When Fandi Ahmad scored against Diego Maradona's Boca Juniors in 1982
As the football world mourns the passing of an all-time great in Diego Maradona, local legend Fandi Ahmad reminisced about the time he scored against the Argentinian hero's Boca Juniors team as a teenager.
The 1986 World Cup-winning captain died after a heart attack in his Buenos Aires home on Wednesday. He was 60.
Fandi, 58, said Maradona was an inspiration to his generation, calling him one of the two greatest players of all time - alongside Pele.
Fandi, who is widely considered Singapore's greatest player, shared a pitch with the football icon in 1982, when he scored with a header for a Selangor Selection side in a 2-1 defeat by Boca in Kuala Lumpur.
He was just 19 and serving national service at the time and, after the match, Boca's chief coach Vladislao Cap said he was keen on signing the Singaporean, whom he described as "a superb striker who can fit into any team".
But there was no outshining Maradona that day, or most days, for that matter.
Just months before his then-world record transfer to Barcelona, he set up Boca's opener before scoring the winner on 59 minutes.
Fandi told The New Paper: "I will always remember the goal I scored against Boca Juniors because I was young... and playing against the best player on earth at the time, after Pele. It's a great honour for me."
He recalled Maradona's mesmeric dribbling, adding that the Argentinian executed a "rabona" during the match.
Said Fandi: "When he's on the ball and on the run, it's very hard. It took two or three players to tackle him because he had a low centre of gravity, a broad body, big, strong thigh muscles and he was very fast... He was very skilful and smart."
Fandi also witnessed the pinnacle of Maradona's career at the 1986 World Cup live in Mexico, adding: "What an amazing World Cup he had, fantastic. I watched most of Argentina's matches, he was phenomenal."
Singaporean football fans may also have Maradona to partially thank for helping to influence one of the nation's most exciting talents, V. Sundram Moorthy.
Nicknamed "the Dazzler" for his flair and dribbling skills, Sundram is arguably the closest we have come to producing a player in the mould of the Argentinian.
The 55-year-old, who called Maradona his footballing idol and the greatest player of all time, said his playing style was influenced by trying to copy the ex-Napoli star.
Said Sundram: "We used to watch him and try to practise some of his skills... his dribbling skills and the way he goes past defenders so easily."
Dribbling might be Maradona's calling card, but it is his "Hand of God" goal against England at the 1986 World Cup that remains most ingrained in Sundram's mind.
He explained: "He's scored many great goals by dribbling, the one against England also, but the one that always stays on my mind... is the Hand of God.
"Because it's quick thinking and he puts his hand near his head where the referee can't spot it," Sundram added, chuckling.
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