Football has “The Catch,” baseball has “The Shot Heard ‘Round the World,” and basketball has “The Block.”
For soccer, it is Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” – a sporting moment captured in time, the mere mention of which can conjure up strong emotions among supporters.
Such is its legacy, that some 36 years after bouncing into the back of the net, the soccer ball involved was sold at auction on Nov. 16, 2022 for US$2.4 million.
So why does this goal, which should not even have been a goal, carry so much significance? As an economist who studies sport, I’ve long believed that you have to grasp the cultural significance to understand the financial dimension of sports. This goal was one of soccer’s most iconic events for a number of reasons.
