Diego Maradona's famous second goal against England in the 1986 FIFA World Cup began with a difficult spin, a series of touches, an unstoppable start and a mind-blowing dribbling.
The style of play that Maradona learned on the streets and stadiums of Argentina relied on avoiding strong contacts with his rivals in matches without referees, knowing that he could only trust himself and his skill.
RIP Legend 🔟👑✨ # Mardona #THEGOAT #RIPMaradona # Maradona pic.twitter.com/d3SsKDKBzE
- Improved Môhśìñ (@ Max_Mohsin89) November 25, 2020
It was a moment of individual and spontaneous brilliance that many now fear that young players will be trained on, and instead of honing their individual skills, they prefer training them to pass and subject them to technical training sessions.
"The academies are crowded with coaches, very organized and strict," said former England winger Chris Woodell. "All training is about passing cones and relying on two touches of the ball, let them dodge."
He added, "They pass the ball to another player, who passes it to another player who stands in the back. They are too trained and are afraid of losing the ball."
A genius of his art.
A master of our game.
One of the all-time greats.
Rest in peace, Diego Maradona.
💙
pic.twitter.com/uK6fUlDdEU
- the only Thug_Lyf in the bible (@LuqTimmy) November 26, 2020
But Maradona was not so scared on the field, in Argentina, Spain and Italy the defenders tried to do everything - whether legal or not - to stop him, but in the end they were helpless, as was the case of England player Peter Reid at Azteca In Mexico.
Maradona, however, had the self-confidence, determination and arrogance to keep showing his rivals like goons.
Red Star Belgrade vs Barcelona, 1982 Cup Winners Cup.
Diego Maradona scores a magical goal and gets a standing ovation from 90,000 Red Star fans.
pic.twitter.com/kPr8OzS7zN
- Serbian Football (@SerbianFooty) November 26, 2020
"It could be said that he was a street player, he was doing incredible things with a spool of aluminum foil, he was making the bricks look round," said Rafael Paz, a former Maradona teammate in Seville.
The Argentine was not the last player to play at the highest level, benefiting from what he learned on the streets, as Zinedine Zidane, the World Cup winner with France, grew up in the difficult La Casalani neighborhood in Marseille, and Maradona's performance in the 1986 World Cup left its mark on the future of the Juventus and Real Madrid player.
Maradona at Mexico '86: The best tournament performance by a single player in World Cup history.
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- Simon Head (@simonhead) November 25, 2020
Zidane said, "I was 14 years old at the time, and when you were at that age you realized things, it was the moment that I realized how awesome he was as a footballer and makes the difference as he did, winning matches alone."
He added, "This is the additional factor that he enjoyed from other players, in 1986 he was in a position other than others."
Messi and Maradona playing together is beyond magic pic.twitter.com/PoXEO1LPZJ
- ABHI 🔟 (@ Away_from_234) November 26, 2020
Street players
Maradona said that Manchester United's George Best - who knew that technical matters wouldn't mean much if you did it alone - was his inspiration.
Maradona added at the time of the death of the player from Northern Ireland, "George inspired me when I was young. He was amazing, fun and able to inspire his teammates. I think we were alike as players, two evasive players who were able to present magical moments."
Certainly another Argentine, Lionel Messi, showed that the academies' system does not necessarily eliminate this magic.
Messi left his country at the age of 12 to join Barcelona's academy, and it is impossible to say that his individual skill has ceased to exist as a result.
I never thought these legendary goals by Leo Messi and Maradona were as similar as they ARE 🇦🇷🐐pic.twitter.com / KurVA5wLOK
- Sara 🇮🇶🇪🇸 (@SaraFCBi) November 26, 2020
France - the current world champion - is blessed with a host of talent that has emerged from the outskirts of Paris or regions like Bondi outside the capital, where Kylian Mbappe has honed his dribbling skill.
From Ference Puskas - who emerged from the wreckage of WWII in Budapest - to Benfica's Eusebio who played barefoot football in Mozambique, the streets provided some of the game's highlights.
This is Diego Maradona, the real Diego, the magnificent and electricfying legend.
RIP legend 🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/zaEDzpAq2l
- DEEZZA 🌺 (@deezzzah) November 26, 2020
Borussia Dortmund winger Gideon Sancho and the England national team became one of the players who emerged from the streets of South London.
"Everyone expresses themselves, and that is how everyone knows their talents," Sancho said. "Street soccer means that you fear no one."
Perhaps a lack of fear and a willingness to take risks is the thread that connects this group of players who are willing to learn and play.
Maradona previously said, "I am a Maradona who scores goals and makes mistakes. I can bear everything, and I have a strong body to fight against everyone. You can say many things about me but you will not say that I did not take risks."