I’ve decided to start a small series on the Kit Room section based around iconic kits from individual Champions League seasons. It made sense to do it in chronological order, and UEFA’s first season with the big shiny commercial reboot was the 92/93 season (I may delve backwards into the European Cup era once this is done as well).
Their decision to rebrand to make more money nearly backfired when Marseille somehow managed to beat the previously unstoppable Milan in the final. This in itself wouldn’t seem a a problem, but as most people probably know, this was indeed too good to be true. Marseille President Bernard Tapie had bribed Valenciennes in a Ligue 1 which meant that Marseille would win the domestic title early and concentrate on the continental final. They were stripped of the title and banned from European competition for the following season, meaning that the first incarnation of the Champions League doesn’t even have a winner.
Despite the farcical nature of the conclusion to the competition, their was some glorious kits worn in the competition, here’s some standouts:
Rangers 1992/1993 Away Shirt – How times have changed, Rangers finished 2nd in a group behind the Milan dream team and were comfortably the best team in the UK. Ally McCoist scored 49 goals in all competitions and was supported excellently by other standouts such as Mark Hateley and Stuart McCall. More was to come when Gascoigne and Wilkins arrived, but no Rangers team did this well in Europe.
AC Milan 1992/1993 Home Shirt – the losing finalists and if truth be told the best team in the competition by a country mile. When you’ve got Donadoni, Van Basten, Maldini, Baresi, Costacurta, Papin and Rijkaard in the same team it really isn’t fair is it, how on earth did they lose to Marseille?
PSV Eindhoven 1992/1993 Home Shirt – PSV had a tournament to forget finishing bottom of their group with 1 point. They did however have the tournament top scorer in Romario, who quickly moved on to Barcelona. Interestingly, his Brazilian compatriot Ronaldo made exactly the same move a few years later.
There you have it then, at least the teams looked good even if the tournament ended in an absolute farce.
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