A unique three and in for Monaco

Obviously, you may be aware that we have a fondness for adidas goalkeeper shirts. Part 11 will follow soon and this can be considered a spin-off of the series.

Thanks to Leeds Stats for making us aware of it:

Stats attached. Monaco used three goalkeepers in this game who all wore different styles of Adidas jerseys @museumofjerseys pic.twitter.com/Y5cldztmoj

— LEEDSTATS (@leedstats_com) April 2, 2018

Previously, we looked at Legia Warsaw wearing kits by three different makers in the one season and three is again the magic number as we examine a real oddity from Monaco in 1995.

Nowadays, it’s highly unlikely that a substitute goalkeeper would be allowed to wear a shirt different in colour to the starter, given that custodians have to be distinguished from their opposite numbers and the match officials as well as both sets of outfielders.

Back in 1995, it was only sufficient for them to be differentiated from both teams, but it was still a rarity for the sub to have something different from the first-choice and, in any case, goalkeeping substitutions are uncommon so to witness such a phenomenon would be unusual.

Monaco hosted Leeds in the first round of the 1995-96 Uefa Cup on September12, 1995 and a 3-0 victory for the visitors was something of a surprise given that the hosts had been in a Champions League semi-final only a year and a half previously.

That Leeds won was largely down to one man. If there was a such thing as Player of the Half-Season, in 1995-96, it was Tony Yeboah – his hat-trick was part of a 14-goal haul prior to Christmas.

Leeds wore their blue-and-green-striped kit, which had been upgraded from third strip in 1994-95 (though it would be replaced as second choice before the end of the campaign). It it with their opponents’ goalkeepers that we are more concerned with, though.

Monaco’s starting netminder Fabien Piveteau wore a black top, the design similar to that used by France and Spain at the time.

Early in the game, Piveteau suffered a knock and then made an error for Leeds’ and Yeboah’s first goal.

Piveteau was replaced at half-time by Marc Delaroche, who wore the Predator design which had premiered at the 1994 World Cup.

Yeboah doubled Leeds’ advantage in the 64th minute with a brilliant curling effort and ten minutes from time he completed his hat-trick. However, in coming off his line to try to close the angle, Delaroche ended up in a nasty collision with defender Basile Boli.

He was stretchered off with his neck in a brace and newly installed Monaco coach Jean Tigana was forced to ask one of his subs – Claude Puel, who would go on to briefly manage Leicester City – to come on in goal.

Obviously wearing the outfield shorts and socks, he put on an orange and yellow version of the newest adidas style which had lasted that summer.

The midfielder became the only one of the three Monaco goalkeepers on the night to keep a clean sheet as the final ten minutes were goalless.

Monaco did win 1-0 at Elland Road in the return leg, but Leeds had done enough. However, that game did provide one more goalkeeping kit issue of note – Fabien Barthez was chosen by Monaco and he played in a fourth different strip, yellow with black trim.