In March of last year, Sampdoria wore a special kit in their Serie A clash at home to Atalanta.
The club came about through the merger of two clubs, Andrea Doria and Sampierdarenese, with their famous kit a fusing of their respective colours.
Sampierdarenese were formed in 1899 and so, to mark the 120th anniversary of that, Samp took to the field in a replica of their ancestors’ kit, albeit with the inclusion of the logos of kit maker Joma and sponsors Invent and the Serie A patch.
It wasn’t the first time that the club have paid tribute to their origins, with the 1997-98 season seeing them appear in a unique offering.
UC Sampdoria was created in August 1946 but, for whatever reason, the 50th anniversary was a year late being marked by I Bluerchiati.
Alongside the usual blue home, white away and black third kit, a special fourth strip was available in 1997-98, worn in the league away to Lecce, Fiorentina, Piacenza, Milan and Roma.
The front was navy and white halves, the colourway of Andrea Doria, while the back was in the Sampierdarenese design. As would prove to be the case in 2019, the Asics and Daewoo logos and the Serie A patch were featured. The front of the shorts were halved in contrast to the shirt.
If we were being picky, we’d wonder why the Sampdoria shirt is royal blue rather than navy and why it dominates instead of white when the latter was so prominent on both of the parent clubs’ kits, but if history had been different, we’d have missed out on a multitude of classic Samp kits.
Andrea Doria were founded in 1900, a year after Sampierdarenese, so maybe this year will see a similar 120th anniversary kit?
Ah Samp and Asics. Has a team and kit supplier ever been more harmonious?