Lookalikes, no. 11 – Stuttgart and Turkey, 2000

Unless you’ve an interest in Gaelic football – in which case Derry are your go-to – a white shirt with a red horizontal stripe generally means either VfB Stuttgart or the Turkey national team.

Stuttgart have worn Jako since 2019, having been clad in Puma for the 17 years prior to that, while Turkey have had two decades of Nike strips. In the 1980s and 1990s though, the two sides were turned out in adidas.

By and large, the German firm were able to ensure enough differentiation between the two – historically, Turkey’s red stripe was higher up the chest but in the 1990s they experimented more and had some unique designs. However, in the summer of 2000 they sailed a bit close to the wind in terms of closeness.

Turkey, who had qualified for the European Championship finals for the first time, had had some grey on their previous set of kits but the new strip, based on an adidas style known as Europe (Real Madrid’s home shirt also drew from this well), had it as the main sleeve colour.

There were red panels on the arms and the sides of the torso, which almost in a way lessened the impact of the chest stripe. The Turkey change shirt often followed the design of the home but on this occasion the red kit was simply the popular Equipment Trikot design, with no grey to be seen.

For their 1996-98 and 1998-2000 kits, Stuttgart had small quantities of black present along with the traditional white and red, but for what would prove to be their last home strip for the club, adidas replicated the Turkey move and went with grey sleeves.

There were differences, though – as well as the lower red stripe and the lack of panelling, the unusual collar style was the same as that which France showed off at Euro 2000.

France’s shirt was based on a design called Paris: by default, it featured a narrow stripe just below the neck but obviously that wouldn’t work on a Stuttgart top.

The teams’ socks were the same apart from the ‘VfB’ markings on Stuttgart’s, while the shorts were identical, too – but, whereas the adidas striping on the shirt was red on grey, here it was the opposite. Stuttgart’s red alternative shorts with grey panels provided a chance for some uniformity on that front, though.