JAKARTA - Now is the time to heal the wounds Diego Maradona inflicted on England at the 1986 World Cup and he should be remembered for his achievements in football rather than being remembered for his most famous goal, said former England midfielder Trevor Steven who played against Maradona 34 years ago.
Maradona died after suffering a heart attack at his home on the outskirts of Buenos Aires yesterday after less than a month from his 60th birthday.
Thirty-four years ago, Argentina knocked England out of the World Cup quarter-finals in Mexico when Maradona scored two goals in four minutes.
His first goal was immortalized in football tales as a 'Hand of God' goal after the petite Argentine jumped in front of England goalkeeper Peter Shilton to punch the ball into an empty net.
His second goal was the result of a captivating breakthrough that ran solo and unexpectedly passed half of the English team to score what became known as the 'Goal of the Century' or "Goal of the Century".
"He scored the most famous goal in world football history as well as the most iconic and fantastic goal given the situation," Steven, who also played on the pitch against Maradona that day at the Azteca Stadium, told Reuters as reported by Antara.
"The World Cup quarter-finals were played at 9,000 feet above sea level and in temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit ... playing in those conditions is a challenge, but when you watch the levels he plays are near impossible."
England were angry with the way Maradona scored his first goal and Shilton said he would never forgive Maradona.
Steven said that his teammates were furious.
"He cheated and got away with it. He never seemed to admit what he had done," said the former Everton, Burnley and Rangers midfielder.
"It put us on the road to the edge of the World Cup. We feel our potential opportunities have been robbed."
"I certainly admire him, but I don't know whether he likes him or hates him as an individual because of the effect his actions have had on England, but also on that group of players and on myself."
Even so, time also softened the hearts of the 57-year-old former England national team player.
"As time went on, the feeling subsided a little and the wound healed," said Steven.
"You can think of Maradona for who he is, a genius footballer, a genius with a flaw in his lifestyle, but in terms of his football skills, he is extraordinary."
"Of all the great players around the world, nobody can do as much as he can. It (God's Hand) is only a fraction of a second but he missed 15 years of professional football where he ... won the highest honors. "
"So we have to remember him because of those achievements rather than being very petty or personal as a result of that day in June 1986," said Steven as quoted by Reuters.
The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language. (system supported by DigitalSiber.id)
