1) What the piece is: A Fila shirt with the number 10, similar to Argentina’s national-team shirt, worn in the tribute match for Diego Maradona (2001).
2) Marketing & branding history: This jersey is an emblematic example of “Ambush Marketing”: Fila designed it to resemble the national-team shirt, although the AFA’s official technical sponsor was adidas, returning after Reebok’s period (1999–2001). The tribute match at La Bombonera brought together international stars including Higuita, Cantona, Francescoli and Riquelme, facing Bielsa’s Argentina national team.
3) Significant sporting fact: At the end of the match, Maradona delivered a memorable speech lasting 5 minutes and 20 seconds, closing with a phrase that would live forever in football history: “I made mistakes and I paid for them. But… the ball did not, the ball does not get stained.”
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Claudio Destéfano (@claudio_destefano) is a journalist specializing in business, a networker and an expert in sports marketing. He is also the founder of TOP (Templo del Otro Partido), the Sports Marketing Museum.
Photo and text: Maximiliano López Arce (@mlopezarce) · Degree in Marketing, 9.86 grade average (Honors Diploma, UCES). Sports journalist and football collector ⚽
