Football shirts collected by England defender Mark Wright during the iconic Italia 90 World Cup have sold for over £100,000. He swapped jerseys with opponents during his side’s run to the semi-finals – which ended in penalty heartbreak against West Germany.
The tournament, which saw Bobby Robson lead the Gazza-inspired Three Lions team, is regarded as the greatest ever played. Wright’s haul included shirts worn by the Ireland’s Andy Townsend, West Germany’s Klaus Augenthaler and Italy’s Giuseppe Giannini.
Shirts swapped with Holland’s Johannes van’t Schip, Egypt’s Sader Eid, Belgium’s Marc van der Linden and Cameroon’s Emmanuel Kunde were also sold. The goalkeeper top worn by England’s Peter Shilton in the shoot-out defeat was also sold at the auction at Wembley Stadium last week.
Wright’s match worn FA Cup Final 1992 Liverpool shirt and six of his England caps completed the collection. The entire lot was bought by a private UK-based buyer. Towering central defender Wright, 61, was capped 45 times for his country.
Speaking about his shirt collection before the sale, Wright said: “I feel very proud when I look at the shirts. “I think how lucky I was to play in a World Cup and against these teams.”
“The most significant one for me was the Irish one as it was my mate Andy Townsend. To swap with a great mate was fantastic. “I don’t remember [swapping most of them] but I remember the German one obviously losing the semi-final and you’re switching.
“If I’m honest I didn’t really want to switch that one.”
The group stage saw England draw against Holland and Ireland before a 1-0 victory over Egypt took them through to the knock-outs. The excitement of making the last 16 reached fever pitch when England beat Belgium 1-0 with a last minute volley from David Platt.
The streak continued in the quarter finals with a memorable 3-2 win over Cameroon.
But the tournament ended with the inevitable pain of losing on penalties to West Germany in the semis, breaking the nations hearts. The Germans went on to beat Diego Maradona’s Argentina in the final to win the tournament.
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