It has been 35 years since arguably the best individual performance in sports history. On June 22, 1986, Argentina would defeat England 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. A tournament they would go on to win, with Diego Maradona showing why he was the best player in the world.
There was only 3 minutes and 49 seconds between Maradona’s “Hand of God” (51’) and Maradona’s “Goal of the century” (55’). A bit less than four minutes between two of the most memorable goals in the history of football.
There are thousands and thousands of articles, videos, images, stories, and even books about that match, which is perhaps the most memorable in the history of the Argentina national team. A lot of feelings and emotions from the fans every time they see or listen to something related to that game.
But it was definitely much more than a game. Only four years prior, in 1982, Argentine president and military dictator at the time, Leopoldo Galtieri, sent thousands of young Argentine’s with zero military expertise to die in a nonsense war against England, in order to get back the Falklands Islands.
As it happened many times throughout history, the president was losing power, and he thought the best way to unify and distract the population was a war.
There are testimonies from the parents of those who died in the Malvinas war, who explained how Maradona, in that match, made them smile for the first time after 4 years. That day, those heartbroken parents found a friend in Argentina’s captain.
This June 22nd is the first one time we remember that game with Maradona in heaven. Diego’s daughter Dalma took the initiative today in wanting to celebrate the “goal of the century” at 4:09 PM (local time), the exact time Maradona had scored.
This is what Dalma Maradona tweeted this Monday:
“Let’s all shout it (the goal) at 4:09 PM! Let’s all shout it together so that it gets to heaven!”
