Touched By God: How We Won the Mexico '86 World Cup

Review

Brilliant (Barney Ronay Guardian)

An exuberant narrator, bursting with telling details . . . enjoyable . . . Maradona's authentic voice of unreason and the best story in World Cup history carry you through (Simon Kuper Financial Times)

Characteristically colourful (Matt Dickinson The Times)

Open, honest contemplation (When Saturday Comes)

The book's greatest strength is that it feels unmistakeably like 1986 all over again . . . I loved this book. I loved its nostalgia (Irish News)

Book Description

Over thirty years on from the magic of the '86 Mexico World Cup, Diego Maradona reveals, for the first time, the untold stories behind that one-of-a-kind championship.

From the Back Cover

'This is Diego Armando Maradona speaking, the man who scored two goals against England and one of the few Argentines who knows how much the World Cup actually weighs'

In June 1986, Diego Maradona - one of the greatest and most controversial players in history - proudly hoisted the World Cup above his head. Since then, Argentina's World Cup victory has become the stuff of legend, and their quarterfinal with England, which featured arguably the best goal in history (Maradona's 'Goal of the Century') and the worst (the notorious 'Hand of God'), is infamous. Now, for the first time ever, Maradona tells his side of the story, detailing every game and pulling no punches.

But Argentina's victory came after months of struggle and discord within the team and off the pitch, including the Argentine government's attempt to change the team's coach, a lack of equipment that forced the players to buy their own uniforms, and an argument that caused one the team's star players to quit on the eve of the tournament. Now, thirty years after Argentina's magical victory, Maradona tells his side of the story, vividly recounting how he led the team to win one of the greatest World Cup triumphs of all time.

About the Author

Diego Maradona was born in Buenos Aires in 1961. He is widely recognised as one of football's greatest players. He has played for Argentinos Juniors, Boca, Barcelona, Naples, Seville and Newell's Old Boys, but he will always be most strongly associated with the Argentinian national team. He lives in Dubai.

Daniel Arcucci is one of the most respected and recognized Argentinian sports journalists. He began his career at the legendary magazine El Gráfico in Buenos Aires. He met Diego Maradona in the Christmas of 1985. He covered the '86 Mexico World Cup and interviewed Maradona more than 150 times. His books To Meet Diego and I am the Diego of the People were both bestsellers in Argentina. In 2007, he was awarded the Platinum Konex award for sports journalism.