Rich J's Top 5 90s World Cup Moments

I love the World Cup..who doesn't? Well, Sepp Blatter's trying his best to ruin it, but then that's pretty much what he always has done...allegedly, said Rich, unaware that it's not actually still the 90s er...not! Ha!

Anyway, every World Cup brings highs and lows...more of the latter if you're from these lands, but here I shall give you my own personal top 5 moments from the 3 tournaments that took place in the 90s. Take note, these are not just the best goals or most famous incidents, this is my personal selection of memories from Italia 90, USA 94 and France 98 so yes, John Aldridge kicking off against Mexico may have been funny, but it's been played out so often now, it's just no longer that special.

Enjoy!

1. 1990 - Costa Rica V Scotland - Geovanny Jara's Backheel

Look everyone, it's Scotland at the World Cup...Yeah I know I've done joke before, but it's still funny! OK, so maybe not to everyone... Anyway, let's revisit the glory days when they used to get to Round 2...wait, what? They never did?  Ooooooooh....
But seriously, back in 1990, it was quite common for Scotland to be at the World Cup and it was only 12 years prior when those north of the border jetted off to Argentina while those 'back home' sat and watched Archie Gemmill tear Holland a new one.


Their opening match of Italia 90 came against a side with no great expectations and so in the sunshine in Genoa, Scotland, in their garish change strip, looked for a positive start. 4 minutes after the interval, that positivity was looking shakey.

Hector Marchena made a diagonal run before playing in the protagonist, defender Geovanny Jara. In the box, close to the penalty spot, it appeared Jara would turn and shoot, but no. Instead, he immediately rolled the ball into the open space directly behind him, allowing the incoming Juan Arnaldo Cayasso to carefully place the ball past the closing Jim Leighton. Costa Rica continued to defend resolutely and held on, Scotland unable to break through for an equaliser.

Ultimately, this early defeat cost them dear as they ended up exiting at the group stage once more as Costa Rica beat the group's whipping boys Sweden while Scotland lost to a single goal against Brazil in what was a much closer contest than the result could ever suggest.

For me, this just epitomised Scotland's World Cup campaigns. A combination of losing games they should have won, conceding a quirky goal and a brave, ultimately futile performance against a better side.


2. 1994 - Yordan Letchkov's header V Germany

One team who are always at the World Cup, and almost always in the final are Germany. Coming into USA 94 as title holders, they started off in their usual fashion...never looking brilliant, but somehow managing to progress. A lacklustre 1-0 victory over Bolivia in the opening match was followed by a stalemate against Spain. In their final group match, they were 3-0 up against South Korea before almost collapsing as Korea pulled 2 goals back, as they had done against Spain.

A jittery second round tie against Belgium saw yet another late scare and another 3-2 scoreline, which meant they would face Bulgaria in the quarters. While Bulgaria will be remembered as one of the best teams at this tournament, Stoichkov going on to share the Golden Boot with Russia's Oleg Salenko, the fact they were in the quarter finals was quite jammy. Opening the tournament with a 3-0 thrashing from Nigeria, they then dished out their own hiding against Greece...but then again, everyone was doing that. They booked their place after defeating a freshly Maradona-less and already qualified Argentina in the final group match and a penalty shoutout win over Mexico in the 2nd round.

Despite the Germans' shaky start, no-one really expected anything other than yet another semi-final appearance for Deutschland and sure enough, a 47th minute Matthäus penalty put them in the lead. Germany's failure to score a second seemed incidental until a fantastic Stoichkov free kick gave the Bulgarians a sniff of history-making. 3 minutes later, a cross makes its way into the German box. Letchkov escapes his marker and dives for the ball, sending it past the helpless Ilgner. Letchkov's celebration would suggest not even he thought it was going to work, but work it did and the nation of Bulgaria (and pretty much every other nation outside Germany) leaped to their feet with him as they looked forward to the first World Cup semi final without Germany since 1950!


3. 1990 - Maradona Cracks Brazil Open 

Like a nut...a Brazil nut...see!

Despite ultimately reaching the final, Argentina were a shadow of the team that had taken the trophy 4 years earlier in Mexico. Adorned in a rather dated looking Adidas kit, they'd lost their opening match to the totally unfancied Cameroon (an obvious Top 5 moment being Massing's attempted murder of Caniggia), beaten USSR thanks to another piece of Maradona handiwork and drawn with Romania, leaving them in 3rd place and scraping into Round 2.

There they faced Brazil, who conversely had won all of their group matches and were favourites for this all South American tie. A rather turgid game saw relatively few chances, when, with only 10 minutes left, Maradona, in a rare flash of his 86 best, rode several tackles on a run to the edge of the box, before threading a beautiful pass through to Caniggia, who made no mistake in ending the Brazilian dream once more.

