International Football
VIDEO: MARADONA RECALLS HIS FIVE MOST MEMORABLE WORLD CUP MOMENTS
One thing is for sure whenever Diego Maradona holds court: there are bound to be fascinating anecdotes and insights aplenty, not least when the topic of conversation is the ins and outs of the game itself.
Only too happy to answer FIFA.com’s request to look back at his five most memorable FIFA World Cup moments, El Diez kept the conversation flowing for the best part of an hour, waxing lyrical about his first goal at the competition, his first and only red card, the Goal of the Century and a couple of other notable slices of Maradona magic.
Courtesy of FIFA.com, we bring you some of the choice quotes that did not make the final cut of the video that accompanies this article.
18 June 1982
Argentina 4-1 Hungary: His first World Cup goal
“I just wanted the ball to go in, nothing else. We’d lost our first match against Belgium and we were up against it.
“I’d scored goals at the U-20 World Cup but you can’t compare that to the feeling you get when you score at the World Cup proper. It’s like your mum coming and giving you breakfast in bed. It’s pure happiness, like when I used to give my mum a kiss on the lips. There are so many things that go through your head.”
2 July 1982
Argentina 1-3 Brazil: A red card for kicking Batista
“I spoke about it years later with Batista and I’ve said it to Falcao too. At 3-1 they started to make fun of us and I don’t like losing one little bit. He said to me: ‘No, Diego. That’s just the football we feel inside us’.
“But you know what? If I was three goals up and started singing ‘Ole! Ole! Ole!’ as we stroked the ball around, then you’d get pretty mad too. If you’ve got a bit of blood in your veins, you’re going to get fired up. But yes; I kicked the wrong player. Unbelievable!”
22 June 1986
Argentina 2-1 England: The Goal of the Century
“I never scored another goal like it. I’ve scored a few that were very difficult to put away, but this was in a World Cup. It was every kid’s dream.
“We all dreamed of dribbling past the lot of them, including (Peter) Shilton. I still don’t understand what he did.
“I don’t know if ghosts or a UFO came down and took him away. He just left the goal wide open for me. I just went past him and that was it!
“‘I never tire of watching it,’ as my mum used to say to me whenever I caught her watching the goals on TV.
‘Come on, Mum! Watching the goals again!’ And she’d say to me that watching her son score that goal made her feel totally relaxed. ‘You go if you want. I’m going to carry on watching your goals’.”
24 June 1990
Argentina 1-0 Brazil: A magical assist for Claudio Caniggia
“The Brazilians blamed Alemao for that goal, but I got past him pretty quickly. The one I really shrugged off and used my elbow on to stop him getting at me was Dunga. So, it’s not Alemao’s fault but Dunga’s. He let me get past him.
“When Cani (Claudio Caniggia) scored, I thanked God, my mum and all the saints in the world. He barely celebrated.
“He just raised his fist. Pow! As if it were nothing. When I saw him afterwards, I said to him: ‘Listen, right here in the cold light of day: did you see what you did today?’ He said: ‘Yes, I scored a goal’. ‘No, you didn’t! You reduced a whole stadium to silence!’
“Out of respect for the Brazilians, I put the Brazil shirt on when I went back to the dressing room. It was Careca’s. He’s my friend. But I felt as if… not as if we’d robbed Brazil but that they deserved to go through instead of Argentina. They pinned us back the whole game but we won. That’s why football is the most beautiful sport in the world.”
3 July 1990
Italy 1-1 Argentina (Argentina win 4-3 on pens): Beating Zenga from the spot
“It was pretty strange because when we went to penalties, the Italians were telling me on the pitch that they should have won the game. (Luigi) De Agostini and (Walter) Zenga told me a draw wasn’t a fair result. But in a match like that it’s not a question of deserving things, is it? They had their views and I had mine!
“I’d just missed [a penalty] against Yugoslavia. So, when I walked from the centre circle to take my kick I said to myself: ‘If you miss this, you’re an idiot. If you miss, you’re a wimp, you’re the worst. You can’t betray all the people that love you – Mum, Dad, my brothers, the people of Argentina, everyone!’ But then I got the better of Zenga and on we went. It was me who knocked the Italians out.”
