Maradona’s “Touched by God”

Maradona recalls the emotional highlight was the quarter-final against England, that in the Falklands war of 1982, “ seventeen-year-old boys had gone out to fight in Flecha tennis shoes, shooting pellets at the English, who decided how may Argentine boys they could kill”. For him beating England in Football would be revenge.

 By then he followed up his hand of god with a solo dribble that is now considered as football’s most glorious goal. His Teammate Jorge Valdano told him: “ You’re not the best player in the World Cup, you’re the best player in the world”.

 Victory in the final with Germany was the ultimate victory. “The victorious team flew home with the trophy overnight in economy class, doused in Whisk, chanting abuse at the world while the team management flew first class” according to Maradona.

Touched by God: How We Won the Mexico ’86 World Cup by Diego Armando Maradona and Daniel Arcucci translated by Jane Brodie and Wendy Gosselin, Constable £20/, Penguin $17, 256 pages.