8 vintage goalkeeper shirts that will impress you

Manufacturers such as Nike, Umbro and Adidas were responsible for designing some of the most iconic vintage goalie t-shirts.

For some reason, the goalkeeper's outfit has always been a space for innovation and creativity. Except for the traditional t-shirts of Francesco Awning with Italy and Sepp Maier with Federal Germany, all have stood out for their groundbreaking style designs.

Arconada with the Spain of 1982, for example, marked a before and an after, when abandoning the monotone style and welcoming the equipments with different stripes and colors.

Other vintage goalkeeper t-shirts, on the other hand, proved to be an error of calculation and style, but they also remained for the memory. This is the case of the peculiar clothing worn by David Seaman with England in 1995-96 or the shirt that Buffon wore during his debut in Parma.

But what is the story behind these goalkeeper's outfits, which of them featured historic conquests, and the numbers they wore were famous? Discover the answer in the following lines!

What were the most remembered vintage goalkeeper t-shirts of all time?

Awning-Buffon and Italy 1998

One of the most emblematic retro goalkeeper shirts had the Azzurra team of the eighties as the protagonist.

Italy clung to the tradition longer than most nations. This is evident in the fact that their players did not want to wear the manufacturer's logo on their outfits, at least until the late 1990s.

Francesco Toldo and Gianluigi Buffon defended the Italian team's goal during the 1998 World Cup in France. For the design of his kit, Nike conceived a silver jersey, with a dot pattern in the middle and a high collar in elaborate blue, with gold motifs.

Sadly for the Azzurri, this outfit is associated with a historic failure: the penalty missed by Di Biagio in the quarter-finals against Zidane's France, who would end up lifting the World Cup.

Andy Goram and 1994 Glasgow Rangers

Another of the most iconic retro goalkeeper shirts can be found in Glasgow Rangers, the big emblem of the Scottish Premier League.

In 1994 Adidas designed for goalkeeper Andy Goram a colourful checkered design with rounded corners, red in the middle and yellow in the sleeves, similar to the tail of a crocodile. 

With McEwan's Lager as advertiser, Glasgow Rangers performed well even in the Champions League, although they did not win the title of that edition.

David Seaman and England 1995-96

Umbro was responsible for the design of one of the most remembered classic goalkeeper t-shirts: the 1995-1996 season.

Gary Neville, Sol Campbell, Steve McManaman or Alan Shearer defended the English team on the pitch, while David Seaman and Tim Flowers kept the goal.

David Seaman left one of the images from the 1996 UEFA EURO with a geometrically inspired design that was very variegated, with yellow, green and especially red and blue. England were the semi-finalists at that FIFA World Cup.

Shay Given and Newcastle 1997

Adidas surprised locals and strangers with the design of the Newcastle equipment in 1997. 

Shay Given wore a completely orange t-shirt, with black details on the sleeves, cuffs and collar. The spiral of concentric lines that surrounds the shield of this historic Premier League club is surprising.

Paul Robinson, Gary Speed, Ian Rush, Alessandro Pistone, Stuart Pearce or Ralf Keidel stood out in that Newscastle, which had a good sporting performance in the League Cup, although it did not enter the top ten of the Premier League that season.

Undoubtedly one of the most iconic vintage goalkeeper shirts in the English Premier League.

Arconada and Spain 1982

For tiki-taka lovers, this vintage goalkeeper t-shirt from the Spanish national team will bring back fond memories: Luis Miguel Arconada was its great protagonist.

Until the 1980s, goalkeepers' shirts were in a single colour, with a rather insipid design, but Adidas dared to introduce two tones for the 1982 World Cup.

The design worn by Arconada had a black t-shirt in the upper half, sleeves and shorts, with white socks and a blue part in the chest area.

This World Cup was held in Spain, which gave Arconada and his teammates an additional boost to play a good role. However, La Roja signed one of the worst appearances in living memory.

Buffon and Parma 1995-96

Another retro goalkeeper jersey features once again a young Gianluigi Buffon who shared the goal with veteran Luca Bucci.

Under Nevio Scala, Parma culminated the 1995-1996 season in sixth place in Serie A. However, that edition will be remembered by Gli Emiliani fans for the indescribable outfits Buffon wore.

It was a bold design for its variety of colors, patterns and shapes. It contained floral figures, circles, lines and stripes, all in yellow, black and various shades of blue.

John Lukic and Leeds United 1993

Between 1993 and 1995, Leeds United players were dressed by Asics, and their starting goalkeeper, John Lukic, surprised with a very creative design, with Thisle Hotels as the advertiser.

Despite its black background, it contained a series of triangles, squares and other decorative shapes with multiple colours. In perspective, it is reminiscent of a broken glass, being a fitting metaphor for that season, as Leed United broke everything when they finished fifth in the Premier League.

Sepp Maier and Germany 1972

Germany's Sepp Maier wore another of the most memorable retro goalkeeper jerseys in the memory of fans.

Along with Uli Hoeneß, Jupp Heynckes, Gerd Müller and of course Franz Beckenbauer, who captained that mythical team, Maier defended his team's goal against the Soviet Union in the final of the UEFA EURO in Belgium.

Beyond the final result, the aesthetics of Maier's kit was a surprise. It was a very simple design in two tones: the sky-blue which covered most of the fabric and the dark blue for the cuffs and the high neck. The German Federal coat of arms stood out in black on a yellow background, with two red stars at the bottom.