10 Things Diego Maradona Wants You To Forget

By Michael Park / June 9, 2015

A diminutive raven-haired Argentinian slaloms through England's defence. It's 55 minutes into the quarter final of the 1986 World Cup and the tension in the Azteca, Mexico's national stadium, is palpable. Mere minutes after scoring one of the most controversial goals of all time, Diego Maradona is about to score the greatest goal in history. Uruguayan Victor Hugo Morales' immortal commentary will give you chills: https://youtu.be/1wVho3I0NtU?t=17s

"Maradona on the ball now. Two closing him down. Maradona rolls his foot over the ball and breaks away down the right, the genius of world football. He goes past a third, looks for Burruchaga. Maradona forever! Genius! Genius! Genius! He€™s still going€ Goooooooooooooal!! Sorry, I want to cry! Good God! Long live football! What a goal! A memorable run from Maradona. The greatest solo goal of all time. Cosmic Kite, which planet did you come from?"

This was the dizzying height of Maradona's greatness. Even the most embittered England fans will feel a shiver run down their spine as the roar of the Azteca crowd crescendoes. Suddenly, in one beautiful moment, everyone in the stadium and watching on their TV sets at home saw what Maradona had seen when he picked the ball up on the half way line. Sublime. This dazzling brilliance defined El Diego on the pitch in the 80s as much as it does Lionel Messi today but there is a dark side to one of the greatest footballers to have graced our petty planet. Maradona might be a god, he's definitely a genius but he certainly isn't infallible.