The shirt was on display at Sotheby’s, where thousands of people passed by to see it up close. Photo: AFP.
There is no sentimental value, there is a price. And that happens in the blue shirt of the Argentine National Team with the shiny number 10 on the back worn by Diego Maradona while drawing. “The hand of God” and later, within minutes, became “Cosmic Kite” in the second half of a 2-1 win over England, for the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. The jersey immediately became a collector’s item. But it did not remain in the hands of its original owner. After a previously fictional game at the less fictional Azteca stadium, he traveled from Mexico to England to stay in the closet of steve hodgeone of his defeated rivals, who after 36 years decided to make it money.
That’s why since last April 20 the legendary nylon Le Coq Sportif has been offered by the listed house Sotheby’s in London. A floor of 4 million pounds was set and a ceiling of 6 million pounds. Days passed and May 4, the bidding deadline, was near. And the most curious of all is the Maradona shirt that millions of people want to have only one offer. And this is the lowest, expected from the base.
Is it small? Yes, the expectation is 50 per cent and £ 4 million. Is it small !? The priceless value becomes tangible: at that price, the shirt can be exchanged for four of the 499 Ferrari 0km to be sold in 2022.
The only offer was 4 million pounds sterling. If there is more, add 200 thousand.
In dollars, a more practical change for Argentines accounts, it was 5,016,806.30 — more than half the “10 green sticks” value of Diego’s pass in 1981-, or 581,427,783 Argentine pesos as exchange official. Yes, more than 581 million pesos.
The shirt everyone wants will go to whoever makes a four million pound sterling deposit. Millions of interested parties and only one with enough millions to have it.
The auction system is completely online, so better bids can be added until the last minute: the hammer drop is virtual and others can wait until the last minute as a strategy to prevent another price increase.
Diego’s shirt is waiting for a new owner. Photo: AFP
“The (bidding) system is exactly the same as all our online auctions. I’m afraid we can’t speculate on the offers,” they replied from Sotheby’s auction house when asked by Clarion.
“However, the market has spoken to determine its value at what a record level”They party at the auction house. When the nice Hodge arrived with his shirt on, they examined the piece, verified its authenticity and assessed it at the lowest price that even a bidder would be willing to offer.
“The influx of visitors to the exhibition has continued over the past few weeks. It is a very special exhibition to witness and there is a lot of excitement around the world,” they said.
The T-shirt, on display at Sothebys. Photo: REUTERS
How did it go to auction?
Steve Hodge marked Diego Maradona in the 1986 Mexico quarterfinals. Photo: AFP
Upon learning of the freshness of the auction, Dalma Maradona announced that it was not the shirt where her father made the goal with his hand and eventually the stacked one that started in the middle of the field and ended with a goal without it happening. something else between Diego and the ball. The star’s eldest daughter made sure the jacket was the one from the first half, with no goals.
“Knowing my dad for just a minute, you know that he didn’t give that shirt to anyone. The one in the first half, OK, change it because you also don’t know what will happen in the second. That. Shirt (the one in the second half) it doesn’t have this man, poor thing, ”he said. “We’ve had conversations about this topic with papa. I know that really. Obviously he doesn’t have it,” she said.
However, world champion Oscar Garré opposed that version and said Clarion why Hodge had the holy grail of Maradona jerseys. little surgeon he replaced it with Gary Lineker and when the captain entered the locker room and saw the Englishman’s 10, he replaced it with 18 which gave him a few seconds.
Steve Hodge in Maradona’s jersey.
Sotheby’s guarantees that the jacket on sale is the one the Villa Fiorito star used in the second half.. To do this, it is supported by a study conducted by Resolution Photomatchinga professional photo comparison company that works with verification processes at many auction houses from different parts of the world and also with private collectors.
According to the report of Resolution Photomatchingsigned by its founder and owner John Robinson, the comparison made from available photographs of the second half of the match between Argentina and England produced a definite result: the jacket being auctioned was what Maradona used in those seconds. 45 minutes and, therefore, what he was wearing when he scored two goals.
The shirt worn by Diego Maradona in the match against England in 1986 at Sotheby’s auctions.
“A specific photographic match was made from torn yarn and seam imperfections in the custom-stitched patch on the front of the jersey,” said the report, which was posted on the auction page along with the photos. of the shirt owned by Hodge and which for two decades remained on display in the National Football Museum of England, located in Manchester.
The report indicates that matches were also found with “alignment of the drawings on the custom-stitched patch and logo on the front of the jersey, the custom screen-printed numbers on the back of the jersey and between the front and back of the jersey. and sleeves of the jersey “, although he stressed that they were not” clear and identical enough to be regarded as credible matching features “, but rather as” supporting the matching of features “.
The shirt worn by Diego Maradona in the match against England in 1986 at Sotheby’s auctions.
More there and that “the drawings on the shirt in some of Maradona’s photos appear upside down and twisted due to the lack of clarity of the photos ”, Resolution Photomatching clarified that “the combined analysis of several images allowed a specific photographic match to be determined.”
Source: Clarin
