June 29, 1986: Argentina Win the World Cup Dubiously -- Again

June 29, 1986: The World Cup Final is played at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. It features perhaps the last 2 teams that most neutrals wanted to see: Argentina, 1978 winners of the World Cup and the team of Diego Maradona, whose handball gave them a win over England in the Quarterfinal; and West Germany, whose style of play is defensive-first and generally considered boring.

César Luis Menotti managed Argentina to that 1978 World Cup win. A Socialist, the opposite of his country's government at the time, he said:

There's a right-wing football and a left-wing football. Right-wing football wants to suggest that life is struggle. It demands sacrifices. We have to become of steel and win by any method... obey and function, that's what those with power want from the players. That's how they create retards, useful idiots that go with the system.

In contrast, by 1986, the ruling military junta was gone, and Argentina had a more liberal government. Its World Cup team was managed by Carlos Bilardo, a physician who had played as a midfielder who helped Estudiantes de La Plata win 3 straight Copas Libertadores (South America's version of the European Cup/UEFA Champions League) in 1968, '69 and '70. He had been a league winner with Estudiantes as a player in 1967, and as their manager in 1982.

Like Menotti, he believed in free-flowing football; and, in Maradona (who starred with Boca Juniors and Italian team Napoli), Jorge Valdano (a forward for Real Madrid, known as "The Philosopher of Football"), and Jorge Burruchaga (a midfielder who starred for Avellenada team Independiente, now with French team Nantes), he had the team for it.

Franz Beckenbauer had starred for Bayern Munich, and captained West Germany to the 1974 World Cup. Now, he was their manager, and they were not merely loaded, but fired up to win the World Cup, after losing the 1982 Final to Italy.

Bayern presented Die Mannschaft with midfielder Lothar Matthäus, and their former forward, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, was now at Italy's Internazionale Milano, and served as the Captain. Werder Bremen produced forward Rudy Völler. Hamburger SV produced forward Felix Magath. And goalkeeper Harald Schumacher came from FC Köln in Cologne.

The Germans survived Group E, which also had Scotland, Denmark and Uruguay, whose manager, Omar Borrás, described it with a term used in the previous World Cup held in Mexico, in 1970: << Grupo de la muerte. >> "Group of Death."

NBC broadcast the game live in America. Argentina had taken a 2-0 2nd half lead, on goals by José Luis Brown of French club Stade Brestois in the 23rd, and Valdano in the 56th. Rummenigge scored in the 74th minute, and Völler scored in the 81st, and West Germany had tied the game.

No team had ever blown a 2-goal lead in a World Cup Final before, and it was just desserts for Argentina, due to Maradona's "Hand of God" in the Quarterfinal. But Burruchaga spared his homeland's blushes by scoring the winning goal in the 84th minute.

Argentina had now won 2 World Cups -- both under incredibly dubious circumstances. And least this one was won while they had a democratic government.

The teams played each other again in the 1990 Final, with Germany winning that one. It remains the only Final ever to be a rematch of the preceding World Cup's Final. A unified Germany faced Argentina in the 2014 Final, and Germany won.

UPDATE: Argentina won the World Cup for a 3rd time in 2022, beating France on penalties.

An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this one 7th.

*

June 29, 1986 was a Sunday. These Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Toronto Blue Jays, 6-3 at Yankee Stadium. The game was 3-3 going into the 9th inning, as Bob Tewksbury had matched Dave Stieb. Reliever Brian Fisher allowed a single and booted a ground ball, and manager Lou Piniella replaced him with Al Holland. He got an out, then allowed single, double, sacrifice fly, each scoring a run. Ernie Whitt earlier hit a home run for the Jays. Dave Winfield went 1-for-3 with a walk. Don Mattingly went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Rickey Henderson went 0-for-1 before leaving the game with an injury.

* The New York Mets beat the Chicago Cubs, 7-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Dwight Gooden outpitched Rick Sutcliffe. Darryl Strawberry and George Foster hit home runs for the Mets.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Baltimore Orioles, 8-3 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Wade Boggs went 2-for-5. Eddie Murray went 0-for-4. Cal Ripken hit a home run.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the San Diego Padres, 3-1 at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Tony Gwynn drove in the Padres' only run with a single.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-4 at Three Rivers Stadium in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 4-3 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Ron Oester singled Eric Davis home with the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning. Despite hitting a home run to support his own cause, Mike LaCoss was the losing pitcher. Reds player-manager Pete Rose put himself in the game, and went 1-for-3 with a walk.

