With the 2014 World Cup in Brazil just 51 days away, the opportunity to relive one of the greatest solo performances in the tournament's history will come at 7:00 p.m. ET when ESPN airs the latest installment of its 30 for 30 specials. Maradona '86, directed by Sam Blair, documents the apotheosis of Argentina's Diego Maradona and is available to watch online here free.
For Blair, directing the film epitomized the conundrum that is Maradona. On the one hand, a superb footballing talent blessed the pitch with extraordinary technique. On the other, flawed characteristics and a win-at-all-costs mentality tainted the experience for many, including Blair himself.
"I didn't come to this film as a fan of Maradona," he said.
"I have always had mixed feelings about him. I could see his talent is extraordinary. He is a footballing phenomenon," he added. "But the flaws and histrionics of his character affronted my somewhat straight-laced, northern European sensibility and, I'm afraid to say, tainted my appreciation of him."
"Making this film was a way for me to explore this contradiction and try to see Maradona from a viewpoint other than my own."
Maradona depicted the walking contradiction he was with a single performance in 1986. A World Cup quarterfinal between Argentina and England served as the backdrop for the two most notorious goals in international football history. Just six minutes into the second half, Maradona would open the affair with a controversial handball forever known as the Hand of God.
Rather than celebrate, his teammates stood stunned.
Maradona would later admit to a panicked reaction, telling his teammates (h/t to SI.com), "Come hug me or the referee isn't going to allow it."
What followed—just four minutes after the controversy—wasn't just the eventual match-winning strike, it was the Goal of the Century, as voted on by the fans back in 2002. In a single 10-second dash, Maradona left four English defenders dusted before successfully dribbling past goalkeeper Peter Shilton and giving Argentina a 2-0 lead.
This, according to Blair, was the embodiment of the beautiful game.
"Maradona most embodies the operatic charge of the sport—the agony, glory and romance—and as such 'Maradona '86' is a hymn to the great theater of football and its most beguiling player."
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