Football is undoubtedly an important component of South American culture. Brazil and Argentina are in the lead among the national teams. For the latter country, years ago, the famous Diego Armando Maradona played, whose exploits on the football fields electrified the world in the last two decades of the 20th century. Although Maradona was a footballer with a wealth of achievements, he made football history - as well as the history of Argentina in general - mainly thanks to one match, or actually two goals, scored in this match.
On June 22, 1986, at the Mexican stadium Azteca, Argentina's rival was the England national team. The match, apart from its sporting rank (quarter-finals of the world championship), also had a deeper political undertone.
Four years earlier, both countries fought with each other in the Falklands-Malvinas war, and the defeat of the Argentineans led to the collapse of the military junta led by Leopoldo Galtieri. The conflict was to serve the interests of generals and colonels - distracting the public's attention from economic problems.
The lost war for the Falklands cost Leopoldo Galtieri power (photo:Tupolepo; lic CC ASA 3.0).
The authorities hoped for easy success, but it was a total disaster. It was a blow not only for the military, but also for ordinary Argentines, who had previously struggled with an internal crisis and now had to swallow a bitter pill of national disgrace.
The duel at the Mexican stadium was to be an opportunity for a rematch against the English. This time, instead of ships and soldiers, footballers started fighting.
Match as another war
The quarter-final of the championship was going to be very interesting. Diego Armando Maradona was in good shape, although nobody expected what happened during the match. Argentina prevailed in the first half, but the events of the second half of the game are remembered by football fans.
In the 51st minute, Maradona started the rally from the left side, ran inside, gave the ball back and shot over the English goalkeeper after a rebound. Not even 170 centimeters tall, he had no chance in the fight for the top ball, so he helped himself with his hand, which was not noticed by the referee, and what was later mercilessly repeated .
Photomontage, allusion to God's hand, fragment of the fresco of the Creation of Adam (author:pruxo; GNU FDL 1.2 license).
After four minutes, he scored another goal, considered in many polls as the action of the century. He received the ball in his half, ran past five players with it and finally the goalkeeper and scored an empty goal. It was an example of great skill of the player, although after the game the main focus was on Maradona's first goal.
Viveza
Viveza is the Spanish word that the Argentinians used to describe their hero's goal. It stands for praiseworthy cunning and nonchalance. Although the goal scored by the "hand of god" was considered a fraud around the world, the Argentinians saw things completely different.
For them Maradona was a national hero who deceived the hated English thanks to his cunning . This kind of cunning in Argentina was particularly appreciated, so Maradona's act was not condemned in his homeland. Ba! The player was compared to José de San Martín. Like the 19th-century general who liberated the country from colonial oppression, Diego also defeated the enemy alone.
In the pantheon of national heroes he took a place next to Evita Peron, and even a church was created in his honor (Iglesia Maradoniana), whose followers are obliged to, among others, give their sons the middle name "Diego". The life of Maradona served as the basis for many films, and the documentary about the athlete was made by the famous director Emir Kusturica.
The "hand of god" was given as proof that fair play ceased to apply in football, and only victory mattered. Fraud was therefore to enter this sport along with commercialism:both phenomena had been increasingly common since Maradona. Meanwhile, Maradona himself has become a controversial figure - on the one hand endowed with extraordinary talent, on the other hand unable to admit to cheating.
A shrine in honor of Maradona ... The inhabitants of Naples came up with something like this (photo:Dieghito, license CC ASA 2.0).
He is certainly a phenomenon and one of the most famous heroes in the history of football. There is no doubt that the most important part of his football career was the goal he scored with his hand, although with his legs he scored goals that could not be played by anyone else.
Finally, it is worth adding that his hands did not help him in 2010, while he was leading his home team at the World Cup in South Africa. As a coach, he gestured with them lively, but this did not save the players in white and blue costumes from a compromising defeat in the quarter-finals with Germany (4:0!). But aren't Diego's hands divine?
Sources:
- J. Burns, the Hand of God. The Life of Diego Maradona, Poznań 2002, pp. 213, 221.
- K. Kubiak, The greatest battles of the 20th century - Falklands, Warsaw 1993, p. 7.
- T. Mason, The Passion of Millions. Football in South America, Gdańsk 2002, p. 134.