Argentine teammates rode on his shoulders . His unforgettable dribbled goal through the entire English defence in the quarter-final in Mexico was the perfect expression of his solitude . Yet he himself said he preferred his “ hand of God ” goal in the same match : “ It was like stealing the wallet of the English .” Those two goals were the two faces of Maradona : The one beautiful , the other dirty .
In 1990 he took an even poorer Argentine side to another final , and in 1994 completed his cycle of World Cups with another early ejection , this time after testing positive for ephedrine . Drugs had plagued him since he became addicted to cocaine while playing for Napoli . Maradona , a man of wild poetry , always seemed more rock star than athlete .
Nobody imagined there could be another dribbler like him , until he was more or less reincarnated in his compatriot , Leo Messi .