Pink 96.9 fm your life, your music
Related Articles
Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez will next season wear a Barcelona shirt reminiscent of the one worn when the Catalan giants won their first ever European Cup.
Barcelona have teamed up with Nike to create a home kit which pays tribute to the club’s 1992 European Cup final victory.
The Spanish giants lifted the prestigious trophy for the first time at Wembley Stadium 25 years ago with current Southampton boss Ronald Koeman scoring the winner in extra time.
(From left to right) Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique, Andres Iniesta, Neymar and Luis Suarez parade new home shirt
Incoming Manchester City manager and former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola played a key role in the club’s historical victory, while Michael Laudrup and Hristo Stoichkov also featured in the London showdown with Sampdoria.
The late Johan Cruyff coached Barca during their hugely successful 1991-92 campaign which makes the tribute to the side which played in the club’s famous blue and red strip even more fitting.
Barcelona fans will get a sense of nostalgia when they see Messi and Co race out at the Nou Camp Stadium next season.
The new home kit does not currently have a sponsor as talks with Qatar Airways broke down over a new £47m-a-year deal.
Barcelona, who didn’t have a shirt sponsor on their kit until 2011, thought they had a new deal with Qatar Airways all-but signed but the Qataris stalled last October.
They did agree to carry the Unicef logo on their shirt in 2006 but they paid the charity for the partnership.
Current captain Andres Iniesta has said the new kit is in line with the club’s ‘heritage’.
Iniesta, speaking to Nike, said: ‘At Barcelona, we believe in attacking and fast football.
‘This new kit feels light and comfortable — it’s an expression of both our heritage and our future.’
The new Nike ‘Vapor’ home shirt contains AeroSwift technology and has the club’s classic broad red and blue vertical stripes running down the shirt.
‘Un Crit’ and ‘Valen’, which together translates to ‘Our cry is bold’, is also stitched into the home shirt to provide yet another inspirational touch.
‘Barca’ is knitted into the back collar alongside a small Catalan flag.
Nike and Barcelona have put so much thought into the new strip that there is even a story behind the font.
The club and their American suppliers have used a curvy font to represent the city’s iconic architecture.
The new home kit does not carry a sponsor on the front but has the traditional red and blue vertical stripes
Blue shorts and blue socks make up the full kit, which is priced at a staggering £123 on Nike’s official website.
An adult ‘Stadium’ home shirt is £65 while shorts and socks can be purchased for £45 and £13 respectively.
The Barcelona ‘Vapor’ shirt, which contains the aforementioned AeroSwift technology, will set you back £100 – meaning fans will have to shell out £158 for the full top-of-the-range home kit.
A baby and toddler kids’ kit which is suitable for a child up to the age of 36 months is £38, while a ‘Stadium’ shirt for eight to 15-year-olds is £52.
Barcelona will be hoping for more success in the new strip having won a domestic double this season.
Luis Enrique’s side pipped rivals Real Madrid to the league title before beating Sevilla 2-0 in the Copa del Rey final.