Remembering John Barnes' Maracana magic and its aftermath

On Sunday, the newly refurbished Maracana Stadium in Rio, globally renowned as the cathedral of Brazilian football, played host to an international friendly between Brazil and England. The English had a dismal first half; their best player was easily their keeper Joe Hart. After halftime, things changed for the better, and Roy Hodgson’s men scored twice between two Brazilian strikes to return home with a draw, which, considering the current state of affairs in their camp, was a very positive result.

This was England’s first visit to Brazil since a famous encounter between the two at the same venue on June 10, 1984. Just as Sunday’s match, that match was an inconsequential friendly too. There were no points at stake, no title to be won or any knockout round to qualify for; yet the game remains famous to this date. There are two reasons for that. One was that England won. Yes, regardless of the fact that Brazil were missing several key players including Zico, Socrates and Falcao, England defeated Brazil. The other reason was an outstanding goal scored for England by a 20-year old Jamaican-born player. His name was John Barnes.

Born as John Charles Bryan Barnes in Kingston, he moved to London along with his family when he was 12. After playing for Stowe Boys’ Club and Sudbury Court, he was noticed by second division side Watford. It was at Watford that he caught the eye with great performances and it was not long before he was noticed by the legendary Bobby Robson, coach of the England national team. A year after making his debut for The Three Lions, he found himself lining up on a summer night in the Estádio do Maracanã, to face Brazil.

This was not the mighty Brazil of 1982, widely considered as one of the best international teams never to have won the World Cup. There were some remnants, but it just was not the same team that mesmerized fans all over the world at the World Cup in Spain. The man at the helm of the Selecao at that time was Edu, elder brother of Flamengo icon Zico. Zico missed out on the England match along with Socrates and Falcao, but Edu’s first XI still featured the likes of Junior, Leandro, Roberto ‘Dinamite’ and Renato Gaucho. On the other side, Bobby Robson had also decided to field an experimental team, including debutante Dave Watson and upcoming players like Terry Fenwick, Mark Hateley, Mike Duxbury and of course, Barnes.

And then it kicked off. It was not supposed to be a match that would be set alight by a stunning performance, or so thought most people until the 44th minute. It all started with soon-to-be Milan forward Hateley controlling a long ball from the defence. He found teammate Barnes on the left with a high ball that the Watford man chested down with ease. And then he set off on a magical jinking run, slaloming and wheeling away from the Brazilian defenders, before rounding keeper Roberto Costa with a feint and tapping it in. It was his first goal for England and he couldn’t have done it any better. In eight seconds, he had skipped past six Brazilian players and found himself on his way to fame. John Barnes had announced himself on the world stage. Overnight, he had transformed from a little-known player from Watford to become a national sensation.

It was not English. The goal was essentially un-English in every sense of the word. Those who saw the goal will attest to that fact. Barnes himself acknowledges that he was not very comfortable in the rigid formations of the England teams that he played in. In fact, most people will agree with me when I say that Barnes had something Brazilian in him. When ex-England captain and Arsenal legend Tony Adams published his autobigrahy ‘Addicted‘ in 1999, the book was critically acclaimed for his description of his stellar career and his struggle with alcoholism. But apart from that, Adams had also included his ‘England Dream Team’ in the book. And in it, there was a place for John Barnes with Adams saying that Barnes “could pass, move, dribble, had Brazilian style movement. What more could you want?”

You could be forgiven for thinking that Barnes had an amazing career after that night in Rio. True, he went on to sign for Liverpool in 1987 and won every possible domestic honour with the Reds. He was also adjudged PFA Player of the Year twice and the FWA Footballer of the Year once. However, at the international stage, arguably the scene of his greatest claim to fame, he was simply unable to scale the heights that he was expected to. He racked up 79 England caps during a 12-year period, but he could not contribute much to the English cause. While he was winning titles wearing the red shirt of Liverpool, he would end up being booed when playing for the Three Lions. England great Jimmy Greaves even went on to question Barnes’ loyalty to England.

At his peak, Barnes was undoubtedly one of the best in the world in his position, but that was mainly due to his performances at Liverpool. He was indispensable for Liverpool, and to put it very kindly, erratic underachiever for England. That was always a cause for mystery and it reached its height when fans at Wembley booed him continuously during a match in 1993. Journalists, pundits and even Barnes himself agree that the Maracana goal placed heavy expectations on his shoulders. He was supposed to be the next English superstar who would take them to greatness. It would not be wrong to say that the goal created and destroyed Barnes’ international career.

After all that happened, it’s not, therefore, highly surprising that Barnes has tried to play down the magic that he performed at the Maracana.

In an interview with the Guardian, he said : “I didn’t know what I had done until I watched it back later and thought ‘that looks all right’,” says Barnes. “It has become iconic because it was in the Maracanã, against Brazil, but if I’m being honest the Brazilians never put a tackle in. They probably thought no Englishman could do that. It was also just a friendly; had it been a World Cup match somebody would have tackled me around the neck.”

Nevertheless, I feel we should all sit back and watch the goal once, twice or more and appreciate it for what it is. Agreed, the defending was awful; the Brazilians seemed half-hearted in their attempts to get the ball. But you have to salute an Englishman who tries to do something so-Brazilian at the heart of Brazilian football, and succeeds. It is no wonder that most of the fans at the Maracana that night stood up and applauded Barnes. That says something. Perhaps it was time to consider an alteration to the famous quote : “The English invented it and the Brazilians perfected it.” Barnes showed that it was quite possible for an Englishman to beat the Brazilians at their own game.

Barnes may play it down all he likes, but deep down, even he can’t deny the euphoria that goal must have gifted him that night. For one night in Rio, he might have been on top of the world, oblivious of everything that was to come next.

Watch Barnes’ amazing goal here