International Football
BREAKING – Video: Osimhen accepts to join Galatasaray
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/osimhen-jubilates.jpg)
At last, Nigeria’s striker Victor Osimhen is out of the limbo. He has accepted to join Galatasaray on loan.
He is now asking for a release clause at Napoli to become €75m instead of €130m
He also wants a break clause for January in case top clubs approach him over move.
The final points are being discussed. He has been videoed celebrating with the Turkey club’s fans.
International Football
Uruguay striker Suarez to play last international match on Friday
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/GettyImages-2161934515-scaled-e1725270615569-1024x683-1.jpg)
Uruguay striker Luis Suarez announced his international retirement on Monday, ending a 17-year career with his national team as their top scorer with 69 goals.
The 37-year-old, who has 142 caps for his country, made his international debut in 2007 and was key in the squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and won the Copa America a year later.
“Friday will be my last match with my country’s national team,” an emotional Suarez told a press conference.
“The fact that is my decision to retire and that I’m not retired because of injuries or that they stop calling me for one thing or another, that gives me a lot of comfort, it helps me individually.
“It’s difficult but it gives me peace of mind that until the last game I have given my all, and that flame has not been extinguished little by little,” the striker added.
Uruguay take on Paraguay at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo on Friday in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup before facing Venezuela four days later.
Suarez scored the stoppage-time goal against Canada that secured third place at the Copa America in July and the striker added that one of his aims was to show he could continue to contribute to the national team.
“My dream was for my children to see me win something important with the national team … that last goal was very nice for them and even though it wasn’t a trophy to take home, it was very nice for them,” he said.
“I wanted to show people again that I can continue to contribute to the national team and, well, I had the Copa America and yes, I could have done it (retired) perfectly after that, but having analysed the situation, I want to do it with my people, in my stadium.
“I want my children to live this experience. Saying goodbye with the people here is something that I don’t know if many have done.”
Suarez has already said Inter Miami will be his last club after joining the Major League Soccer side last year to reunite with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba.
-Reuters
International Football
Quitting Portugal never crossed my mind, says Ronaldo
![](https://sportsvillagesquare.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/34P2HEWYWJOKBFGYISOZT244ZE.jpg)
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo dismissed suggestions he had considered ending his international career in the near future, adding that post-Euro criticism did not worry him.
Portugal host Croatia in their Nations League opener on Thursday before welcoming Scotland in League A Group One on Sunday.
“That’s all from the press. It never crossed my mind that my cycle (with Portugal) had come to an end. Quite the opposite: it gave me even more motivation to continue to be honest,” Ronaldo told a press conference on Monday.
“The motivation is to come to the national team to win the Nations League … We’ve already won it once and we want to do it again. I might say the same thing over and over again, but I don’t think long term, it’s always short term.”
Ronaldo captained Portugal to success in the opening edition of the Nations League in 2018-19, three years after they became European Champions for the first time in France.
“Until the end of my career, I will always have the mindset that I will be a starter,” Ronaldo added.
“What I feel at the moment, and the coach’s (Roberto Martinez) words also demonstrate this, is that I continue to be an asset to the national team and I will be the first (to admit it) if that isn’t the case.
“When I’m (no longer) an asset I will be the first to leave. But I will go with a clear conscience, as always, because I know who I am, what I can do, what I do and what I will continue to do.”
The 39-year-old appeared untroubled by criticism he faced for failing to score at the 2024 European Championship.
“Criticism is great because if it doesn’t exist there’s no progress. It’s always been like this. Is it going to change now? It won’t,” Ronaldo said.
“So I try to follow my path, be as professional as possible, help in the best way possible with my professionalism and not just with goals, assists, discipline, and example, because football is much more than just playing well or scoring a goal.
“The people who give their opinions have never been in a locker room, and I often laugh because it’s the same thing as me talking about Formula 1.
“How can I give my opinion on Formula 1 if I don’t know anything about tires, rims or the weight of the car … It’s normal and that’s why for me criticism is good and part of it, it’s no problem at all.”
-Reuters
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