The football used when Diego Maradona scored his infamous “Hand of God” goal against England at the 1986 World Cup has been sold for $3.3m (£2.5m) at auction in the United States.
The Adidas Azteca ball was used during Argentina’s 2-1 quarter-final victory over England in Mexico. A match that produced two of the most memorable goals in World Cup history.
Maradona opened the scoring by punching the ball past England goalkeeper Peter Shilton. The referee allowed the goal to stand, despite protests from the English players.
Maradona later described the goal with the now-famous phrase that it was scored partly with his head and partly with “the hand of God”.
Just minutes later, he produced another moment of brilliance. Collecting the ball inside his own half, Maradona weaved past five England outfield players before rounding Shilton and scoring. The goal was subsequently named the “goal of the century”.
Ball Was Kept By Match Referee
The ball has a direct connection to the historic match through the referee, Tunisian Ali Bin Nasser.
Bin Nasser collected the Adidas Azteca after the final whistle and kept it for more than 30 years. In 2023, the former referee signed a letter confirming that the ball was the one used throughout the match. Further independent authentication has since supported its provenance.
The item was sold through Heritage Auctions on Saturday for $3.3m, equivalent to about £2.5m. However, the final price was considerably below the auction’s expected figure of around $10m (£7.3m).
Mike Provenzale, a specialist auctioneer at Heritage, had described the football ahead of the sale as a unique piece of sporting history.
“It’s a true one-of-one item. Arguably the most significant soccer item that exists,” he told Reuters.
Previous sale and failed auctionBin Nasser first sold the ball in 2022 for $2.37m (£1.74m). The subsequent owner attempted to sell it again in 2023, but the auction failed to reach the minimum price required by the seller.
The latest sale nevertheless places the ball among the most valuable pieces of football memorabilia. Maradona’s shirt from the same Argentina-England quarter-final has also attracted enormous interest from collectors. It sold for £7.1m at auction in 2022.
The 1986 match remains one of the most iconic games in World Cup history, largely because Maradona produced two goals that have become permanently associated with the tournament. One controversial and one widely regarded as the greatest goal ever scored at a World Cup.
READ ALSO: https://alo360.net/ronaldinho-makes-comeback-at-46-targets-300th-career-goal/
