In 2022, Graham Budd Auctions auctioned off the mystical soccer ball struck “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”, in the Argentine player’s own words spoken in June 1986 in front of apocryphal journalists. Yet awarded at 2 million euros, the reserve price to touch the divine was not reached.
On June 22, 1986, Mexico City hosted the quarter-final of the World Cup between England and Argentina. The shadow of the Falklands war hangs over: in the spring of 1982, the Argentinian dictatorial power tried to restore its image by invading the archipelago before suffering a superb humiliation led by Margaret Thatcher. The defeat heralded the end of the dictatorship and the advent of a democratic government. But if the Argentinians kicked out the junta without regret, they would have done the same to the British.
Find all the episodes of our series Objects of HistoryMarie-Antoinette’s shoeMaradona’s balloonDarwin’s microscopeMata Hari’s jewelsThe key to the BastilleMoctezuma’s headdressThe Titanic’s buoysEdison’s first light bulbMarat’s bathtubGalilee’s telescopeThe Ravaillac knifeThe first shoes to have walked on the lunar ground
In June 1986, the irony of history takes the form of a balloon and curiously resonates contemporary conflicts with those of the past. In the Azteca stadium, the ball of the same name will do what it seems to have always done in Mexico City: appeal to the gods to resolve (among other things) territorial disputes.
When Maradona takes possession of the Azteca ball for the first time, he takes a technologically revolutionary object. A specific model of the Tango Durlast production developed by Adidas, the ball is made up of thirty-two hexagonal facets assembled by hand stitching executed in France. For the first time, the sewn envelope is not made of leather, but of Adicron, a synthetic coating whose resistance, impermeability and longevity are unmatched. After the Azteca, Adidas will never produce a leather ball again.
Designed by Rebecca Martinez, the ball does not ignore what it owes to the land on which it is playing in June 1986. Its decorations inspired by Aztec art and this new material are a tribute to the pre-Columbian ball game. and rubber, discovered at the turn of the 16th century by the conquistadors.
Among the Aztecs at the time of the conquest, the ruling elites are responsible for maintaining this link with the Underworld in order to guarantee a fertile land. They are therefore specifically involved in the ball game. Without knowing if these elites played or were replaced by trained players, we know that the loser could be sacrificed, thus feeding the gods with his blood and happily spicing up the game at the same time.
A sacred act, the Aztec ball game allows conflicts to be resolved peacefully. Its military value is not disputed when it substitutes for war or conquest. The parallel between player and warrior is frequent, although the outcome of the game always attests to the will of the gods more than to the skill of the players.
In the 15th century, when Emperor Axayacatl defeated the King of Xochimilco at a ball game, the latter’s kingdom became Aztec. When a game of ball must determine the relevance of the omen announcing the destruction of the Triple Alliance (which brings together Aztecs, Acolhuas and Tepanecs), the defeat of Emperor Moctezuma II against Lord Nezahualpilli does not bode well. Especially since the prediction turns out to be tragically more reliable than those of our contemporary horoscopes: soon, the Triple Alliance is broken, the Aztec Empire crumbles, defeated by the Spaniards of Hernan Cortes.
While the Falklands War still sounds like an anachronistic colonial upheaval – despite the undeniable strategic stakes in the middle of the Cold War – the balloon once again symbolizes the issue of possession of a territory. Diego Maradona doesn’t believe so well in claiming to have been helped by the hand of God; it remains to judge the nationality of the divine.
