The photograph, right, is an illusion. Sure, it appears as if Belgium's players, in their 1986 World Cup semi-final loss to Argentina, were forced to create a six-person gauntlet in an attempt to prevent the twinkle-toed Diego Maradona from scoring.
Yet, it is in fact nothing of the sort. Were Maradona to have ballet-danced his way through the bodies, he would merely have arrived at the opposite side of the pitch. Also, the photo is from a 1982 World Cup group stage tie.
The picture was snapped moments after an Osvaldo Ardilles free kick had been played in to Maradona’s feet.
The Argentine legend is receiving the ball. The wall is breaking and the Belgian players are watching the ball, not the man.
Maradona tried to cross for a teammate, rather than dribble, and it was cleared by Luc Millecamps.
Argentina lost the match 1-0 and Maradona had an off day. He failed to live up to the lofty expectations put on him at Camp Nou, which was soon to be his new home.
That is not to detract from the genius of one of the greatest players the world has seen. It could be argued that Maradona did at times face such gauntlets and, as an image often used to depict opposition teams assigning several players to deal with him, it works a treat.
Saturday, Argentina meet Belgium again for the first time since the 1986 semi-final. Maradona and his teammates won that semi-final match 2-0 and went on to lift the trophy a few days later.
Maradona is best remembered for his brace against England in the quarter-finals in 1986: his notorious handball, followed by the 60-metre dribble dubbed “The Goal of the Century”.
He also scored a stunner in the semi-final against Belgium.
On 62 minutes the 25-year-old Maradona, who had already given Argentina the lead earlier in the second period, collected a pass from Jose Luis Cuciuffo 30 metres inside the Belgian half.
Turning towards goal, he feinted to go left, drawing defenders Stephane Demol and Patrick Vervoot towards him, before sharply slipping the ball to the right with his left foot and throwing the pair off balance.
A burst of acceleration took him into the penalty area and, after surging to his left and burning off a befuddled Eric Gerets – now the manager of Al Jazira – he thundered the ball past goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff.
For former Belgium defender Georges Grun, a helpless bystander at the Azteca that day who has become a television pundit, it is a goal that springs to mind every time he watches Messi.
“In 1986, Maradona was simply unstoppable. Not only in that match, but during the whole tournament,” Grun told the website of Belgian television channel RTL.
“Like Maradona at that time, Messi is the one who has to be watched. With their little steps, they are players who always maintain contact with the ball, so it’s difficult to take it from them without committing a foul.”
On Maradona’s goal, Grun said: “He manages to slip between three players before beating Jean-Marie Pfaff.
“We might have given the impression that we were just watching him play, but touching him would have meant giving away a penalty. He was a football genius.”
Messi’s team are looking to replicate Argentina’s feat of 1986, starting at Brasilia’s Estadio Nacional Mane Garrincha.
So far, results-wise at least, things are going to plan. Argentina are undefeated and their star player is living up to his hype.
Even before his Maradona-esque assist against Switzerland earlier this week, the Barcelona forward had shown his match-winning abilities with goals against Iran and Bosnia and a brace against Nigeria.
There are other similarities, too, with the tournament of 28 years ago. Argentina were handed a favourable group and appeared on the opposite side of the draw to Brazil and Germany.
Perhaps it is destiny. So if Argentina are awarded a free kick and Messi is not taking it, keep an eye on the sidelines. Somewhere, surely, a photographer will be looking to recreate the iconic image from 1982 – even, possibly, without knowing the real story behind it.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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