While Diego Maradona’s legendary 1986 FIFA World Cup™ campaign provided myriad magical moments, one particular detail stands out from that magical June in Mexico. Despite endlessly weaving through defensive rearguards, pushing his physical limits and being relentlessly pursued by opponents trying to dispossess him, his feathers never appeared to be ruffled.
Even in the sweltering Mexican heat, with several matches taking place in the scorching afternoon sunshine that left others drained, Argentina’s No10 remained unfazed and unflappable. Maradona was a symbol of physical prowess, a testament to the peak of his athleticism.
While most people remember his mesmerising performances against England (two historic goals in a 2-1 quarter-final victory), Belgium (another stunning brace in the semi-final) and West Germany (a decisive assist for Jorge Burruchaga’s trophy-clinching goal), Maradona himself singled out a different match as his best of the tournament.
His personal highlight came in the round-of-16 contest that pitted Argentina against Uruguay, and the familiar foes are set to face each other again on matchday 13 of the South American qualifying campaign for the FIFA World Cup 26™.
“It was by far my best performance of the entire World Cup,” explained Maradona in his book, Touched By God: How We Won the Mexico ’86 World Cup, the original Spanish version of which was published in June 2016 to mark the 30th anniversary of the triumph.
“First of all, because I didn’t lose a single 1v1. I got past every Uruguayan player I came up against. I was always in the right place, which was key. I can’t remember if I’d dropped deep or he had, but I overheard Enzo Francescoli tell his team-mates, ‘Listen up. Grab hold of him, even if it’s by the shirt!’”
Composing himself after each physically exhausting move was not the only challenge he faced. During the 1986 showpiece, an inspired Maradona set a World Cup record as the most-fouled player in a single edition, enduring 53 in total – which remains 20 more than any other player. El Pelusa incredibly holds the top three spots for the most fouls suffered by a player in a single iteration of the tournament (1986, 1990 and 1982, respectively).
He was upended ten times against Uruguay alone, including a brutal challenge when Jorge Barrios caught him with a flying kick to the head, yet even that was not enough to halt Maradona’s participation in the contest.
Uruguay’s game plan was to sit back and soak up the pressure against the Albiceleste, who had headed into the tournament with lingering doubts hanging over them, although these were promptly dispelled following victories over Korea Republic and Bulgaria either side of a stalemate with Italy in the group stage. Omar Borras’s side stayed defensively compact and held their shape, aiming to limit space while leaving their talisman, Francescoli, up front, lying in wait for potential counter-attacks.
Maradona, who dominated throughout, instigated the move that led to the game’s only goal as half-time approached. His clever dummy in midfield created space for Sergio Batista, who drove forwards before laying the ball off to Burruchaga, and his deflected cross fell kindly to Pedro Pasculli, who thumped the ball home from close range. Carlos Bilardo’s exceptional playmaker did find the net in the second half, only for his effort to be chalked off for dangerous play.
Maradona’s long-standing rivalry with Uruguay continued to be shaped by numerous subsequent encounters over the years. The Celeste came out on top in the group phase of the South American U-20 Championship in 1979 as well as in the final itself to lift silverware ahead of the FIFA World Youth Championship in Japan later that year.
During the latter tournament, Maradona exacted revenge in a 2-0 semi-final success in which he bagged the second goal of the game, which he recalled in his book: “I remember that match so clearly because it was so gruelling. They were so physical! They had [Fernando] Alvez in goal plus [Miguel] Bossio and [Jorge] Barrios. Then there was Ruben Paz, who was some player. It just so happened we faced them again in Mexico. The derby against Uruguay is timeless.”
Recognising that his physical condition would be key in Mexico, Maradona turned to fitness coach Fernando Signorini, who had helped him recover from a serious injury suffered at Barcelona in 1983 in a brutal match against Athletic Club and with whom he had also worked at Napoli.
The Argentina captain cleverly performed the same trick with the Italian club’s massage therapist, Salvatore Carmando. He had a daily double session spanning the morning and afternoon. With his body in pristine condition, Maradona was the architect of footballing brilliance throughout the tournament, but by his own admission, he was never better than on that day against Uruguay.
