The jersey that soccer legend Diego Armando Maradona wore in the 1986 World Cup final between Argentina and Germany (3:2) in Mexico is back in Argentine hands thanks to Lothar Matthäus.
The former German national player had owned the historic jersey for 36 years because he had swapped jerseys with his opponent. In Madrid he gave the light blue and white striped shirt with the number 10 to entrepreneur and collector Marcelo Ordás. The Argentinian’s “Legends” traveling museum has one of the largest jersey collections in the world. In the coming months, the museum will have a permanent home in the Spanish capital.
“It was always a great honor to play against him because he was simply the best,” said Matthäus about Maradona, who died in November 2020 at the age of just 60. “As a player and as a person, he was always very important to me. He will always be in our hearts.” When asked if he received any money for the shirt, the ex-professional said: “The gratitude of the Argentines is priceless.” Matthäus had to settle for second place on June 29, 1986 in Mexico City. Four years later he captained Germany to the World Cup title in Italy. In the final, the DFB team beat Maradona & Co. 1-0 after extra time.
Ordás emphasized the “generosity” of German. Matthew loves “football more than anything”. The museum of the Argentine, who started his collection in 1990 at the age of 17, will have a total of 4,200 square meters of exhibition space in a seven-storey building on Puerta del Sol in Madrid. “The Spanish capital will have the most beautiful museum in the world dedicated to the passion for football,” said Madrid Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida at the presentation of the project at the end of June in the presence of former football greats such as Luis Figo and Iker Casillas. The inauguration should take place before Christmas.