* A doubleheader was split at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. The Detroit Tigers won the opener, 9-5. The Milwaukee Brewers won the nightcap, 3-1. Robin Yount went 0-for-4 with a walk in the opener, while Paul Molitor did not play. Neither played in the nightcap.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals, 9-4 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis. George Brett went 1-for-4.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-7 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Mike Schmidt went 2-for-5.

* The Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 2-1 at the Astrodome in Houston. Nolan Ryan started for the Astros, but left before they could take the lead. Fernando Valenzuela went the distance, but took the loss.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 6-4 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Reggie Jackson went 0-for-3 with a walk.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Oakland Athletics, 6-5 at the Oakland Coliseum. John Cangelosi hit a sacrifice fly to score Reid Nichols with the winning run in the top of the 10th inning.

* And the Seattle Mariners beat the Texas Rangers, 9-3 at the Kingdome in Seattle.

June 7, 1970: The Greatest Save and the Great Shirt-Swap

June 7, 1970: Can a save be the greatest in the history of soccer -- or "football," as most of the world says in one variation or another -- if the goalkeeper who made it ends up losing the game anyway? The experience of Gordon Banks suggests that it can.

In 1966, Banks, the goalie at Leicester City Football Club, was chosen by manager Alf Ramsey as the starting goalie for England in the World Cup, to be held on home soil. England won, and Banks and his teammates were national heroes, captained by Bobby Moore, centreback for East London team West Ham United.

England went into the 1970 World Cup in Mexico as defending champions, still with Ramsey in charge, and with many of the same players, including Banks and Moore. But they were placed in a group with Brazil, the 1958 and 1962 winners; Czechoslovakia, the 1962 runners-up; and Romania. All, including England themselves, were considered to be strong teams again, and England and Brazil were among the favorites.

Mexican journalists looked at these 4 teams, put together, and introduced a new phrase into the footballing lexicon: << Grupo de la Muerte. >> "Group of Death." (It took until the 1986 World Cup, also in Mexico, before the term really caught on.)

In addition to the tough competition, the unfamiliar heat and the unfamiliar altitude got to the English. They opened the Group Stage with a 1-0 win over Romania, and ended it with a win over Czechoslovakia. But it would be the middle game that would be remembered, at Estadio Jalisco, in Guadalajara, against Brazil, winners in 1958 and 1962.

Alan Mullery played for North London team Tottenham Hotspur. He had been too young to be selected for the 1966 team, but had been selected this time. He saw what has been called the greatest save ever, made on perhaps the best player ever:

Jairzinho was flying down the wing, and he clips the ball to the far post, and Pelé, who climbed to such a height better than anybody else, headed the ball and Gordon went from one post to another and he flicks the ball with his fingertips and it just goes over the crossbar.

Bobby Charlton, who was one of the stars of the 1966 team, would say, many years later, "Even though I was on the pitch and have seen it many times since, I still don't know how he saved that header from Pelé."

Pelé himself said, "When you are a footballer, you know straight away how well you have hit the ball. I hit that header exactly as I had hoped. Exactly where I wanted it to go. And I was ready to celebrate.

"But then, this man, Banks, appeared in my sight, like a kind of blue phantom, is how I described him. He came from nowhere and he did something I didn't feel was possible. He pushed my header, somehow, up and over. And I couldn't believe what I saw. Even now when I watch it, I can't believe it. I can't believe how he moved so far, so fast.

"I scored so many goals in my life, but many people, when they meet me, always ask me about that save. While it was indeed phenomenal, my memory of Gordon is not defined by that. It is defined by his friendship. He was a kind and warm man who gave so much to people.

"So I am glad he saved my header, because that act was the start of a friendship between us that I will always treasure."

Indeed, Pelé and Banks are forever linked, and often appeared at events together, like Bobby Thomson and Ralph Branca, like Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. 

Perhaps England deserved to win the game because of that. But, like the New York Mets against the St. Louis Cardinals after the Endy Chavez catch in Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, it was not to be. Jairzinho scored in the 59th minute, and Brazil won 1-0.

The end of the game featured another iconic moment: Moore and Pelé exchanging shirts, a white man and a black man in a moment of great sportsmanship that the world will never forget.

England advanced to the Quarterfinal, to be held 7 days later, in León. Banks became violently ill the night before -- shades of Tottenham's "Lasagne-gate" incident in 2006. Ramsey decided he couldn't risk Banks in the heat and altitude, and started Peter Bonetti of West London team Chelsea instead. West Germany got its revenge for '66: Mullery and Peters scored to give England a 2-0 lead in the 2nd half, but Bonetti allowed 2 goals in a 14-minute stretch, and Germany won 3-2 in extra time.

