How some of football’s biggest clubs got their colours

All football kits have interesting stories to tell, with designs that combine history, artistry, and symbolism. Famous jerseys are embedded in the minds and hearts of fans from all over the world. Iconic football jerseys carry both cultural and emotional significance and we’ve decided to delve into the history of some notable kits.

How some of football’s biggest clubs got their colours

Various Sources of Inspiration…

The official colours mean a lot to each team and its fans, and choosing them has always been an important step in establishing a club. Over the years, clubs have been sourcing ideas from various fields, including cultural symbols, local traditions, and historical events.

Some national clubs like England, Spain, France, Argentina, and Brazil use the colours of their flags. Moreover, some go deeper into the history, like Germany’s white and black which is derived from the Prussian flag, and Italy’s royal blue, the colour that is found on the House of Savoy coat of arms, sitting in the middle of the national flag.

Just as individual players must not remove their shirts during games, football clubs are not supposed to change their colours.

Cardiff City are perhaps one of the most notable modern examples, after owner Vincent Tan changed the club’s colours from blue to red in 2012. Tan believed red to be a more dynamic colour for marketing in Asia, as well as of more national significance in Wales. A dragon was also introduced to the club crest. He made a U-turn on that decision in January 2015, after continued fan protests from the ‘Bluebirds’ supporters.

Examples from the leading world clubs

AC Milan

AC Milan’s red and black jerseys are among the most recognisable in world football. The colours originate from the idea of the club’s founder Herbert Kilpin, an Englishman who moved to Italy where he maintained textile machinery. In 1899, he founded the Milan Football and Cricket Club, together with a few more expats from England.

His inspiration for the club’s colours came from the visuals of Nott Olympic – his first club from Nottingham. In his vision, red was supposed to be the sign of the “fire of the Milanese devils”, while the black was there to symbolise the fear in the hearts of their opponents.

Liverpool

Liverpool’s all-red colours are famous in world football, but it was not until 72 years after the club’s formation that ‘the Reds’ first walked out in the strip. The Mersyesiders originally wore a blue and white top with navy shorts and socks, before switching to red shirts and white shorts in 1896.

It was Bill Shankly who first suggested an entire red kit, believing it handed Liverpool a psychological advantage. It was worn for the first time against Anderlecht in 1964.

“[Shankly] thought the colour scheme would carry psychological impact—red for danger, red for power. He came into the dressing room one day and threw a pair of red shorts to Ronnie Yeats,” Ian St John wrote in his autobiography.

“‘Get into those shorts and let’s see how you look’, he said. ‘Christ, Ronnie, you look awesome, terrifying. You look 7ft tall.’ ‘Why not go the whole hog, boss?’, I suggested.

“’Why not wear red socks? Let’s go out all in red’, Shankly approved the suggestion and like that the iconic all Red Kit was born.”

Lazio

Lazio’s well-known colours of sky blue and white were chosen to denote the purity of sport. Additionally, the choice of colours was also associated with the Greek flag and the Olympics, to be more precise. This happened because Fortunato Ballerini (the club’s president from 1904 to 1922) spent years trying to bring the Olympics to Rome.

Ballerini never achieved to do so, but the colours remained part of Lazio’s branding. There was a phase in the 1960s when the club tried out darker shades of blue, but they’ve been wearing sky-blue jerseys only since 1971.

Bayern Munich

When Bayern Munich were founded in 1900, the club’s colours were white and blue, which was an homage to the Bavarian flag, even though the founding members were non-locals.

After the merger with Münchner Sport-Club in 1906, the team embraced white jerseys and red shorts. They quickly earned the nickname Die Roten (The Reds). Throughout the years, the club’s kits increasingly featured more red than white.

Benfica

Benfica was first known as Sport Lisboa, but even then the team was wearing its famous red jersey with white trim. Even though some claim that the choice was made because it makes the players visible on the pitch, club officials say that there is more meaning behind it. Namely, the colour combination is supposed to symbolise vivacity and joy.

Borussia Dortmund

Right after the foundation of the club in 1909, the team used to wear black shorts and blue-and-white jerseys that also showcased a red sash. Those were the colours of Dortmund’s Holy Trinity Church.

However, in 1913, the colours were replaced by black and yellow. This happened because of a merger with neighbouring clubs that were not entirely Catholic. Even though the combination wasn’t the organisation’s first choice, the new colours are so important to the club’s modern identity.

The south stand of Borussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park has been christened ‘The Yellow Wall’ and is among the most spectacular sights in European football when in full voice.

Read – 30 of the most iconic football photos ever taken: Pele, Maradona, and Pickles the dog

See more – The 10 football clubs with the most trophies won

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