Sunday 19 July 2015

[50GFSE] #21 - Universitario 2013 88th Anniversary Shirt by Umbro

And so we come to another limited edition shirt on this list (yet again nominated by me), though this one encountered very little resistance due to its staggering beauty.

Released to celebrate Peruvian club Universitario's 88th year (oh come on, since when has that been any kind of event?), Umbro stripped things right back and went full-on retro.

Click for larger version
Despite being a very minimal design, there are several features that make this shirt great. Firstly, the whole thing is constructed from Umbro's lush cotton used on so many of their 'Tailored By' range.

And then there's the details. Starting from the top, we find a neat, trimmed collar which then has a neck opening that extends almost all the way down to the abdomen; a brave move given how most manufacturers still try to keep their tribute shirts within the bounds of modern features.

The club crest - a gorgeously simple U in a circle and rendered in maroon - is quite thick, luxuriously stitched on and again, really feels like it would have done in days gone by.

The Umbro logo, rather than going with just the diamond (as they did for most of their 'Tailored By' range), has the company name underneath, akin to their '80s logo - a strange choice given the look they're clearly going for. Similarly, along the shoulders at the back of the shirt, is a maroon line extending from the neck, a superfluous detail that looks somewhat modern and therefore out of place. It's all very well going for a mix of modern and retro (a la Corinthians), but this only works when the shirt doesn't have its foot so heavily planted in one camp to begin with.

Thankfully, these details don't detract too much from the overall look and to further enhance the shirt, the numbers are stitched on in contrasting thread. Finally, the sleeves are trimmed in thick cuffs and it's these details that truly make this shirt the work of art it is.


 
Written by Rich Johnson (The Football Attic).

This shirt is part of The 50 Greatest Football Shirts Ever. The full list can be viewed here.

14 comments:

  1. There was a guy from Peru who used to park his Dodge Durango truck in the medical plaza valet garage I worked at.
    He had two XXL versions of this shirt as the driver and passenger seat covers

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    1. That's almost sacrilegious, Kenneth... and yet we have a sneaking respect for the guy!!!

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  2. I remember how nicely the headrests stuck up from the perfectly trimmed collars.

    I asked the guy about Universitario once when I had the pleasure of bringing his football-memorabilia adorned behemoth back around to him after his appointment was over. I pointed to the shirts in question and he bridged the apparent language gap by sticking up his pointer and pinky fingers in a heavy-metal goat's horns and replied "The U"

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  3. Actually, the shirt is not for 88th anniversary of the team. Is to commemorate the 100th birthday of a great player, Lolo Fernandez.

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    1. Actually, Lolo Fernandez is a legendary player and idol for Universitario fans. He played ONLY for Universitario, and he did it so for 22 years uninterrupted (although he's played for other teams in exhibition matches).
      He was such a fan of the team he played for, that back in 1941, the president of Colo Colo from Chile asked him to leave "la U" and join his team in Chile, and gave him a blank check and ask him to put whatever number as his salary. He wrote "Y Dale U" (our battle cry) on the check and declined the offer. True story...
      He holds many records both in Universitario and in Peru's National team:
      With Universitario:
      - All-time top scorer in Universitario de Deportes's history, 157 goals.
      - All-time top scorer of the Peruvian Super Derby (our nemesis being alianza lima), 29 goals.
      - Peruvian league all-time top-scorer for a record seven times.
      With the Peruvian National team:
      - Player with most goals scored in a single official game, 5 goals.
      - Player with most goals scored in Copa America, 15 goals.
      - Most capped Peruvian player in the history of the Copa America, 24 matches.
      - 2nd All-time top scorer with the Peruvian National team, 24 goals
      - 3rd place of All-Time Copa America goal scorers, 15 goals.
      So, you can understand why we celebrated the 100th anniversary of his birth with a commemorative jersey in his honor... DALE U!!!

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    2. Wow thanks for the fantastic info guys! :)

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  4. La camisita más linda del Perú

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  5. Y Dale U toda la vida!!!

    The best team from Peru!

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  6. ¡Y Dale "U"!
    El equipo más grande y más copero del Perú.

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  7. The best team in Peru, 26 tittles, the most popular and the largest stadium of South America.

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  8. Grande entre los Grandes!!!

    Y dale "U"

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  9. Wow!!! I am trying to get one Shirt but there isn't any left so I guess we need to ask Umbro for more... the (U)

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