Having been with adidas for so long, Hamburger SV went in a different direction in 1995 as they signed a deal with Uhlsport. In their first season with the Baden-Württemberg firm, Hamburg had a blue and black change shirt, as is so often the case, and a red and black third.
For 1996-97, blue and black were again central to the away kit but, oddly, white was to the fore in a style that was the same design as the home strip. From the front, it didn’t make great sense, though the sleeves and back of the second shirt were blue.
Of course, such a scenario was never going to satisfy all kit clashes and Hamburg’s Uefa Cup clash with Monaco meant the appearance of an emergency third kit (right).
While it was a a straightforward design, the shirt had ‘HSV’ and the club crest in the fabric, whereas the home and away shirts didn’t. The away game against Monaco took place in November – it may have been the case that the 1997-98 kits were already decided and this was a prototype. In any case, it wasn’t used again that season. Incidentally, Monaco wore what was a fifth shirt for the game in Hamburg.
In the second half of the season, Hamburg would wear another alternative shirt for games away to Arminia Bielefeld and Karlsruhe.
A fairly plain offering in a shade of sea-green with white and black sleeve panels, the fact that it was worn with the away shorts and socks would suggest that it was hastily knocked up. It meant that the blue socks were worn in every game Hamburg played that season.
For 1997-98, the shirt worn against Monaco was back – with a slightly changed Hyundai logo and a moved crest – as the new change kit, one of a set of three all in the same style.
Again, there were some inconsistencies – the red and blue third shirt was worn against the blue and white of Duisburg, but the home was used against Hertha Berlin, for example.
No fourth shirt was needed, though. A black shirt with white central stripe would have squared the circle, but it never materialised.
After Uhlsport, Hamburg had deals with Fila, Nike and Puma before returning to adidas in 2007 and they remain in the three stripes today.
