Thirty-six years after Diego Maradona helped Argentina beat Germany to lift the World Cup in Mexico City, the shirt he wore in the game has returned to his homeland.
Germany’s Lothar Matthaeus, who swapped shirts with Maradona, donated the jersey to the Argentine embassy in Madrid in August and it was handed over to the country’s football association (AFA) by collector Marcelo Ordas on Wednesday.
“I want to thank you, Marcelo, for having brought us this armor. An important armor for all of Argentine football. This shirt allowed us to hug each other when we won the title of Mexico,” AFA president Claudio Tapia said in a statement.
“The value of this means a lot to our country and our history.”
Maradona set up Jorge Burruchaga for the winner in the 1986 final at the Azteca Stadium as Argentina triumphed 3-2 to claim their second World Cup title.
Maradona’s “Hand of God” shirt, which he wore when he scored two of the most famous goals in soccer history against England in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals, sold for a then-record 7.14 million pounds ($8.01 million) at an auction in May.
That shirt is on loan to the Sports Museum in Qatar which is hosting this year’s World Cup starting on Nov. 20.
Maradona’s 1986 World Cup final shirt returns to Argentina
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Maradona’s 1986 World Cup final shirt returns to Argentina
- Germany’s Lothar Matthaeus, who swapped shirts with Maradona in the Mexico 86 final, donated the jersey to the Argentine embassy in Madrid in August
- Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ shirt, which he wore when he scored two of the most famous goals in football history against England at Mexico 86, sold for $8.01m in May
Inter continue Scudetto march after Champions League humbling
- Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto
MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march toward the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Inter, whose fans unloaded a collection of anti-Milan chants in anticipation of the derby, have dropped just two points in 15 league matches and have been a cut above the rest in Italy’s top flight this season.
Their domestic dominance comes in stark contrast to the humiliating manner in which they were dumped out of the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat to the Norwegian minnows cast doubts over not just the quality of Cristian Chivu’s team but of Italian football as a whole.
There was plenty of quality in Dimarco’s opener however, the Italy full-back beautifully placing a first-time finish from a tight angle after exchanging passes with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Little else happened in a humdrum encounter until Alex Amorim handled a cross from Luis Henrique, whose shot had been tipped onto the post just moments before.
Calhanoglu calmly stroked home the spot-kick on his return to action following niggling muscle problems which have caused him issues since before Christmas, sealing the points for Inter.
Big Rom back
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
“I was a dead player before coming here,” said Lukaku to DAZN.
“This season has been difficult, but we’ve got to aim high.”
Napoli’s title defense is all but over as they trail Inter by 14 points after an injury-ravaged season.
Napoli were missing key midfielders Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre-Frank Anguissa on Saturday, as well as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Verona, under interim coach Paolo Sammarco following the sacking of Paolo Zanetti earlier this month, are 10 points from safety after a 12th straight match without a win.
Como, who face Inter in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Tuesday, strolled to 3-1 victory over strugglers Lecce to continue their push for a first-ever qualification for European football.
Cesc Fabregas’s team are two points behind Roma, in fourth and Juventus’ opponents on Sunday, and five behind Napoli.
Como are also two points ahead of sixth-placed Juve who face Roma trying to stay in touch with the Champions League places after being eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition by Galatasaray on Wednesday.
