No football shirt fan's collection is complete without a couple of 90s Serie A jerseys, with a few big favourites regularly cropping up. Here are five great jerseys from that era that you may be less familiar with.
Top 5 Underrated Serie A Shirts of the 90s
Serie A in the 90s was the pinnacle of the game. Italian clubs dominated European competitions, attracted the best players, and the passionate atmosphere found inside their stadiums - complete with barriers to keep the fans off the pitch - was unrivalled. The kits were fantastic too. The variety of colours, the baggy fits and the photos of players posing for pre-match photos have all become intertwined with the nostalgic appeal of that era. Juventus, Inter, Milan, Parma, Roma, Lazio and Fiorentina became known as le Sette Sorelle (the seven sisters) and really marked what was the golden age of Serie A. The chances are that for any one of those clubs, one of their classic 90s shirts comes to mind as soon as you hear their name.
Between them, those teams won the majority of the titles on offer at the time, but they were not the only ones to be graced with gorgeous shirts by their technical sponsors. Outside of the elite, there were plenty of other clubs playing week in week out in kits from a wide array of brands, some of which are no longer around. With so many to choose from, it wasn't an easy task narrowing it down to five of the best, but here are our selections, in no particular order.
Torino 94-95 by Lotto
This may look like a fairly standard maroon shirt at first glance, but when you get up close the all over bull print becomes apparent. A fantastic touch by Lotto, incorporating the stylized rampant bull from the incredible angular crest designed by GBM Italia in 1983.
Intended to represent the determination and aggression that the club had always been known for, that version was simply one of the best football club crests of all time.
Hellas Verona 95-97 by Erreà
First worn for a season in Serie B, Verona kept this kit for another season, giving it a chance to shine on the big stage following their promotion. A navy shirt with a yellow chest band will forever by the trademark of Boca Juniors, but there was no mistaking this for anything other than a Verona jersey thanks to the enormous club crest in the centre.
If that wasn't clear enough, it was also woven into the jacquard print. This design was produced in an incredible five different colourways too.
U.S. Ancona 92-93 by Umbro
Ancona only ever played two seasons in Serie A, 92-93 and 03-04. They definitely looked the part for their maiden top flight season in the early 90s with another seemingly simple shirt that revealed some great details on closer inspection. "Ancona" text filled the Umbro's rhomboid-shaped jacquard print, and a large watermark of the club badge sat front and centre.
Throw in a food company sponsor and a contrasting polo collar and you've got a perfect 90s kit, or make that two when you count the inverted away kit. Ancona have sadly endured a lot of financial difficulties and the club has been re-founded four times in the last twenty years, most recently last summer. They now play in Serie C.
Udinese 99-00 by Diadora
Coming in right at the end of the decade, this Udinese home shirt by Diadora combined a number of elements that defined the aesthetic of the 90s. Italian clubs do striped kits better than anyone else, but this one didn't depend just on that particular tradition.
A huge watermarked crest was especially visible on the black stripes (which also had pinstripe borders), and the Diadora logo was well suited to the sleeve taping.
Vicenza 96-97 by Biemme
Biemme is a brand that specialises in cycling wear, but in the 90s and early 00s they also gave football shirts a go, and it turned out that they were pretty good at making them. Their 96-97 home kit for Vicenza had wider stripes than some of their previous offerings, a red polo collar with some nice detailing running around it and a shimmering jacquard print all over.
Vicenza's crest at the time was an imposing letter V within a shield, which was matched nicely by Biemme's tricolour logo and that of their main sponsor, Italian menswear brand Pal Zileri. The icing on the cake was the vertical "Vicenza" lettering that ran down the placket of the collar. A shirt more than worthy of the club's Coppa Italia triumph that season.
What's your opinion on these shirts? Are there any others that you rate highly but don't get much attention? Let us know in the comments.