DIEGO MARADONA
Without Diego Maradona, Argentina simply would not have won the World Cup in 1986.
The quarter-final against England that year showed just what he was capable of. His second goal, when he beat the entire England defence with a run from the halfway line, was evidence of his amazing ability on the ball.
Some fans - Englishmen in particular - go on about the Hand of God goal, but a million other professionals have tried that one out since then and they all celebrate if they get away with it.
I played against him at Hampden Park when he was 18 and you just knew that this kid was going to be amazing. People talk about the ability of Beckham and Owen these days but Maradona was about seven levels above them.
Maradona's World Cup career came to a sad end at USA 1994 when he failed a drugs test. After scoring a wonder goal against Greece, Maradona helped Argentina beat Nigeria, but a post-match dope test revealed a cocktail of five different substances.
