Newcastle United legend relives Diego Maradona and 1990 penalty pain as England launch World Cup bid
Chris Waddle was front and centre of two England heartbreaks as Thomas Tuchel's campaign to end 60 hurtful years begins today.
As England begin another World Cup journey, a familiar feeling returns: hope entwined with the burden of six decades of hurt. Few recognise that emotion like Chris Waddle.
The trademark mullet is long gone, but the pain remains. He was front and centre for two of England’s most infamous heartbreaks in living memory.
In 1986, just six years after quitting the factory to sign professionally for Newcastle United, the Gateshead native - now a top-flight star at Tottenham Hotspur - was off to Mexico. By his admission, the occasion overawed him.
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But it was he - the maverick - who England turned to just 11 minutes after Diego Maradona scored the most infamous brace in history. Sir Bobby Robson never forgave the “rascal” until his dying breath. Peter Shilton still curses at the thought of his name.
Waddle, however, carries no grudges. He tells The Gazette: “Diego Maradona was the difference. People will say - and rightly so - that he is arguably the greatest player ever. I'm not going to argue with that.
“He was absolutely phenomenal. It was not just his left foot, but his balance, technique and change of pace was amazing. He wasn't bad with his hand either!
“He was the difference, without a shadow of doubt. If Maradona had been injured, they wouldn't have won the World Cup. Simple as that. Watching that second goal from the dugout… Peter Reid is still chasing him now!
“He went past everybody, around the goalie and scored. I remember sitting there thinking, ‘Wow’. Ray Wilkins and John Barnes said to me in the dugout that you'll not see a better goal than that. Who is the greatest player ever? Nobody knows. But he goes on that list.”
Four years later, Waddle - now at the peak of his powers with Marseille - returned to the world stage and suffered a crueller twist of fate. Ever-present as England battled to a heavyweight semi-final against West Germany, he came within touching distance of Three Lions immortality.
His thunderous strike rattled the post in extra time - moments before blazing the decisive spot-kick over the bar. The dream was over. No England side have come closer since. When others would be crushed, Waddle used the setback as fuel.
“We respected Germany,” Waddle recollects. “We knew they were a very good side, but we were a very good side.
“As the game goes on, you start thinking, ‘We're the better team, we're going to win this’. We hit the post, we had chances. Then it goes to shoot-out… and that's where it all went pear-shaped.
“Stuart (Pearce) misses, I miss. It's a horrible way to lose a game. To me, it's not really football. You can't be judged on whether we're better than them or not. To lose on penalties is never nice.
“There was nothing between us and Germany. You thought, ‘Wow, if we'd beaten Germany, what a chance of winning the World Cup’. People brought it up for a few years and still do when we play in a tournament.
“But I just got on with it. There's better players than me who miss penalties. I went on and I did better things. It didn't affect me as much as people thought it would… I'm on the long list of Englishmen who've done it.”
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