On one of London’s chicest streets, lined with haute couture boutiques, is Sotheby’s. I arrive at the imposing building, home to the auction house for over a hundred years. I pass the sculpture of an Egyptian goddess from 1320 BC above the front door and am greeted by a polite security man in a suit. “I’d like to see the shirt of God’s hand, please,” I say.
Smiling, he follows me and points to a room on the right at the end of the main hall. At the entrance is the sign: “Argentina 2-1 England, June 22, 1986, Azteca Stadium”. In the restaurant opposite, English ladies have a traditional afternoon tea right next to the piece worn by one of the most rebellious players in football history. Example of how plurality coexists in harmony in the English capital.
The environment is carefully prepared. The walls are decorated with photos of Diego Maradona’s moves, and in the center, highlighted and protected by a glass, is a symbol that transcends sport: the number 10 shirt worn by the Argentine against England in the quarterfinals of the World Cup. from Mexico. The special lighting gives an imposing air, as if we are about to see a show, and accentuates the bright blue of the uniform. But there is no stadium atmosphere, on the contrary: just like in a museum, it is a place to observe and appreciate.
Sotheby’s is open to the public, and those who are curious can take a closer look at items going up for auction. Being the owner of them is for very few. Not just any shirt: valued between £4 million and £6 million, it was used by Maradona in one of the most controversial goals of all time: “La Mano de Dios” for the Argentines, “A Mão de Deus” ” in Portuguese, “The Hand of God” for the English.
The story written on one of the walls of the room says that, as soon as he scored, with the help of his hand, Maradona called his teammates and asked them to hug him or the referee would not validate the goal. He still scored one more, the so-called “goal of the century”, considered the most beautiful in the history of World Cups in a FIFA election.
Argentina won, eliminated England and won that World Cup. After the match, Steve Hodge, then an England midfielder, asked to exchange shirts with Maradona and kept the relic, which was on display at the National Football Museum in Manchester.
There is also a historical context beyond the sport: the game was four years after the Falklands War, in 1982, when Argentina tried to take control of the islands that were under British rule and was defeated. That victory would have been a kind of symbolic revenge, according to Maradona.
The auction started on April 20th and ended last Wednesday (4th). In the last few minutes, you could see the bids increasing, and when the timer ran out, the final and winner was bigger than expected: 7,142,500 pounds, or almost R$ 45 million, a record for a sporting goods at auction. God my. The name of the new owner has not been released.
The irregular move was many decades before VAR, and there is no money in the world that would make it possible to reverse the referee’s decision, which could have changed the story of the match. That day lives on in the memory of the English, who call the goal “infamous”. But the security guard at the auction house, a football fan, doesn’t bother anymore. He believes it was the judge’s fault, not the Argentine’s. “I wish Maradona had played for a few more years. The goal was incredible. I forgive him.”
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