We hit the continent for this edition of Kit of the Week and find Serie A’s Fiorentina 92-93 away shirt staring us squarely in the face. On first inspection it looks like many other early nineties efforts; bold advertising logos (soft drink 7Up in this case) and ‘imaginative’ patternation. Italian sportswear manufacturers Lotto went a step further in their creation for the Viola.
Whether deliberate or, as is more likely (we hope) not, one particular emblem soon leaps out of the design and slaps you in the face like a Gestapo officer’s leather glove – the Swastika.
Italy, as history documents, has deep rooted nationalistic tendencies which makes the appearance of the symbol used by the Nazis during the Second World War and fascist groups ever since as something of an eyebrow raiser. This is potentially why this jersey only survived one full season in use; although how it managed to make it that long is incredible given how quickly people spotted the design aberration.
Unbelievably, a squad containing Brian Laudrup, Stefan Effenberg, Francesco Baiano and club legend Gabriel Batistuta struggled and, come the end of the season, were relegated from Italy’s top flight despite a 6-2 thrashing of Foggia on the final day which failed to save them. They did, however,make an immediate return to Serie A the following year after winning Serie B with ease.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihkzTcz5xIs&w=560&h=315]
Classic retro shirts available from Campo www.camporetro.com
