Beautiful new shirts are released every summer by LaLiga clubs, but only a few go on to become legendary. Here’s a look at five of the best.
FC Barcelona, 2015/16
FC Barcelona have worn kits with variations of vertical blue and red stripes since their foundation in 1899 but broke with tradition in 2015/16 with this eye-catching jersey with horizontal hoops. The shirt was central to some of the club’s most iconic moments in recent years, including a LaLiga and Copa del Rey double as well as UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup victories.
The jersey’s popularity has endured and is still seen in the stands for home games. It’s still a must-have item for countless Barca fans!
Athletic Club, 2004/05
Another club synonymous with vertical stripes, Athletic Club bucked tradition in 2004/05 with this remarkable shirt. Commissioned to celebrate the club’s European qualification with a new-look jersey, the kit was designed by Bilbao-born artist Dario Urzay, who was keen to give the jersey a more modern feel just as the Guggenheim Museum had given his hometown in 1997.
His shirt was unique and came to be known as the “ketchup kit” thanks to its “splatter effect” design. Athletic Club hardly used it, but thousands of fans purchased their own version. Arenas de Getxo, another Basque club, were certainly impressed as a few years later they hired Urzay to come up with the pattern for their centenary shirts.
Atletico Madrid, 1995/96
Atletico Madrid enjoyed the greatest season in club history in 1995/96, winning an unprecedented LaLiga and Copa del Rey double. As a result, the team’s kit from that season enjoys almost iconic status in the hearts of fans of Los Rojiblancos.
Atleti’s strip that season featured thick block stripes of the club’s iconic red and white colours, with blue trim and all-blue shorts, and features in many of the most recognisable photos of 1990s Atleti legends Diego Simeone and Milinko Pantic. Fans are often still seen wearing that season’s shirt as no other kit sums up a glory era for the club quite like the 1995/96 kit.
Real Madrid, 2001/02
Think back in Real Madrid history and more often than not one moment comes to mind quicker than others: Zinedine Zidane’s spectacular strike in the 2002 Champions League final. That image is ingrained in every Madridista’s memory. And, as a result, so too is the club’s iconic strip from that season.
The club went back to basics to mark their centenary that season, opting for an elegant all-white affair as usual but with no sponsor except for the club’s own website as the football world entered the internet age. The kit also coincided with one of the greatest Real Madrid squads of all time, featuring the likes of Fernando Hierro, Luis Figo, Roberto Carlos, Steven McManaman, Raul, Fernando Morientes and, of course, Zizou.
Rayo Vallecano, EVERY YEAR.
Let’s be honest; this is always a classic. Rayo Vallecano’s kit, which features a red sash across the front, is always iconic. One of the few sides to sport the stripe on a regular basis – River Plate and the Peruvian national team spring to mind – Rayo Vallecano always stand out wherever they go.
Interestingly, the sash first appeared on the club’s jersey in 1949, 25 years after the Madrid side’s foundation in 1924. Since then, it has come to define the club and make it one of the most recognisable in LaLiga history. It features on the walls and gates of the club’s Estadio de Vallecas stadium, the club crest and on most of their away kits too.
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