In an article on football as a language system, the Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini wrote in 1971 that "the dribbling is poetic in itself (though not always like the action of the goal)." And: "The dream of every player is to start in midfield, to dribble and to score ... But that never happens." Until Maradona came.

England versus Argentina. June 22, 1986. 55th minute of the game. Estadio Azteca. 114,580 spectators. Diego Maradona's epic solo took off in his own half. After he shook off six players (Hoddle, Reid, Sansom, Butcher, Fenwick and goalkeeper Shilton), he netted into eternity. "El gol del siglo" preserves it as a flip book.