The silver World Cup medals that Willy van de Kerkhof won with the Dutch national football team in 1974 and 1978 have been auctioned. They were sold for 10,000 euros each. The former international had to get rid of it because his wife wanted him to clean up the attic, he recently told Omroep Brabant. During the auction, other Van de Kerkhof prices went under the hammer for another ten grand.
“The football gear has been in the attic for about twenty years. If I am no longer there, they will probably be thrown away by the children,” said Van de Kerkhof. The proceeds will go to his wife, who has a good destination in mind for their grandchildren.
The vacuum cleaner was not only referring to the medals of the tournaments in West Germany and Argentina. It was also possible to bid on the medals of the European Cup for national champions (1988), the UEFA cup (1978) and a bronze medal from 1976 with the Orange.
Still prices on offer
The auction was held last Thursday at Heritage Auctions Europe in IJsselstein. According to a spokesperson for the auction house, the medals for the requested price have changed hands. He also stated that there was a great deal of interest in the sporting memorabilia of the former vacuum cleaner. This also included cups and medals that Van de Kerkhof has won with golf. The spokesperson did not want to say who bought the prizes for privacy reasons. He also wanted to say that a number of prizes have not yet been auctioned.
Van de Kerkhof: “There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for football relics. If someone likes it, those medals can also be put to a good destination. I think it would be a shame if they are thrown away later.” Twin brother René cleaned up all his old football stuff years ago. For Willy, the real football memories are in his head: “You can’t share that with anyone else.”
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