BOCA JUNIORS 1981 - A CULT HERO

On a Sunday on February 22, 1981, two days after signing his contract, a 21-year old Diego Maradona entered onto La Bombonera pitch in Buenos Aires wearing the Boca Juniors jersey for the first time. The match vs Talleres de Cordoba ended 4-1 with Maradona scoring twice on his debut for a memorable campaign, and the starting point of eternal love.

DIEGO MARADONA 1981 BOCA JUNIORS MATCH WORN ADIDAS JERSEY

Longtime rivals River Plate wanted Diego just as bad as Boca Juniors and even offered to make him the highest paid player in the club. Maradona, however, opted to join the team he always wanted to play for. His previous club Argentinos Juniors initially asked for $10 million, a bargain by today's standards, but a fortune for those days. The teams eventually agreed on $4 million cash, plus six players, additional bonuses and countless personal checks to get the deal done.

The match used jersey is from the 1981 Argentine Torneo Metropolitano, when Boca Juniors earned their 20th first division title.