It is a question that will dominate any football fans evening if they let it. What was the greatest goal ever scored? It might be a simple tap in that one a cup to some but the most hotly debated goals are the ones that have required true artistry and skill. An example of control and dexterity that makes a footballer player seem like an absolute God and will see statues built to them in their honour. I’m incredibly lucky as I have seen the greatest goal ever scored in front of my eyes live. I am talking about the second goal scored by Diego Maradona against England in the 1986 Mexican world cup. It was so good that I’m big enough to choose one that was done against my own national team. Maradona had a talent beyond anything else at the time but you can bet he’d been studying Soccer Training videos like those at https://www.sportplan.net/drills/Football/Defending/Defending-2-On-1-F502024.jsp.
A bit of background first. The game between England and Argentina was always going to be fraught. The two countries had been at war over the Falklands islands just 4 years before. The Argentineans had long claimed the nearby islands as there own and they’d taken certain moves as a green light to invade. The British had responded by retaking the island and sinking a ship that was purportedly leaving an exclusion zone. It had created bad blood between the two countries as you would expect. This then was a chance for Argentina to gain back some self-respect by thumping us at football. Never let anyone tell you that football isn’t important or doesn’t mean anything.
This was the quarter final. The winner would go on to a semi-final place so there were only 2 games to the final. The game started tensely. The England players wore light blue shorts in some weird attempt to show some kind of respect to the opposition. The first goal came from a deception. The ball was played long into the England box. Peter Shilton the England goal keeper came out to slowly and looked to punch the ball away. Maradonna had timed his run perfectly and leaped up to head the ball. However, Shilton despite his lack of speed had one the height battle being way taller and would surely get there first. It was Maradonna’s hand that struck out and knocked the ball in. The referee allowed it and it was one nil. Perhaps it was that injustice that played on their minds, but the England players watched as the mercurial Argentinean picked up a pass in his own half. He then set off on a run taking on and beating most of the England team. “You have to say that’s magnificent” said Barry Davies. He was right. Watch it here.