Cruyff and Maradona shirts earn 'El Simpatico' a handsome sum

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Former Belgian goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff has closed his museum and then decided to say goodbye to some remarkable collectors' items he collected throughout his richly filled career.

Pfaff built up an impressive collection of soccer items over the past decades. He displayed them in his own museum in his home town of Beveren and at the King Baudouin Stadium. The Belgian goalkeeper, known as "El Simpatico" because of his eternal smile, decided to sell his collection and hired Paris auction house Millon to do so.

Pfaff got rid of a lot of unique items. The showpiece was certainly the Diego Maradona shirt the player himself wore at the 1986 World Cup. Led by a strong Maradona, Argentina crowned themselves world champions. Belgium fell in the semifinals and took the bronze medal. Jean-Marie Pfaff played an impressive game and was elected goalkeeper of the World Championship. Although he had to concede against Argentina, Diego Maradona had great respect for the Belgian goalkeeper. They built a beautiful friendship over the years, and Maradona even gifted Pfaff his shirt after the World Cup match. Belgium lost the match 2-0, and it was Maradona who scored the two goals. That shirt was now auctioned off and brought an extraordinary amount. Maradona's jersey sold for 400,000 euros.

Another top piece from Pfaff's collection is surely the shirt he swapped with Johan Cruyff during his international debut in 1976. "For the best and most sympathetic player," Cruijff wrote on the shirt. 130,000 euros was offered for the Orange shirt.

Pfaff also parted with a shirt of former German goalkeeper Toni Schumacher for 35,000 euros, the official match ball from the 1982 World Cup final for 33,000 euros, a collection of unique match reports from the first World Cup in Uruguay for 32,000 euros and two jerseys of French soccer star Zinédine Zidane for 19,000 and 13,000 euros.

Jean-Marie Pfaff began his soccer career at Belgium's SK Beveren, where he grew to become one of Belgium's best goalkeepers. He became national champion there in 1979 and then transferred to Bayern Munich. In Germany, the Belgian created a furor. He won three German titles, two cups and was considered one of the best goalkeepers in the world. With the Belgian national team, he played at the 1980 European Championship and the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, with the World Cup in Mexico as the highlight. He ended his career with Lierse and later Turkish Trabzonspor.

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