Expected amount of a priceless souvenir: a little over five million dollars. The mythical jersey that Diego Maradona wore in the quarter-finals of the 1986 World Cup when crucifying England is about to go to auction. For more than 35 years, this blue jersey bearing the number 10 has had the sole owner of former English midfielder Steve Hodge. Well inspired, he had exchanged his with the “Pibe de Oro” at the end of the match won by the Argentines (2-1) and remained one of the most controversial in the history of the World Cup. But the time seems to have come to part with it.
In the press release from Sotheby’s announcing the sale, Steve Hodge said he was “certain that the new owner will be very proud to own” this jersey, which “has a deep cultural meaning for the world of football, the Argentine people and the people English “. The former English player had so far capitalized on this story, even devoting the title of his autobiography to it (“The man with Maradona’s shirt”). The tunic was entrusted in 2004 to the National Football Museum in Manchester. When Maradona died in November 2020, he still claimed the object was not for sale and had “incredible sentimental value”.
Sotheby’s, which will exhibit it at its London premises during the internet sale (April 20 to May 4), has set the starting price at 4 million pounds, or more than $5.2 million, told AFP its head of streetwear and modern collectibles, Brahm Wachter.
A mythical game
That’s slightly below the 2019 record ($5.6 million) set at auction for a jersey worn by American baseball legend Babe Ruth with the New York Yankees in the late 1920s. Last year, a jersey worn in the 1950s by black Brooklyn Dodgers star Jackie Robinson sold for $4.2 million. In the collectibles market, football rarely competes with the king sports in the United States, such as basketball, American football or baseball.
On June 22, 1986, at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City, everything was decided in a few minutes during this match heavy with symbols, four years after the Falklands war between the two countries. In the 51st minute, just after a ball diverted in his area by Steve Hodge, the Argentinian captain rises in front of England goalkeeper Peter Shilton and seems to score with his head, when he helped himself with his hand. “The hand of God”, Maradona will say after the meeting. “It was totally inappropriate, but people who have played football know that we try this kind of thing from time to time. In all corners of the globe, he was respected and people appreciated him for his genius. This match will never be erased from football history,” Steve Hodge said recently, not resentfully.
Four minutes later after this iconic gesture, the Argentinian will redeem himself. Starting from his defense, he eliminated four English players then Shilton after a fantastic ride and scored “the goal of the century”. Worn by Maradona, whose death at age 60 in 2020 threw the country into mourning, Argentina then won its second World Cup in Mexico.
Jerseys bought, embroidered and flocked at the last moment
Last year, the Argentinians were invited by their football federation to celebrate the 35th anniversary of this legendary match, by playing the match commentator’s soundtrack at the same time as at the time. historical. “There may be a lot of demand on the market for this object”, bets Brahm Wachter. “It can be a museum, a club, a football lover or maybe just someone who wants the best of the best. »
The story also goes that the Argentine shirts that day were bought at the last moment, as coach Carlos Bilardo feared his players would be too hot in their official uniforms. A member of the staff had gone to Mexico City to get a set of lighter jerseys, on which the AFA emblem had been embroidered and the players’ numbers hastily applied and ironed on the back.
