Diego Maradona鈥檚 Golden Ball trophy from the 1986 World Cup has resurfaced. The award, which had been missing for decades, will be auctioned in Paris next month, the Aguttes house said Tuesday.
Maradona, at age 60, was awarded the trophy for his scintillating play at the tournament, where he captained Argentina in its 3-2 win over West Germany in the final in Mexico City. Before that, he scored the controversial 鈥淗and of God鈥 goal and the 鈥淕oal of the Century" in a 2-1 win over England in the quarterfinals.
The auction house said it expects the trophy 鈥渢o fetch millions due to its uniqueness."
Maradona received the award 鈥 given to the tournament's best player 鈥 at a ceremony at the Lido cabaret on the Champs-脡lys茅es in 1986. It subsequently disappeared, giving rise to rumors.
Some say it was lost during a wild poker game, or sold to pay off debts, Aguttes said.
Others said Maradona had stored it in a safe in a Naples bank that was robbed by local gangsters in 1989, when he played in the Italian league. According to the story told by a reformed member of the mafia, the trophy was then melted down into gold pieces.
鈥淎 far-fetched theory, given that it was made of a gold-copper alloy,鈥 Aguttes said in its auction catalogue.
Aguttes said the trophy reappeared in 2016 among other lots that were acquired from a private collection at auction in Paris.
鈥淚t was thoroughly investigated and authenticated as Diego Maradona鈥檚 Adidas Golden Ball trophy,鈥 Aguttes said.
The 鈥淗and of God鈥 goal came when Maradona punched the ball into England鈥檚 net for his team鈥檚 opener. Maradona was also a magician with the ball at his feet and four minutes later, he weaved through England鈥檚 midfield and defense and then past goalkeeper Peter Shilton for what FIFA later declared the greatest goal in World Cup history.
鈥淭o say that this World Cup had it all would be an understatement ... it was also, and above all, the tournament where Diego Maradona really showed the world what he could do with his feet, and even with his hands,鈥 said Fran莽ois Thierry, a sports expert at Aguttes.
Bidders will be asked to make a deposit of 150,000 euros ($161,000) to participate in the June 6 auction.
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