Tag: Puma

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British Club Tops

John Sutton – Scottish Cup Final 2011

On the 126th Scottish Cup final Motherwell made their way to Hampden where they would come up against Celtic in Scottish football’s most prestigious knockout competition.

This jersey comes from John Sutton who had a terrific campaign as he finished the Scottish Cup as the competitions top goal scorer with six goals out of Motherwell’s 14 goals en route to the final. He would score in all games except the quarter final replay with Dundee Utd and unfortunately in the final against Celtic as the well lost 3-0 which would be Neil Lennon’s first trophy as Celtic manager.

Over the course of Sutton’s Motherwell career he would play just over 200 games for the steelmen and score a respectable 78 times. Arriving the first time from Wycombe Wanderers after spending a good spell in Scotland with St Mirren. After the Scottish Cup final, Sutton would move on to Hearts where he would find himself back at Fir Park in another three years.

After Motherwell, Sutton would move to St Johnstone and St Mirren for a second spell before moving to their local rivals Greenock Morton where he would retire in 2019 to begin his coaching career.

Made by Puma, this top uses Motherwell’s iconic hoop around the middle of the body which has featured on most home tops of recent times. Another great thing about this top is the Phil O’Donnell signature just above the Puma badge which speaks for itself.

Categories
British Club Tops

Aberdeen – 99/00

The 99/00 season was a bit of a mixed one for Aberdeen fans. Finishing bottom of the league is certainly not something to celebrate but reaching two cup finals that season is an unbelievable feat but unfortunately it was the two old firm sides who stole the silverware at both League Cup and Scottish Cup finals.

This jersey comes from Cato Guntveit who started for Aberdeen in the League Cup Final at Hampden Park. The Norwegian was brought off at half time after being 1-0 down to Celtic. During the second half, fellow Norwegian Thomas Solberg was sent off and that was the end for Aberdeen.

Guntveit joined Aberdeen at the start of the 99/00 season having arrived from Brann where he would return in 2002 after 69 appearances The Don’s.

During Aberdeen’s run to the League Cup Final, they eliminated teams such as Livingston, Falkirk, Rangers and Dundee United with the last two being a fairly respectable achievement for Aberdeen.

Only avoiding relegation due to Falkirk’s stadium not being up to SPL standards, meaning they would not play their playoff game against Aberdeen. They also managed to qualify for that seasons UEFA Cup Qualifying due to finishing runners up in the Scottish Cup to league champions Rangers.

Coming from Puma, this kit is a classic late 90’s/early 00’s with the tidy white collar that is complimented by a small V-neck. The thick band of Puma badges running down the arms gives it retro vibes, especially with that CIS Cup Final Badge plastered on top of it. Whoever wanted them to be so large should get a pat on the back because they look fantastic as they match the top very well.

Categories
European International Tops

Forza Italia / Andrea Pirlo

Italy are going to be playing in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley tonight and what better way to get you in the mood than having a read at this.

Winners of four World Cups and a European Championship, Italy have always been one of the best in the world but over the last few years it hasn’t been easy supporting the Italian National Team. In 2018, Italy dropped down to 14th in the FIFA world rankings after failing to qualify for the World Cup in Russia. After failure to qualify, Italy would start their rebuild by hiring manager Roberto Mancini and haven’t looked back since.

Starting off the tournament with a 3-0 victory over Turkey and then another 3-0 win over Switzerland saw Italy qualify with one group game to spare but a 1-0 win over Wales saw Italy become the only team this tournament to qualify through the group without conceding a goal.

They haven’t had an easy route to the final either after beating Austria 2-1 after extra time, Belgium 2-1 and Spain 4-2 on penalties, they thoroughly deserve their place in this final.

Looking back to Italy’s last major trophy takes us back to the 2006 World Cup that was played in Germany. When you think about this final, two things come to mind. The first being Zinedine Zidane’s famous headbutt and the second being Andrea Pirlo’s man of the match performance. Beating France in penalties after full time ended 1-1 with Pirlo taking one of Italy’s penalties. France scored in the 9th minute after Zidane converted a penalty into Gigi Buffon. Italy equalised not long after in the 19th minute with Marco Materazzi scoring from an excellent delivery from an Andrea Pirlo corner.

Andrea Pirlo is not only one of Italy’s greatest ever players but is regarded as one of the best deep lying playmakers ever. Capped 114 times for Italy, Pirlo has played for Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus, going on to manage The Old Lady for the 20/21 season.

This jersey comes from Italy’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Northern Ireland. The Italian’s left with a draw after an excellent effort from the Northern Irish forcing a 0-0 stalemate.

Categories
British Club Tops

Luka Modric – Tottenham 10′

Luka Modric has won all there is to win at club level with Real Madrid but before his big money move to Los Blancos, Modric was showing off his talent in North London with Tottenham Hotspur.

Arriving from Dinamo Zagreb in 2008, for a then club record fee of £16.5 million after turning down both Manchester City and Newcastle Utd, Luka would play 160 games for the North London outfit, He would be directly involved in 44 goals with 17 goals and 27 assists.

Not often a goal scoring threat, Modric is able to create a chance out of nothing in the middle of the pitch with most of his game time at Spurs coming from the central midfield area or out on the left midfield.

Tottenham almost doubled their money on the Croatian, when Real Madrid paid £30 million for his talents. Luka’s role in the midfield became more industrious and hard working for Madrids Galacticos compared to him being the main creator of the team, as his role was in London. In Madrid he was part of a deadly midfield trio with German Toni Kroos and Brazilian Casemiro as the three won four Champions League titles and two league titles, becoming one of the best midfields of the modern era.

It wouldn’t be until 2018 that Luka Modric would earn the recognition he truly deserved. After winning the Champions League and captaining his country to their first World Cup final, Modric was awarded with FIFA’s and UEFA’s best men’s player of the year award along with a Ballon D’or.

This top was the first of seven home jerseys designed by Puma, taking over from Kappa in 06/07 to their deal finishing in the 12/13 campaign, with Under Armour stepping in. Over Puma’s tenure, they kept the home shirts mainly the traditional, always using white as the primary and navy as a secondary colour. Puma would change their style a few times, using a crew neck, a V-neck and also a collar to keep in line with the trends of the time.

A closer look at the white body of the jersey reveals small air holes in the jersey, helping to keep the players body cool, along with a different material running up the side of the top, for the same reason. This top comes with two felt Premier League badges on each sleeve and felt name and numbers with the sponsor being a bit more sympathetic to the club colours than some of the modern jerseys. The jersey is finished off with a large embroidered cockerel.