Maradona’s shirt sold for 9 million USD

Auction house Sotheby’s said this is the record price for a souvenir sportswear in history. Seven people bid on this shirt during the session from April 20 to May 4. The auction house did not name the buyer, but an Argentine media said that this person is of Middle Eastern origin and is related to Man City club.

After losing the auction, a representative for Argentina contacted the winner to borrow this shirt. This representative wants to display the shirt for the birthday of the late player nicknamed “Golden Boy” on October 30.

This shirt was originally owned by Steve Hodge, when the midfielder swapped shirts with Maradona after England’s 1-2 loss. Hodge has an autobiography called: “The Man with the Maradona Shirt”. For the past 20 years, the midfielder has loaned the shirt to the National Football Museum in Manchester.

At the beginning of the session, Maradona’s daughter – Dalma – said that the shirt being auctioned was not the one her father wore when he scored. “Hodge thought he had the shirt my dad wore when he scored with his hands, but it was actually the shirt my dad wore in the first half. In the second half, my dad changed to a new shirt and scored with his hand.”

But Sotheby’s said it had carefully examined every little detail of the shirt, to compare it to photos when Maradona wore it in the second half. They concluded the shirt being auctioned was the one Maradona wore when he scored.

Maradona scored with his hand

In the second half of the World Cup quarter-final match on June 22, 1986, Maradona scored a brace for Argentina in just four minutes. In the 51st minute, from an English player’s clearance, Maradona jumped to dispute with goalkeeper Peter Shilton. Due to his limited height, the Argentine striker smashed the ball into the net with his hand in front of the surprise of more than 114,000 spectators at the Azteca Stadium, Mexico. The English player vehemently protested to the referee, but Maradona’s goal was still recognized.

Just four minutes later, Maradona received the ball from home, dribbled past five English players and then cushioned the ball into the net to make it 2-0. Striker Gary Lineker regained a goal for England but Argentina still won 2-1 to reach the semi-finals, then win the title.

After this match, when asked about goals with his hands, Maradona said: “I score with my head, and the hand of God”. Since then, this goal has been likened to the “Hand of God”.

Maradona was born on October 30, 1960 in Lanus, Argentina. He won two Golden Balls, in 1986 and 1990. This player lost November 25, 2020, at the age of 60.

Hoang An