Four days after that, on June 18, the United Kingdom held a general election. The Conservative Party gained a net 76 seats, giving them a majority by 42. Harold Wilson was out as Prime Minister, and Edward Heath was in. It has been suggested that England's loss depressed voter turnout, and that, had Banks been well enough to play, Wilson's Labour Party would have stayed in power.

Honestly, I don't see an English victory over Germany in the Quarterfinals making a 42-seat difference. Besides, the Semifinal had been held the day before, and Germany lost to Italy, 4-3 after extra time, in a game that became known as "The Game of the Century." If England had beaten Germany, but lost to Italy, what would that have done to turnout? And if England had beaten Italy, and gotten into the Final, maybe a lot of voters would be hungover from celebrating the night before, and not gone to the polls, and the Tories would have won, anyway.

Just as the Germans won a rematch with the English in 1970, so, too, did Wilson and Labour win a rematch with Heath and the Tories 4 years later, in 1974. Wilson remains the last Prime Minister of Britain to lose the office, and then regain it.

*

June 7, 1970 was a Sunday. Marcos Evangelista de Morais, the right back known as Cafu, Captain of Brazil's 2002 World Cup winners, was born on this day. So was hockey legend Mike Modano.

These other games were played in the World Cup that day:

* Host Mexico beat El Salvador, 4-0 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.

* Israel, in its only World Cup through 2022, played Sweden to a 1-1 draw at Estadio Luis Dosal in Toluca.

* West Germany beat Bulgaria, 5-2 at Estadio Camp Nou in León.

And these Major League Baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Chicago White Sox, 4-3 at Yankee Stadium. Fritz Peterson and future Yankee Tommy John started. The game went 12 innings, and the ChiSox won it on a double by Tommy McCraw and a single by Bobby Knoop. Horace Clarke hit a home run.

* The New York Mets lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 10-2 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. In 17 days, the Reds would play their last game at Crosley Field; 6 days after that, they would play in their 1st at Riverfront Stadium.

The Mets got a home run from Ken Boswell. For the Reds, Pete Rose went 3-for-3 with 2 walks, Johnny Bench went 2-for-4 with a home run and 5 RBIs, and Lee May also homered.

* The Boston Red Sox swept a doubleheader from the the Kansas City Royals, 7-4 and 5-2 at Fenway Park in Boston. In the opener, relief pitcher Ken Brett hit a home run and got the save for the BoSox, 2 years before his brother George would make his debut for the Royals. Over the 2 games, Carl Yastrzemski went 0-for-6... with 3 walks.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Washington Senators, 10-9 at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington. The Senators scored twice in the bottom of the 9th, to send the game to extra innings. The Twins scored 3 in the top of the 11th, the Senators only 2 in the bottom half. Harmon Killebrew went 2-for-5 with a walk and an RBI, but Rod Carew did not play.

* The Montreal Expos beat the Atlanta Braves, 10-1 at Atlanta Stadium (later renamed Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium). Hank Aaron went 1-for-4.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 3-1 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Three weeks later, the Pirates would close Forbes Field; 2 weeks after that, they would move into Three Rivers Stadium. Roberto Clemente went 1-for-4, and Willie Stargell went 0-for-3.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Francisco Giants, 8-4 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. The wind was blowing out: The Cubs got home runs from Billy Williams, Johnny Callison, Jack Hiatt, Jim Hickman and Cleo James; while the Giants got them from Willie Mays (who went 4-for-5), Dick Dietz and Al Gallagher. Ernie Banks did not play.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6 at Milwaukee County Stadium. The O's got home runs from Frank Robinson, Boog Powell and Merv Rettenmund. Brooks Robinson went 3-for-5.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the San Diego Padres, 10- 7 at Busch Memorial Stadium in St. Louis. Bob Gibson allowed 7 runs in 7 innings, but was still the winning pitcher.

* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Houston Astros, 10-3 at the Astrodome in Houston. The Phils would close Connie Mack Stadium, formerly known as Shibe Park, at the end of the season; and move into Veterans Stadium the next season.

* The Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 6-4 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim).

* And the Oakland Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers, 5-2 at the Oakland Coliseum. Reggie Jackson went 1-for-4. Al Kaline went 1-for-3 with 2 walks.