Butragueno reflects on career-changing Denmark match at 1986 World Cup

Emilio Butragueno and Spanish football fans of a certain age will always remember 18 June 1986. That afternoon in Queretaro, the Real Madrid forward struck four goals in Miguel Munoz's side's thumping 5-1 victory over Denmark in the round of 16 at the 1986 FIFA World Cup Mexico™. The Danes arrived in excellent form, having won all three group games, shipping just one goal along the way. La Roja, meanwhile, had recovered from defeat to Brazil by beating Northern Ireland and Algeria. The legendary Spanish sharpshooter spoke to FIFA about that historic day in Mexico.

A disrupted build-up

Butragueno explained that the team's preparation was far from ideal. "We finished the group stage against Algeria in Monterrey a day before them. Denmark played West Germany in Queretaro at midday the following day. The winners would be our next opponents. We'd planned to fly from Monterrey to Mexico City and arrive in the afternoon, but the flight was delayed and we didn't get there until midnight. Coach Miguel Munoz wanted to watch the Denmark match in Queretaro, but it's about a three-hour journey from Mexico City. Due to the delay, we headed straight to Queretaro and didn't get to bed until very late. We all ended up going to the stadium to watch Denmark beat West Germany 2-0."

Given their open style of play and technical quality, the Danes had established themselves as one of the leading contenders to win the tournament. The press and supporters felt they might even be favourites. "Denmark were a great footballing side, and it was an entertaining match," Butragueno recalled.

The turning point

"Even though they went ahead through a penalty, the game was very much still in the balance at 1-0. Our equaliser came from an unfortunate mistake by Jesper Olsen, who was having a brilliant tournament and had opened the scoring. He tried to pass the ball back to the goalkeeper with his weaker right foot but mishit it, and I was lucky enough to pounce to slot home the equaliser. It was a psychological blow for them, but they came out all guns blazing at the start of the second half."

"I remember Elkjaer Larsen had a couple of chances, they had more of the ball and then out of nowhere came the move that allowed me to put us 2-1 up. That goal was the turning point. They then took more risks and every time we nicked the ball back, we were effective on the break and punished them. That's how the penalty came about for our third goal."

Counter-attacking masterclass

"Almost all of our counter-attacks came down Michel's side. He was technically outstanding and whenever we had space, we tried to make runs in behind. That's how we hurt them. We then tucked home our third goal when [Andoni] Goikoetxea stepped up to the plate after I was fouled. Surging into a 3-1 lead certainly felt significant. It all clicked into place from that point onwards."

"We staged a counter-attack down the right flank with Michel and I made it 4-1, and the fifth goal came from almost the last kick of the game. I think going 2-1 up was pivotal because they then threw caution to the wind and we took full advantage. We were so effective on the counter. Denmark were a technically gifted side, but we made them pay for leaving us space in the second half."

Johan Cruyff's influence

"Everything seemed to come off for me that day. Everyone knows that Johan was my favourite player and when you're little, you study movement and patterns of play. I'd seen Johan do that many times and it just came naturally to me at the time. Luckily, it bore fruit. It was late in the game and my team-mates came over to tell me to take the penalty, which was a kind gesture. Many people still mention that moment to me as an example of Johan's influence."

"I remember it all, including swapping shirts with [Michael] Laudrup. The first person I saw when I came out of the dressing room was my father, who was at the match with my girlfriend, who's now my wife, and my sister's husband."