Argentina would go on to drain the life out of the remainder of the tournament, playing for penalties in the 1/4 and semi finals, before ironically being defeated from the spot in the Final. Maradona may have ended the tournament in tears, but moments like these just confirmed what could have been.


4. 1990 - ITV Opening Titles & The San Siro!

Ah Italia 90! My first proper World Cup. Home from school on a friday, I sat down to watch the opening match and my mind was about to be blown!

Firstly, Rod Argent's awesome theme tune, Tutti Al Mundo burst onto my screen and I was in love. Cod opera, stirring synth strings and orchestra stabs accompanied bouncing footballs on a map of Italy, all in lovely red, white and green computer graphics. Hello the 90s!

Once the theme tune was over, I was barely recovered when this hoved into view.

This was in the pre-internet days when photos of foreign stadia were like gold dust and the only hint I'd had of what this would look like was my Merlin World Cup 90 sticker album, which only showed it mid construction. The behemoth that is the San Siro remains to this day the ground that has most bowled me over and set off an unhealthy obsession with football grounds that has remained with me ever since. Just look at it! Giant girders, endless spirals, pure brutalist / modernist architecture at its finest. Even now, 23 years later, it still makes me gaze in awe.

Typically, Blogger can't find the youtube clip that exists of the opening titles so it's here instead!


5. 1998 Dennis Bergkamp! Dennis Bergkamp!

This is my favourite memory from 1998, not because of the goal itself (I wanted Argentina to win), but for the Dutch commentary that accompanies it. Obviously, this is a retrospective memory as I wasn't watching this in Holland at the time, but who cares? It's still the 2nd best piece of commentary ever, after the excellence of Bryon Butler for Maradona's 'goal of the Century'.

I'll say nothing more about this...just sit back and enjoy the perfect combination of a sublime goal and raw emotion.

Shoot! 14 November 1981

Imagine a world where football fans across England could, in effect, choose which players could represent their country in international matches. Back in November 1981, Shoot! magazine wasn't quite able to offer such a direct influence on England team selection, but it did invite readers to send in their preferred team to beat Hungary in the upcoming crucial World Cup qualifier.

Having received a “phenomenal” response to their appeal in a previous issue, Shoot! compiled the team that its readers thought Ron Greenwood should pick. “Some positions were clear-cut” it said, while for “one or two we almost needed a recount” due to the closeness of the vote.

Peter Shilton was first choice between the posts, twice as popular as Ray Clemence who was said to have had a poor game two months earlier in the 2-1 defeat against Norway (you know the one...)

Bryan Robson, however, was an even bigger hit with the fans - his approval rating was 98% - while up front “only a handful of readers selected a team without [Kevin] Keegan. The final team selection was immortalised in a mocked up picture using some pre-Photoshop trickery known technically as ‘glueing other people’s heads on the wrong bodies.’

Seven of the starting eleven that faced the Hungarians at Wembley on 18 November 1981 was correctly predicted by Shoot! readers, but Ron Greenwood dealt a couple of wild cards from the bottom of the pack in the shape of Alvin Martin and Tony Morley. In the end, England secured the 1-0 win they needed to qualify for Spain ‘82, but some were already questioning Greenwood’s suitability as manager, not least former England striker Mick Channon.

“I believe the only thing wrong with England is the manager” he said. “Don’t get me wrong - I have no personal grudge against Ron Greenwood. I happen to believe he is a gentleman, a nice man. But I don’t believe he is the right man for the job.” Channon went on to explain his feelings: “Perhaps Ron does what the media thinks, rather than what he himself feels... I don’t know. But whatever it is, I don’t believe he has picked the right sides in recent years.” Channon’s comments after the 1-0 win over Hungary were not available at the time of writing.



In other news, Peter Beardsley was announcing his return to Canada to play for Vancouver Whitecaps - and appeared to care little for any English clubs wanting to sign him from Carlisle. “I thoroughly enjoyed my first summer over there and I'm already looking forward to returning” said Beardsley. “ I've heard reports that some English clubs are still interested in signing me, but they can forget it. I'm going back to Vancouver.” Beardsley ultimately had three spells with the Whitecaps - joining Manchester United in between where he played just one match in the League Cup - before finally restarting his English career proper at Newcastle United in September 1983.

Sadly things weren't going so well for England’s World Cup hero Gordon Banks back in 1981. Shoot! reported that “arguably the greatest goalkeeper ever seen” was “almost on the dole.”

