The Man Who Could Be God: Argentina Qualifies for World Cup
Whenever I am asked who the greatest footballer of all time is, two 
names immediately flash through my head: Pele and Diego Maradona. Having to choose between the two is like having to choose between a Mars bar and a Snickers bar ... unnecessary and impossible. An easier question to answer is which is the nutty, unconventional, adventurous and unpredictable one of the two. Maradona wins that one hands down.
Diego Armando Maradona was born in Lanús, a shantytown on the outskirts of Buenos Aires to a poor family. A wizard with the ball, his talent was spotted at 10-years-old when he joined Los Cebolitas (The Little Onions), the junior team of Buenos Aires's Argentinos juniors. No one back then could have guessed that this 10-year old, entertaining the crowds with tricks during halftime, would one day become a legend revered so much by his countrymen that they would build a church in his name - 'Iglesia Maradoniana' - in Argentina. It has 120,000 worshipers who actually worship him. Maradona became enshrined after the 1986 World Cup.
In a quarterfinals match between Argentina and England, Maradona scored a goal that went into the net after his fist touched it. The referees failed to see the incident and the goal was awarded. He went on to score a second goal in the match, a goal which has since been voted by FIFA as the greatest goal in the history of the World Cup, won Argentina its place in the semi-final and put England out of the tournament. In 1986, the emotions of the 'Falklands War' were still running high and Maradona's goal was seen as a fitting revenge on the English. Later, when Maradona was asked about the first goal, he said it was scored, "a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God".
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