Discussing the ‘Hand of God’ goal with Diego Maradona himself was a particularly bizarre experience.
But, of course, the player who scored one of the most controversial goals of all time was more than happy to chat about it… with an Englishman. But, he refused point blank to apologise for the goal. He told me simply: “You have to use any advantage you can on the football field.”
After our interview he was about to take part in a coaching session with some youngsters. I asked him what he would say if one of them punched the ball in the net to score a goal. He said, with a twinkle in his eye: “I would say ‘good, very good.’”
In the interview, which took place in the Qatar capital Doha in 2005, he was a passionate early supporter of VAR – despite the fact it would have ruled out his goal. He insisted it was the only way forward, and of course 15 years later, football chiefs brought the technology in.
Maradona, who died aged 60 in 2020, smiled: “But if they had it in 1986 perhaps England would have been champions. I scored two beautiful goals in that game.”
He was very warm and friendly and talked about his drug addiction, his family and his love of England star Wayne Rooney. Maradona and I certainly had “history”.
Back in 1986 I was watching the big game in a snooker hall in Reading and when the “Hand of God” goal went in I vividly remember screaming “you f***ing cheat” at the TV. When we met he warmly shook my hand. He was gracious, kind and insisted I could ask him any questions I liked.
He said: “I was addicted to cocaine. But life is now worth living again. I am so much happier now. I wake up every morning and see my daughters – that is very special.
“The one thing I missed in the past was seeing my daughters each day growing up. That’s how very important to me. Life is worth living. I was addicted to cocaine. I was consuming myself and wiping myself out.”
He told me: “I believe parents are the biggest inspiration for their children and not stars who appear on the field for 90 minutes or celebrities who appear on television for a lesser period of time. I realised that only parents can be real examples and that’s where I corrected myself.
“I changed my lifestyle and transformed a lot for the sake of my two daughters. Now I do everything for them.”
He was very keen to talk about Wayne Rooney ahead of the 2006 World Cup where England ended up getting knocked out in the quarter final.
He said: “Back in 1986 I helped Argentina win the World Cup can Wayne Rooney do the same for England next year? Yes no doubt. He has the same characteristics as me both as a player and a person. He is a great player a powerful player but I do think he needs more guidance more leadership.”
I do remember that as we finished I asked him who was the best player ever then: “Pele, Johan Cruyff or you?” He said: “My mum says it’s me … and everyone listens to my mum!”


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