The Argentinian's dribble from the halfway line at the Azteca stadium beat off stiff competition from England's Michael Owen and Brazilian legend Pele in an Internet ballot, held on FIFA's official web site.

Maradona etched his way into World Cup legend 16 years ago with his solo effort, where he bamboozled the entire England defence before clipping the ball past Peter Shilton in a 2-1 quarter-final win.

The same match also saw Maradona secure his place in football folklore's hall of shame, with his famous 'Hand of God' goal. His second, however, has entered the history books for all the right reasons.

In a recent interview, Maradona said he would not have been able to score the strike if he had been playing against any other team.

"Thanks to England," Maradona said. "I scored the best goal of my life, in a World Cup, a dream goal, a beautiful, precious goal.

"I don't think I could have done it against any other team because they all used to knock you down," Maradona said, praising the honesty of his English opponents.

"They are probably the noblest in the world," he said.

The moment was immortalised by a statue of Maradona erected outside the stadium.