Hand of God!

Diego Maradona again reconfirms what we have all known for years – The Hand of God was indeed Gods (read Maradona) hands ;-)




But what stands out is the following:

After the score, Maradona said he quickly realized the line referee had allowed the goal but none of his teammates had rushed to celebrate with him -- themselves figuring the goal would be waved off.

``I was waiting for my teammates to embrace me and no one came,'' said Maradona, who was the team captain. ``I told them, 'Come hug me or the referee isn't going to allow it.'''

Read the full article here.

But what is surprising is that there is no mention about the Greatest Goal in FIFA World Cup History (aka the Goal of the Century) there. Anyway here is a take on that:

Four minutes later, Maradona put on a 10-second, one-man show unequaled in World Cup.

Taking the ball near the right sideline 10 yards on Argentina's half of the field, he executed a 180-degree spin that rooted Peter Reid and Peter Beardsley to the spot, sprinted down the sideline past Ray Wilkins, avoided an attempted tackle by Terry Fenwick, faked past Shilton, who had come out to block him, and finally escaped a tackle by Terry Butcher and kicked a low 10-yarder into the unguarded goal.

England could manage only one goal and lost 2-1.

Even British coach Bobby Robson could not contain his admiration for Maradona's goal. "Today he scored one of the most beautiful goals you'll ever see," he said. "That first goal was dubious; the second one was a miracle, a fantastic goal. It's marvelous (for soccer) that every now and then the world produces a player like Maradona. I didn't like his second goal, but I admire it."

Read the full article here.

Am I the only one seeing a similarity between another contemporary genius & Maradona? Yes, I am referring to Shane Warne. The similarities are there for all to see, from having produced one brilliant moment that is being talked as the best in century to off-field incidents which have disrupted their sporting careers to making comebacks when people have written them off…the similarities list is endless. But the biggest advantage is their influence on their respective sports…the respective sports have been richer in all aspects due to the accomplishments of these fine individuals on the field!