Diego Armando Maradona won the 1986 World Cup, giving his best performance of the tournament in the 2-1 victory over England in the quarterfinals, where the “10” scored both goals for Argentina wearing a blue jersey, which is now on auction.
Argentina vs. England in Mexico ’86 is engraved in the memory of soccer lovers for everything it encompassed. The two nations had previously fought a war over the Falkland Islands in which many people died. Diego Armando Maradona, unarmed, with only the number 10 on his back, soccer shoes and a ball, did a little justice for his countrymen on the field of the Azteca Stadium on June 22, 1986.
Curiously, the two goals are symbolic beyond the meaning they may represent for the Argentine people, the first one occurred after Diego went for the ball with his head and hand raised in front of the opposing goalkeeper. The ball went into the net and Maradona ran to celebrate, although it was not clear whether he had done it with his hand or not.
This goal transcended as “La mano de Dios” (The Hand of God), after Diego Armando Maradona himself made a statement after the match and gave it that name. Maradona’s second goal in that match is known as “El gol del siglo” (The Goal of the Century) because of all the previous play he performed.
Diego took the ball in the midfield and ran at full speed, dodging the English players who tried to steal the ball from him. One dribble after another until he reached the penalty area and also left the English goalkeeper in his path with a left-footed shot.
Diego Armando Maradona’s Alternative T-shirt
Argentina’s main jersey has the colors of the flag, blue and white, but this alternative jersey in royal blue has a unique meaning.
The jersey is being auctioned at Sotheby’s for £6 million, which is approximately equivalent to 7.2 million euros.
Former England footballer Steve Hodge kept the shirt at the end of the Argentina vs England match and for a long time refused to sell it, and for some years it has been on display at the Manchester Football Museum.
The Museum’s official Twitter account said goodbye to the precious garment with a message specifying that it had been under its custody for 18 years.
The garment will be auctioned through the aforementioned bidding house’s website and will end on May 4.