Former Juventus keeper Stefano
Tacconi said Friday it was an honour to have been beaten by a
1985 wonder goal by Napoli legend Diego Maradona that defied the
laws of physics.
"That was the second most beautiful goal that Diego ever
scored," Tacconi told ANSA, placing first the 'goal of the
century' that won the 1986 World Cup quarterfinal for Argentina
against England just minutes after his controversial 'Hand of
God' goal.
In the famed freekick at a rainy San Paolo on November 3, 1985,
Maradona took a touch from midfielder Eraldo Pecci inside the
box and curled the ball into the net past Tacconi's despairing
dive in a seemingly impossibly parabola.
"It was an impossible goal," said Tacconi, "and if I had saved
it they would have given me a medal.
"When you get beaten by certain champions, you can remember it
for the rest of your life and tell your grandchildren, it wasn't
as if you were beaten by just anyone."
Tacconi said he is still asking himself "how he managed to carve
that trajectory. It was an impossible goal, for the simple
reason that the barrier was extremely close; it was an indirect
free kick, from inside the area, I couldn't see the ball, I
dived instinctually, but he had already foreseen where that
trajectory would end up,
"It was a real touch of genius," Tacconi said.
"For the things he showed us, (Maradona) must be considered the
greatest," Tacconi said.
Maradona's second goal against England in 1986, in which he
dribbled past six England players before jabbing the ball into
the net from an acute angle, is widely considered the best goal
ever.
His first, in which he tipped the ball past goalie Peter
Shilton's punch in what he said was "a little bit my hand, and a
bit the Hand of God," was celebrated in Argentina
as cheeky pay-back for the Falklands War.
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