The fascinating peak of Garrincha during the 1962 World Cup

Diego Maradona and the 1986 World Cup are inextricably linked in the spirit of all. It's impossible to think back to those sunny images of Mexico and not immediately think of Argentina's iconic number 10 casting its spell on all who witnessed it.

Maradona blasted his way through the England defense while scoring one of the greatest World Cup goals of all time; Maradona smashing the Belgian defense before scoring when most mortals would have lost their balance; Maradona plays pibe and pockets England with his left hand. These scenes have become so iconic that the common narrative has since become that Maradona did indeed win the World Cup for Argentina.

As with all views that grow over time, the kernel of truth has become somewhat exaggerated. To simply say that Maradona won the World Cup alone is to conveniently forget that football is played at 11 and somewhat disrespectful to his teammates.

There is no denying that Maradona was the best player of the 1986 tournament and his overall play propelled Argentina to the trophy. A goal against Italy in the group stage followed by a brace against England in the quarter-finals and Belgium in the semi-finals certainly drove the success of La Albiceleste. But Diego was aided throughout by Jorge Burrachaga, Jorge Valdano and Oscar Ruggeri to name just three. Teams win tournaments, not individuals.

It's fair to say, however, that Maradona's influence on the 1986 World Cup was seismic and his name will always be most closely linked to that event. But unfortunately we often forget that Maradona was not the first player to dominate a World Cup so strongly. Looking at this, we have to go back 24 years before Mexico and move south to Chile.

Name a World Cup and each has a historical arc attached to it, often centering on the final itself. The 1950 Maracanazo saw Brazil mourn their loss to Uruguay; 1954 is the miracle of Bern as Germany begin to regain their pride as a nation by defeating Hungary. Fast forward to 1958 sees the emergence of a new superstar – a teenage Pelé – scoring twice to announce himself on the world stage; 1966 will forever be revered by the English and the image of Geoff Hurst smashing the last-minute goal. And the 1970 final remains the gold standard for all finals with arguably the best team and greatest goal ever.

But the clumsy son-in-law of these post-war tournaments seems to be Chile 1962. While the other competitions all have moments of beauty associated with them, 1962 is usually first associated with the emergence of more ruthless football - and in particular the Battle of Santiago.

While previous World Cups have also had their fair share of violence - one only has to read about Brazil-Hungary in 1954 for proof - the 1962 edition is often glossed over as one poorer shows. Unfortunately, that's unfair, especially for a player who dominated to a similar extent to Maradona in 1986: Garrincha.

Much has been written about Garrincha and his ...