Diego Maradona Named England Icon Who ‘Scared the S*** Out of Him’

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His passion for sports extends further than football, as he has covered several sports for GMS, including Boxing, Tennis, and Wrestling. Sign in to your GiveMeSport account Diego Maradona may have been one of the greatest footballers of all time, but he famously wasn't too popular in England following his 'Hand of God' goal against the Three Lions at the 1986 World Cup.

The diminutive Argentine rose above Peter Shilton to punch the ball into the net. It was part of a quick-fire double, the second of which was pure genius. The South Americans went on to win the biggest competition in world football that summer.

The World Cup winner made his feelings very clear in 2019.

For the remainder of his life, Maradona refused to apologise for the cheating, and instead often mocked the goalkeeper for being unable to get there first despite having a height advantage. He also made sure to poke fun at the English at any given opportunity.

Recalling the aftermath of the infamous incident, which is the most controversial in World Cup history, the ex-Napoli superstar remembered an interaction with Terry Butcher. The England defender was 'the angriest' during a post-match drug test, according to Maradona.

Maradona never spoke English, and it's unlikely Butcher was fluent in Spanish. Therefore, the two men discussed what had happened through actions. Maradona recalled in 2017 (per The Mirror):

"Butcher was the angriest and was looking over at me. He tapped his head with his finger and then lifted his fist, as if to ask me whether I had scored the first goal with my fist.

"'With my head man. It was with my head,' I answered lifting my curls with my fingers. And it ended there."

Despite what can be assumed to have been a tense confrontation, Maradona described being 'scared' of a different England player that day.

A late Gary Lineker goal pulled England back to within one goal of Argentina in the quarter-final. Maradona admitted that he and his teammates were 'scared' of one man leading the charge for a Three Lions equaliser.

That was Liverpool icon John Barnes. "Barnes came in as a substitute and made our lives difficult," the late icon said. The tricky winger was one of the greatest dribblers of his time, and clearly knew he was a threat.

According to Maradona, Barnes was so sure he was in his opponents' heads that he was constantly laughing. That attitude clearly got to his foe that day, who explained:

"Every time I see him he burst out laughing, as if to say, 'Boy, I sure scared the shit out of you guys!'

"And, it's true, Barnes did scare the shit out of us, but that was towards the end."