“There it is Maradona. Two mark it. Maradona steps on the ball, the genius of world football starts from the right… Always Maradona… Genius, genius, genius… Goool”, said Víctor Hugo Morales in the stadium Aztec he June 22, 1986 in the World Cup in Mexico. Argentina beat England 2-1 in the quarterfinals of that glorious World Cup that had Diego as the top figure of Carlos Salvador Bilardo’s team.
In that sequence of skill and speed that number 10 built from midfield after receiving the pass from Black Enrique, the kid from Fiorito, was going to get the so-called Goal of the Century, that remained forever in the memory of football fans. In that magical run of 53 meters, of which 38 years have passedMaradona was leaving on the road five rivals of the English team who also remained in history, but with a meaning opposite to that of the world champion.
Peter Beardsley He was the first player that Diego got rid of when the play began. The Argentine did not have too many problems so that the footballer who at that time played for Newcastle was out of combat and became a luxury spectator in the middle of the field.
In one of his statements after the game, he tried to tarnish the masterpiece by commenting on the first goal, the one from The hand of God: “It was magnificent, but without the first goal, the second cannot be explained. It was a brutal turning point. He was a fantastic player and is the reason why Argentina won, “But what he did is wrong and without that hand, we would have won.”.
Born in Hexham on 18 January 1961 and nicknamed Quasimodo for the English fans, Beardsley He had an outstanding career in the English league from 1982 to 1999, briefly playing in Australian football with Melbourne Knights FC, where he played two games before retiring.
In addition, he participated with the English team that reached the semifinals in the 1990 World Cup in Italy, standing out as one of his best moments. After retiring as a player, he ventured into coaching, being interim manager of Newcastle in 2010 and later assistant in the English team during a critical period between the dismissal of Glen Hoddle and the appointment of Kevin Keegan.
During his career, also faced controversiessuch as accusations of bullying youth players at Newcastle in 2003 and a suspension in 2019 by the English FA due to expressions considered racist towards a young man, although it was later stated that he had no bad intentions. On a personal level, Beardsley has been married to Sandra since 1981 and they have two children, Drew and Stacey.
Peter Reidborn on June 20, 1956 in Liverpool, is another of those who suffered Diego in the 1986 World Cup. As an Everton player at that time, the midfielder was a direct witness of the famous goal when he chased from behind Fluff. “His movement was too much for me. “I keep having nightmares”, he confessed years later. Throughout his playing career, which spanned from 1974 to 1995, Reid played for several English teams and represented his team at the 1986 World Cup and Euro 1988.
After retiring as a player at Bury FC, the 67-year-old ventured into coaching. Over the years, He worked as a coach at clubs such as Coventry City, Leeds United and Plymouth Argyle FC, as well as the Thai national team and Mumbai City FC in India.. Reid also served as a commentator for the BBC, sky sports and ESPNcontributing his experience and knowledge to football analysis.
In his personal life, Reid has found new ways to contribute to the sport, with charity speaking engagements during the pandemic. However, his story with Maradona did not end in the Aztec. Years later, at an event in Dubai, they met again and he remembered what that battle was like with a crude anecdote: “I bit his hand. People thought I was kissing her but in reality, my feeling was different. “He’s a cheater.”.
Terence Ian Terry butcher has expressed his persistent rejection of Diego Maradona, whom he called “little bastard” after that crossing in Mexico ’86. The English defender, who could not reach the crossroads before the definition, relived that great goal suffered in the World Cup: “He beat all the players on my team only once, but it surpassed me by two. The God’s hand “It was a strange thing, but I’m more angry about the second goal.”.
In 1986 he left Ipswich Town after seven years to join Scottish Rangers after the World Cup. He Butcher, as he was also known, became famous for playing bloodied for ninety minutes in the crucial match against Sweden for qualification for the 1990 World Cup in Italy. His playing career ended in 1993 with Clydebank FC in Scotland. From 2002, he began his career as a coach, with prominent roles in Scotland and Australia.
In 2008, while he was George Burley’s assistant on the Scottish team, he criticized Maradona, then coach of the Argentine team, calling him a “cheat and liar” and expressing his desire to see him lose in South Africa 2010. Diego, when asked about these statements, responded with the question: “Who is Butcher?”.
In 2018, Butcher took over as coach of the Philippine national team, but resigned before the 2019 Asia Cup for personal reasons. In July 2019 he joined the coaching staff of China’s Guangzhou as assistant to Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, focusing on the defensive aspect, but in 2020 he returned to Ipswich Town to run their academy.
In addition to his football career, Butcher ran a chain of insurance brokers that he later sold.and was a commentator for Radio 5 of the BBC during the English team’s matches. He has been married since 1980 and has three children. One of them, Christopher, served in the Royal Artillery in Afghanistan and died in October 2017 aged 35. The former defender of the Three lions He is passionate about heavy rock, particularly the band Iron Maiden., and is close friends with its bassist and founder, Steve Harris. He is also known for his activism in the British Conservative Party.
Terry Fenwick He was born on November 17, 1959 in Seaham, County Durham, and was one of Diego’s last obstacles, but he could not stop him either. What’s more, he could have committed an infraction at the gate of the area but he didn’t, possibly because he had been reprimanded or because he couldn’t catch it due to the speed with which Maradona was coming. “He ended my race in four seconds.”he confessed to the fact.
In 1991, five years after being humiliated by Maradona, He was sentenced to four months in suspended prison for driving under the influence of alcohol., serving only two months. Fenwick retired as a player in 1995 while playing for Swindon Town, after a career that spanned from 1976 to 1991.
From 1995 he began as a technical director, working in teams in England and Belgium before settling in Trinidad and Tobago in 2014 with his partner, lawyer Reyna Kowlessar. Until 2021 he managed the Trinidad and Tobago national team and is also an analyst of the English Premier League for the local TV channel Flow Sports.
Finally it remains Peter Shilton, the goalkeeper who couldn’t beat Diego either. Born on September 18, 1949 in Leicester, he was famously remembered for having received The Goal of the Century and The hand of God and he could never overcome it, as he himself stated. “When you know someone is cheating in a big match like that, your stomach drops.”he described.
During his career, which included teams such as Southampton, Shilton participated in the 1982, 1986 and 1990 World Cups, and retired in 1997 with a record of 1387 official matches, being the English player with the most matches in history. of the selection
On a personal note, Shilton married Sue Flitcroft in 1970 and has two children. After separating in 2011, he remarried jazz singer Stephanie Hayward in March 2015. The former goalkeeper was also banned for drink-driving for 20 months and paid a £1,020 fine in 2013.
Politically, he is a Brexit supporter and in 2020, his wife helped him overcome gambling addiction, inspiring him to create a video on techniques and tips for archers. Currently, he collaborates with the Government on initiatives to support people with problems and mental health issues.
Regarding his public opinions about Maradona, Shilton expressed: “I always say that he is the best player in history but I don’t respect him as an athlete and I never will because he never took back what he did.”.
