It was a cloudy Tuesday afternoon and the Argentine team was making its debut in the United States World Cup. The thermometer read 24 degrees in Massachusetts and a few drops of rain fell on Foxboro Stadium, which vibrated with the return of Diego Maradona to a World Cup event. He Ten He commanded a team full of figures that won against Greece with two goals from Gabriel Batistuta and sought to settle the result. Until, 15 minutes into the match, a masterful play occurred that was recorded for eternity: Fernando Redondo received a pass Abel Balbo and, in an exquisite combination, with a pure first-class touch, he triangulated with Claudio Caniggia and with the captain of the national team, who culminated the great collective maneuver with a powerful left foot that hit the corner of the Greek goal.
That goal was the last that Maradona scored with the light blue and white. It was the corollary of a chapter of resurrection in his football life. It was a glimpse before his career began to fade little by little. It was exactly 30 years ago, June 24, 1994.
The genius of his left foot remained in the memory of football fans as much as his celebration. With his eyes full of fire, after placing the ball in the back of the net, Diego ran towards a TV camera screaming with a mixture of fury and ecstasy. It was the cry of a euphoric, rosy man, thirsty for revenge. His wild celebration, with his eyes ejected and his fists clenched, became an iconic image of Maradonian magic at the World Cups.
Maradona explained that relief in the book Mexico 86. My World Cup. My truth. This is how we won the Cup. “I arrived at the World Cup clean as never before… Because I knew that It was the last opportunity to tell my daughters: ‘I’m a soccer player, and if you didn’t see me, you’re going to see me here.’ For that, for that reason and not for anything else, not because of some nonsense that was said out there, I shouted the goal against Greece the way I shouted it. “I didn’t need drugs to take revenge and to shout my happiness to the world!” he said.
Gone were the suspension for doping, the departure from Napoli, the unsuccessful experience at Sevilla, the fleeting time at Newell’s Old Boys, the return to the Albiceleste for the playoffs against Australia and the preparation for the World Cup in a field in Santa Rosa, La Pampa, under the orders of physical trainer Fernando Signorini. All in four hectic years since that final loss in Italy against Germany.
“If Diego were German, he wouldn’t play in this World Cup. “Only someone with the mentality of an Argentine and the genius of Maradona is capable of attempting this madness at his age, after so many battles.”the German was amazed at the time Bernd Schusterformer teammate in Barcelona.
That afternoon, more than 54,000 fans had filled Foxboro Stadium. Located in the town of Foxborough, about 40 kilometers from the heart of Boston, the scene of the star’s last goal with the National Team It was demolished in 2001. Its successor, Gillette Stadium, was built in the same place, which was chosen as one of the 16 venues that will host the 2026 World Cup.
The referee who directed that duel with Greece, the Mexican Arturo Angelesrecounted his memories and revealed advice he gave to Fluff in the middle of the match: “Suddenly Diego fell down and I told him: ‘Diego, these people who are here are the world that is hungry to see you like you were in Mexico.’. That was true, because people remembered Maradona from 1986 and due to the circumstances that we all know, he had physical discomfort, but he played the best he could (…) I wanted to motivate him to demonstrate his magic . That was my idea, that he could play the best he could and I was going to protect him.”
“Maradona was coming from several difficult circumstances and returning to a world stage and (the Greek players) were going to try to stop him because of his quality, his charisma, leadership and everything. Whatever they say, there are players who must be taken care of because they are the ones who generate plays like magic. AND Not everyone has the magic that Maradona had.“he added in an interview with Infobae.
The captain’s performance also dazzled Victor Hugo Morales. “Those things about Diego, he appears for an instant and is the most sublime of all,” he said in another of his famous stories. Sent by Continental Radio, from one of the press booths, described the wonderful collective play of the goal as a “blue flipper” and anticipated the scream of the crowd: “It is a very interesting detail: the goal cry precedes the explosion of the stadium by half a second.” . That is to say, I shouted goal before the ball entered the goal, because it was already thrown, it had to be a goal. I could have made a mistake, because the ball could have gone outside or hit the post. What happened was very fortunate,” he recalled recently.
In the end, it was a 4-0 Argentine victory, with another goal from Batistuta that further fueled the fans’ hopes thanks to the star. The next day, the Spanish newspaper The country spoke on its cover of “a spectacular goal from the reborn Maradona.” “The Resurrection of San Diego”, “Magical goal by the magical Diego”, “Maradona, a fable”were other headlines in the world.
But the joy was short-lived. Fate, capricious and cruel, had another twist in store for him. Ten. After the match against Nigeria, a doping control positive for pseudoephedrine marginalized him from the rest of the contest. The football world was shaken by the news. Sadness and controversy surrounded the figure of the idol, marking an abrupt and painful end to his World Cup career.
