"I Wore a Spurs Kit at Inter": Legendary Keeper Gianluca Pagliuca Talks Football Shirts
Former Sampdoria, Inter and Italy goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca recently spoke to Gazzetta dello Sport about the jerseys he wore during his career and he made some interesting revelations.
Hidden Logos, Custom Colours and Tottenham Kits: Gianluca Pagliuca's Unusual Jerseys
Gianluca Pagliuca enjoyed a 20 year career in Italian football, playing for Sampdoria, Inter, Bologna and Ascoli in that time, as well as making 39 appearances for Italy. Recognised as one of Serie A's finest goalkeepers of the 90s, the timing of his career meant that he wore some pretty outlandish shirts, as did most shot stoppers of that era. For Pagliuca though, it was important to play in jerseys that he found aesthetically pleasing. Known for having something of a short temper on the pitch, he wasn't afraid to let kit manufacturers know what he really thought either.
"I never once took to the pitch in a jersey I was unhappy with." Gianluca Pagliuca.
When Sampdoria switched from Kappa to Asics, he wasn't keen on the new shirts he was given. He informed the brand's marketing rep, who replied that for him, all that mattered was that Asics' logo appeared on the kit. Pagliuca was free to wear shirts from other brands, once their logo was covered up by an Asics one, so he often chose jerseys made by Reusch. Most of the time their name was obscured on the chest, but still sometimes peeked out behind the stitched-on Asics patch, as seen above. On other occasions both brand names were clearly visible.
In 1994, Pagliuca moved from Sampdoria to Inter, and Umbro became his new kit supplier. He liked their shirts, and even contacted the brand personally to make sure he could get his hands on one in particular:
"Tottenham's goalkeeper had a jersey that I loved because the colours reminded me of Aston Villa, and I'm a big fan of Villa. I called Umbro and told them I wanted this shirt. They sent me over 3 or 4 of them, with the Tottenham crest still on them, so we stitched the Inter crest on top of it. Nowadays you could never do something like that." Gianluca Pagliuca.
As well from wearing another team's shirt, Pagliuca also put in colourway requests for the shirts Umbro made for him. In the 95-96 season, they gave him a wavy-striped "bumblebee" jersey in yellow and black. Pagliuca approved of this version, but he also wanted one in Inter's home colours of black and blue. Umbro obliged, although he didn't get to wear it too often for obvious reasons.
Pagliuca also recounted how he swapped shirts with Diego Maradona after a Serie A game once. Unfortunately, he somehow lost it over the years, but says he has held on to all but one or two of the jerseys he wore throughout his career.
What do you think of Pagliuca's stories about the shirts he wore during his career? Would you like to hear more players' kit stories? Let us know in the comments.
