These '70s football shirts hide an exciting story
There were many football shirts from the 70's that marked a before and an after. The sporting honours, the design or the eventualities occurred during this period immortalized the clothes of Cruyff, Pelé, George Best or Beckembauer, among others.
Manufacturers such as Adidas or Le Coq Sportif stood out in the seventies for their stylistic innovations. But this decade was also fruitful for the beautiful game, as we see in Ajax's 'total football' of 1970-73.
On other occasions, controversy led to the fame of certain football shirts from the 1970s, such as the Irish shirt that Best could not wear because of the IRA terrorist group.
In the following lines we will delve into these and other equipments that are part of the seventies. Will you join us?
What is the story behind these 7 football shirts from the 70s?
The Ajax shirt from 1970 and dominance of 'total football'.
Although it had a sober design, its emblematism continues to surprise locals and strangers today. We're talking about the shirt Ajax wore in the early 1970s, whose history was anticipated by the famous 'tiki-taka'.
Total football' (with its 4-3-3 system, its attacking actions from the line of defence and its speed) became world famous thanks to Rinus Michels and Ajax in 1970-73.
Johan Cruyff and his team won no less than three Champions League titles earlier this decade. They won their first Champions League title in 1970 against Panathinaikos, their second in 1971 against Inter Milan and the third one a year later against Juventus Turin.
That's why it's one of the most remembered football shirts of the seventies.
Pelé's T-shirt... for the first time in colour
But the Canarinha of Pelé and Leonardo could not miss their appointment with these football shirts of the 70 most famous. And it is that the equipment of the genius carioca presumes to be the first (or at least one of the first) to be televised in color.
What a surprise the spectators of the World Cup in Mexico would get when Pelé and his team played their beautiful game in full color! With its yellow, blue and green tones, the Carioca team did not limit itself to conquering that World Cup edition: it also bid farewell to black and white in sports broadcasts.
Manchester United's first shielded jersey
The 1971-72 season was special for the Red Devils. And not for their sporting titles, as they did not win the Premier League or the FA Cup, or the League Cup.
Bobby Charlton and George Best's Manchester United will always be remembered, not only for their excellent play, but also for having worn the first outfit with the club's coat of arms.
It happened in 1971, at a time when all clubs were launching their outfits without the presence of the shield or the manufacturer. The Red Devils were certainly ahead of their time with this football jersey from the 1970s.
Ireland's jersey... without the most famous number 7 in its history
"In 1969 I gave up women and alcohol. It was the worst twenty minutes of my life. These words correspond to George Best, mythical dorsal 7 of the Irish team, famous for his good play on the grass and for his crazy lifestyle out of it.
One of the football shirts of the 1970s was precisely the one George Best never wore: the one in November 1972, when the player had to face Spain as part of the European Championship in Belgium.
Best was a Protestant, and the famous striker had received numerous threats from the IRA. Shortly before the match, the authorities warned him that terrorists from Belfast were planning an attack on him during the match against Spain.
Although George Best did not play that match, the IRA would also be featured in newspapers around the world by the terrible Bloody Sunday that same year.
Beckembauer's T-shirt and the Party of the Century
Another of the most remembered football shirts of the 70's has as protagonist one of the geniuses of this sport: Franz Beckenbauer.
It was on 17 June 1970 when Germany and Italy played in the best final in the history of the World Cup and one of the most exciting matches. It has transcended as the Party of the Century, which gives a rough idea of the competitiveness of the clash.
Beckenbauer wore a very sober design in white, with dark details on the sleeves and round neck, not forgetting the unmistakable shield of the Federal Republic of Germany (Germany).
FC Nantes and Le Coq Sportif T-shirt
During the 1970s, major clubs and teams began to include the manufacturer's logo on their outfits. Its importance to this industry was not small. However, the great precursor of this change does not belong to the seventies, but to the sixties.
FC Nantes were the first club to wear the Le Coq Sportif logo on their shirts. It did so during the 1965-1966 season, many years before it became a trend.
In fact, in the case of brands like Nike, their logos were not configured until the seventies (the smoosh of this manufacturer was created in 1971). In this sense, Le Coq Sportif and Nantes were ahead of their time.
In view of the above, the seventies will not be remembered only by the bell trousers, the music of Led Zeppelin and Bohemian Rhapsody or the Cold War - these 70's football shirts also reflect an unforgettable time!
And if you want some of these iconic outfits, you'll find vintage t-shirts by Pelé, George Best and other ball geniuses at The Football Market.