Last night Scotland played Argentina in a meaningless friendly match at Hampden.
Argentina got an early goal.
Scotland got nil.
The game however has since Sunday been overshadowed by the return of Diego Maradona to Scotland for the first time since 1979 when he played and scored in a 3-1 victory for the then World Champions. Maradona is now Argentina’s national coach.
He is, the press would have us believe, a national hero in Scotland for his part in defeating England in the 1986 World Cup quarter finals but specifically because the first of his two goals was clearly illegal (he scored with his hand). Since that day it has been known as ‘the hand of God goal’ which was how Maradona described the goal after the game.
I much prefer to remember Maradona’s second goal in the game which was probably one of the best ever witnessed in world football in which he beat six England players (one twice) in a solo run before scoring. A poll on the FIFA website voted it as goal of the century.
However the Scottish press prefer to dwell on the fact that England were cheated out of possible progress in a competition 22 years ago.
The English dwell on it despite the fact that the goal arose from a miss kick from England defender Steve Hodge and a fumbled attempt at a save from Peter Shilton who was ever so slightly taller than Diego Maradona.
I don’t know who is worse. I do know I’m sick to the back teeth of hearing about it and I’m pleased that Maradona et al fly out today. We can now get back to the real news, you know, John Sergeant and Strictly Come Dancing.
Filed under: Football | Tagged: argentina, england, hand of god, maradona, Scotland
I’m probably very much in the (Scottish) minority here, but this fawning over Maradona because he cheated against England 22 years ago, is truly tiresome.
Sure we can have a laff as it effectively killed off England’s route to the World Cup final in ‘86 – football rivalry and all that – but are we really condoning cheating just cos’ it was against England?
Big Tel has a point.
Hear! Hear! Alan.
This adulation of Maradonna rubbish is just that. Rubbish. It’s just a chance to wind up the English.
And Maradonna wasn’t as great as Pele in any case.
The complaints of cheating are hypocritical. Does no-one else remember Johnny Haynes handling the ball in a Scotland-England game and going on to score?
Moreover, England were not cheated by the Hand of God goal.
I do not for a moment think that England would have scored the one goal they got in that game if the score had been 1-0 at the time.
As it is all they were “cheated” out of was extra time and possible penalties. Clearly they would have won the shoot-out, no?
Sorry Jack, I may be missing something in your post.
Maradona’s hand ball that beat Shilton for the opening goal in the game in question – are you saying that incident wasn’t cheating?
I think it was.
On the theme of hypocrisy, remember Joe Jordan’s ‘handball’ at Anfield in ‘77? Aye, we Scots have a short memory indeed.
I’m not saying it wasn’t cheating. I’m saying that even without the Hand of God goal England would not have won the game: only drawn it at best, hence they were not cheated out of a win. (Still less, as Trevor Stevens fatuously said on Radio Five Live on Wed morning – the World Cup itself. He implied England would have beaten Argentina and gone on to win the final.)
As an aside I also said that at 1-0 up through Maradonna’s wonder goal I don’t think Argentina would have let England back in to score.
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