the crowd all had Union Jack flags that represents the United Kingdom rather than the cross of St George”, clearly a reference to the Falklands War.
2) After the very goal that forms the basis of this piece, Maradona himself stated it was revenge for the Falklands War.
3) Argentina LOST THE WAR! Its not like I’m sitting here badmouthing the British military or something. If either country needed a boost at that time, it was the Argies. Further, in a game which every English person seems to believe their nation is the unequivocal greatest in the world, they were beaten. They flew back across the Atlantic while Diego & co. lifted the world’s most coveted trophy for the second time in 8 years. In fact, now that I think of it, countries that England defeated in wars last century have combined to win 9 World Cups. Pretty good consolation prize I suppose..
And besides, I can post whatever the hell I want here. You don’t have to read it. Didn’t know by posting about AVB I was precluded from making a quip regarding Diego Maradona and England.
THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U THANK U TO THE SCORE FOR THEIR BRILLIANT SOCCER COVERAGE. SOMETIMES WE DONT KNOW WHAT WE HAVE UNTIL ITS GONE AND I AM SITTING AT HOME WATCHING CANADA’S SPORTS LEADER DO SOCCER AND AM PULLING MY FREAKING HAIR OUT. YOU GUYS DO IT RIGHT. SO GLAD.
Danny J…I was originally speaking to your relating a WC game to a armed conflict where people lost their lives due to a military dictatorship needing to divert attention from their economic policies…it was a crude statement for Maradona to make (not his first, not his last) and to think Argentina needed this as a “boost” to help them forget this is a point I don’t think needs be repeated.
History wise – how many of those wars you bring up did England start? Perhaps KJ and all those English who think they are the greatest in the world – “…it was actually comical to see how poor technically Fenwick and Butcher were at the heart of their defence…” can answer that one.
Obviously we’re not going to agree here so I’ll just take your eloquent advice and ‘shut up’.
Cheers to everyone else.
Never won the European Cup
Shite player
George Best >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Dude, all I did was say it was sweet revenge. It was. Patriotic endeavours play out on the sports scene all the time. Get over it. Furthermore, I find difficulty finding good in your demeanour when you bring up a Portuguese dictator who not only brutalized his own people, but was responsible for launching wars basically throughout the entire continent of Africa, not to mention parts of Asia (on the plus side, at least Portugal’s economy was half decent at the time..).
My vision of the English comes from the English press, who seem to think it’s a travesty each and every time England crashes out of the World Cup or Euro (3 times in the last decade to Portugal, btw) or draws a crap Euro qualifier. And while you defend Mr. Jack here, this article is entitled “The Hand of God, 25 years later”, as it is being labelled in many English papers. In many non-English publications, it’s being referred to as “25 years since Maradona’s work of art”. I know they mention the amazing goal…but that is what should be celebrated. The greatest goal in the history of the game by the greatest player in the history of the game, not the fact that a bad ref missed a call. History’s losers usually spend the rest of their existence attempting to distance themselves from their defeats. England, on the other hand, apparently prefers to revel in it.
It’s most likely called the “Hand of God” article since that’s what Maradona called it, well “mano de Dios” but you know what I mean.
I don’t know how to respond to the rest without diverting this discussion even more so into history, politics and personal views, so I’ll apologize for helpng to get it so far off track and get back to work.
Danny J – just as you know I talked about the flags as a difference from modern times. The use of the Union Jack’s had nothing to do with the Falklands. All World Cup fans up to that point saw England fans display these, including 1966. The St George cross representing England in football is a relatively new thing in terms of history.
thanks for all the kind comments on here and twitter. Glad you liked the post.
This was my second WC I had watched. I truly didn’t appreciate what I was watching in Maradona. I thought we would always see players of this calibre. But sadly, we haven’t seen one yet until possibly now in Messi.
It was the goal of the century in any sport.
The goal of the century….the sheer audacity and the temerity to pull it off . These are traits which Diego (and for that matter, only a Latin American player) had in dollops. The Hand of God will always be a blot but the sheer incandescence of the second goal takes away your breath a quarter of a century later. The guy was an inspiration and the ONLY captain to take his team to 2 consecutive World Cup finals.
English football is muddling in a morass of disciplined mediocrity, seldom able to rise above the ritualistic display of long-balls and the formality of pre-quarter final and quarter final appearances at multi-lateral tournaments. The English Premier League remains a League of Ordinary Gentlemen and the best of the lot was shown its place rightfully in the Champions League final a month ago.
