The soccer was arguably the hottest category in trading cards at the height of the pandemic, and while the mass-produced ultra-modern market has tapered off, there doesn't seem to be any slowing down the holy grail rookie cards of football/fútbol/futebol legends like Pelé, Maradona, and Messi. Presented here is Diego Maradona's most coveted rookie card, fresh to the hobby and newly graded by PSA.

The 1977 Crack Futbol Campeonato #11 Disc with a headshot of young Diego as a member of the Argentinos Juniors is among the rarest of all vintage soccer cards, with a total of 76 examples encapsulated by PSA. (Only seven exist in the entire SGC population report and just four in Beckett's pop.) The challenge in finding one with even decent eye appeal can be painstaking as these tiny round, hand-cut pieces of cardboard hardly ever turn out smooth and blemish-free. Thus, there are just eight copies from any grader above NM-MT 6.

The harshness with which PSA now grades these seems unfair when you consider all that can go wrong. This offered example received a GD 2 assessment due to a few surface wrinkles (not even creases since they don't go through to the reverse) and the typical edge wear found along the perimeter. The image clarity of Maradona is better than most and the print quality of his name, card number and team is bold and consistent, giving it mid-grade eye appeal in our book. The fact remains that among all Diego RCs graded by PSA, SGC and Beckett, only 47 have been graded higher and this one would likely challenge well over a dozen of those side-by-side.