Absolute Beginner Spanish - Maradona's Hand of God
This absolute beginner Spanish story is about the Hand of God. In the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, Argentina played England. Maradona's first goal was scored with his hand, illegal but allowed by the referee. Minutes later he scored the most beautiful goal in history, but the one everyone remembers is the first, the Hand of God.
Written for complete beginners, the story uses very short sentences, lots of repetition, and only three verbs.
Listen to the audio, follow the full transcript, and click any word for an instant translation. You can also download the full story as a free PDF to study offline.
The three verbs are:
fue - was
jugó - played
recordamos - we remember
Transcript
Select a Spanish word or phrase for a translation.
La mano de Dios
The Hand of God
In the 1986 World Cup quarter final,
Diego Maradona scored against England using his hand.
The referee didn't see it.
Maradona called it the "Hand of God".
Minutes later, he scored one of the greatest goals in football history.
Vocabulary from the story
mano - hand
árbitro - referee
contra - against
después - after or later
cuartos de final - quarterfinals
hermoso - beautiful
Verbs from the story
fue - was
el primer gol de Maradona fue con la mano - Maradona's first goal was with his hand
jugó - played
Argentina jugó contra Inglaterra - Argentina played against England
recordamos - we remember
todos recordamos el primero - we all remember the first one
Now, the story
La mano de Dios
En el mundial de fútbol de 1986,
Argentina jugó contra Inglaterra, cuartos de final.
El primer gol de Maradona fue con la mano,
un gol ilegal, pero para el árbitro fue válido.
Minutos después, el segundo gol de Maradona fue el gol más hermoso de la historia.
Pero todos recordamos el primero,
porque fue la "mano de Dios".