“A piece of football history” soon on sale in Neuilly-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine). The “Adidas Golden Ball”, won by Diego Maradona after the 1986 World Cup, will be auctioned on June 6, Aguttes announced this Tuesday.
At the time, this trophy rewarded the best player in the competition that Diego Maradona won with Argentina. It was notably during this competition, during a quarter-final against England, that “El Pibe de Oro” scored one of the most controversial goals in history, “the hand of God”, before to definitively reduce the hopes of the English by marking “the goal of the century”. He notably dribbled past four opponents and the goalkeeper before scoring.
“To say this World Cup had it all would be an understatement: phenomenal goals were scored and countless world-class talents were on display. It is also and above all the tournament where Diego Maradona really showed the whole world what he could do with his feet, and even with his hands…” indicates François Thierry, sports expert at the auction house, in a communicated.
A prize received at the Lido in Paris in November 1986
The Argentine footballer, who died in November 2020, was officially presented with this award during a ceremony at the Lido in Paris, by Adidas and the sports magazine France Football, on November 13, 1986. This model features the motifs of the “Azteca” ball » of the Adidas brand, used during this World Cup, specifies the auction house.
Without having yet communicated an estimate of the starting price of this sale, “complex because no comparable object has already gone to auction”, the Aguttes house “expects this souvenir to reach millions in because of its unique character. » This is “a world first”, insists the auction house. It will be possible for the public or interested parties to discover this object during a public exhibition on May 4, 5 and 6.