Diego, thanks for everything. The memories are vivid and even today, the 2nd Goal is the one I refer to (apart from Argentina’s 24-pass gem-studded goal against Serbia in 2006) and rely on when I have had a bad day and you reinforce that life is worth living for repeated viewings of the 2nd goal.
cheers
Great stuff KJ. I too was struck by the fact that only 3 of Argentina’s starters played club football in Europe.
Great analysis. But one thing I disagree is englands defence as pathetic. Yes they were technically poor compared to now but remember the laws aloud the defenders to play a NO HOLDS bARRED type of game. In fact I believe modern defence would have been even more innefective to control Maradona just as they are suffering from messi nowadays. because the only way to stop these players with such close control is to put an old styled Gentile type of marker on them. In fact while watching Maradona as a youngster I saw lots of Maradons great runs ended by pulling him down which would have been illegal nowadays. fortunately messi nowadays dont have those problems and we can enjoy there genius.
Actually what I meant is Fenwick type of defenders where a product of there age when those cynical fouls and chopping where ignored. they didnt needed to be technical but rather a very hard tackler whether the opponent is with or without the ball. I believe Maradona type of players would have had a longer career if they were not frequently injured because of these.
Fifa U-20 World Cup Colombia 2011
Colombia
WATCH HERE
The 2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup (Spanish: Copa Mundial Sub-20 de la FIFA Colombia 2011) is the eighteenth edition of the U-20 World Cup since its inception in 1977 as the FIFA World Youth Championship. Games will be played between 29 July and 20 August 2011.
Argentina vs. England
Match scheduled:
Dated: 02-08-2011 Time 01:00 until 03:00
01-08-2011 on 19:16
Watch Live World Cup Under 20 2011 Match live online on your PC.This week on 1st August Argentina vs England match will be exiting and interesting. Welcome to watch Argentina vs England live World Cup Under 20 2011 match online.Yes man watch your hot sports match Argentina vs England in a World Cup Under 20 2011 football Match.
LIVE
England Team Squad:
Full-back : Ben Foden, Delon Armitage
Wing : Chris Ashton, Ugo Monye, Matt Banahan, Mark Cueto
Center : Riki Flutey, Shontayne Hape, Dan Hipkiss, Mathew Tait
Fly-Half : Toby Flood, Jonny Wilkinson
Scrum-Half : Danny Care, Harry Ellis, Paul Hodgson
Number 8 : Nick Easter, Jordan Crane
Flanker : Lewis Moody, Steffon Armitage, Tom Croft, James Haskell
Lock : Steve Borthwick (captain), Louis Deacon, Courtney Lawes, Simon Shaw
Hooker : Steve Thompson, Lee Mears, Dylan Hartley
Prop: Tim Payne, Andrew Sheridan, Julian White, David Wilson
Argentina Team Squad:
Full-back : Ignacio Corleto, Juan Martín Hernández, Federico Serra
Wing : Catalin Lucas Borges, José María Nuñez Piossek
Center : Manuel Contepomi, Gonzalo Tiesi, Hernan Senillosa
Fly-Half : Felipe Contepomi, Federico Todeschini
Scrum-Half : Horacio Agulla, Nicolas Fernandez Miranda, Agustin Pichot (cap.)
Number 8 : Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe, Gonzalo Longo
Flanker : Martin Durand, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Lucas Ostiglia, Martin Schusterman
Lock : Patricio Albacete, Rimas Alvarez Kairelis, Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, Esteban Lozada
Hooker : Mario Ledesma, Alberto Vernet Basualdo
Prop : Marcos Iván Ayerza, Santiago González Bonorino, Omar Hasan, Rodrigo Roncero, Martín Scelzo
WATCH LIVE
LIVE online HD Argentina vs England this game on pay and registration.WATCH NOW ONLINE TV. Watch all the games, highlights and interviews live on your laptop or PC! The Online TV Player is ideal for the frequent traveler in long airport waits and train rides. Get instant access to the widest sports coverage on the net directly on your laptop from any location. Because all these games we display online on your pc or laptop.The big match Argentina vs England whole world of enjoyable Estadio Miguel Hidalgo on June start 02-07-2011 from 19:16 until 19:16 GMT time. Enjoy this most exciting The Fifa U17 World Cup Mexico 2011 between Argentina vs England.
Group F [Group Stage] :: FIFA U-20 World Cup C