When we talk about throwback football shirts, it’s easy to picture something from the 70s or 80s.
Then Santos go and revive 1997.
Nearly three decades have passed, so perhaps we need to accept it. The baggier fits, oversized collars, shiny fabrics and unmistakable Umbro aesthetic of the 90s are now very much part of football’s retro catalogue.
For Santos supporters, this particular return carries plenty of meaning.
The original shirt was launched in 1997 alongside Pelé and accompanied a campaign in which Santos went on to lift the Copa CONMEBOL. It’s a period remembered fondly by supporters and now returns under the message ‘Resiliência e determinação’, or ‘Resilience and determination’.
It’s also a phrase connected to the popular chant heard from the stands, bringing the historical reference back into the present.
The shirt itself is brilliantly stripped back.
With that famous Santos white dominating, it’s the collar and shoulder detailing that provide most of the character. The wider neckline and piping instantly transport it back to the period, while Umbro diamonds embedded into that slightly shiny fabric give it the unmistakable feel of a 90s shirt.
No enormous graphics are required. The cut, material and detailing tell you exactly which era you’re looking at.
The launch helps enormously too. Santos haven’t just brought an old design back and expected nostalgia to do the rest. The photography and styling give the recreation the attitude of the original period while reconnecting it with a message that still means something to supporters today.
Which leaves us with a slightly uncomfortable question for anyone who remembers these shirts the first time around.
How recent is too recent for a throwback kit?
Is 1997 properly retro now? Could clubs start recreating shirts from the early 2000s and call those throwbacks too?
At what point does an old kit become old enough to bring back?
Credit; @santosfc @umbro @umbrobrasil
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