la mano de dios (13. 544)

Held on this day, the quarter final-match of the 1986 World Cup, pitting Argentina against England—the Falklands War still a recent memory and fuelling the heated rivalry between the two nations, included two of the most memorable goals in the history of football. Both scored by team captain Diego Maradona, first came the Hand of God manoeuvre, technically a foul though unpenalised, as none of the referees on the pitch could see him dribbling the ball towards the goalpost, which Maradona admitted in 2005 was not fair-play, some outlets saying the apology came too late but on balance still acknowledging the importance of the symbolism of an act of cheating caught on film as a defiant reassertion of sovereignty and dignity, the embodiment of viveza criolla, native cunning—the legacy being cited in other famous plays that providential strain the rules of the game and lapses in judgment, including by Lionel Messi and more recently in the New York Knickerbockers’ win attributed to divine intervention. Four minutes later came the Goal of the Century, with Maradona overtaking four English outfielders during a sixty-yard dash and kicking a ball past the goalkeeper, Argentina would go on to win the finals, defeating West Germany.