Banks found himself out of work and lamented “ I'm more disappointed than bitter that I'm not still involved in football. I believe there is a need for specialised goalkeeper training.” He went on: “I didn't win my 73 caps by fluke and I feel my experience could help someone.”

Such a shame, then, that Banks’ views were a decade ahead of their time. It wouldn't be long before the former Leicester and Stoke goalkeeper found a new role, however. Since the 1980’s, he’s been one of the three men making up the Pools Panel that assesses postponed matches, one of the others being his former England team-mate, Roger Hunt.

A two-page feature on the Merseyside derby played around the time Shoot! was published gave Phil Thompson and Mick Lyons their chance to discuss the great rivalry between their sides. Everton had knocked Liverpool out of the FA Cup in a rare victory earlier in the year, but Lyons’ reluctance to predict another Toffees win proved shrewd enough - Everton wouldn't get another win over The Reds until August 1984, and the match he and Thompson discussed finished a 3-1 win to Liverpool.

The letters page, Goal-Lines, had more negative comments about Ron Greenwood’s management of the England team, but it was Ron Atkinson’s flamboyant style that irritated Stephen Wash of Great Barr.

“There seems no end to Ron Atkinson’s pursuit of publicity and sensation firstly with the possible return of George Best and culminating in the signing of Bryan Robson on the Old Trafford pitch” he said. “It is a great pity that Buckingham palace was not available. The signing could have been done in the Throne Room with the Lord Chamberlain as witness.” Shoot! replied sternly: “Ron Atkinson is a personality. Football needs personalities. Personalities sell the game.” And Shoot! needs readers letters, let us not forget...

While England were toiling in their qualification for the 1982 World Cup, Viva Scotland! showed Jock Stein’s team already home and dry. A montage of pictures showed some of the action from a campaign in which Scotland faced Sweden, Israel, Portugal and Northern Ireland and lost only one of their eight games. A goalless draw against Billy Bingham’s men in their penultimate match secured qualification, enabling Scotland to play in their fourth consecutive World Cup Finals.

Elsewhere in Shoot! this week were all the old favourites: You Are The Ref, the colour centre-page team picture (in this case featuring Southampton),a run-down of recent results from around the UK and copious adverts for cheap football duvet covers and digital watches. We end, however, with the Super Focus interview with Wolves midfielder Peter Daniel in which we not only find out that his favourite food and drink are the impressive combination of ‘Halibut steak and Tetley bitter’ but also that his superstition as a player was to “Always come out last.”

Where this review is concerned, Peter, we hope we've done you proud.

England v Scotland programme, 1969

The final crucial game in the 1969 Home International Championship saw the holders and world champions England facing the only team that could top the table in their stead - Scotland.

The match was played at Wembley and for the first time in decades the Home International competition was played at the end of the season. Rather than having all matches scattered from October to February, the Home Internationals were now played over the course of one week in early May. It was physically more demanding for all the players involved and also less significant than the previous tournament that had acted as a qualifying contest for the 1968 European Championships.

Nonetheless, the old rivalries still remained and England fancied their chances of retaining their title. A 3-1 win over Ireland and a 2-1 win over Wales meant England needed only a draw against the Scots who knew they had to win. Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Kent was the invited Royal guest, and she, along with 90,000 or so others would ultimately witness a high-scoring and enjoyable match.

Inside the programme, Brian Glanville set the scene by reminding us that this was all part of England’s preparation for the 1970 World Cup Finals as well as being a much welcomed annual grudge match. Only the right sort of players would be included in the Mexico '70 squad and the feint-hearted need not apply:

“The question of ‘big match temperament’ becomes increasingly vital” said Glanville. “It is risky to make quick judgements on whether or not a player has this temperament. In 1934, after Stanley Matthews, in his second international against Italy, had had a poor match, a columnist wrote in the Daily Mail that he’d shown ‘the same faults of slowness and hesitation’ as in his first match, against Wales. ‘Perhaps’ wrote the columnist ‘he has not got the big match temperament.’”  That’s the Daily Mail for you, Brian…

The England team was in the early stages of transition after the success of 1966 and, as Glanville had pointed out, Ray Wilson and George Cohen were no longer among the squad players listed at Sir Alf Ramsey’s disposal. Instead, new faces were emerging including Everton defender Gordon West, Blackburn full back Keith Newton and a promising young Leicester striker called Allan Clarke.

On the visiting side’s roster were numerous quality players, many of whom had stopped England from beating Scotland at Wembley since 1961. With Celtic's Tommy Gemmell at the back, captain Billy Bremner of Leeds United in midfield and Rangers striker Colin Stein up front, the Scots had more than a fighting chance of winning.

The England manager, however, was focused on the longer term plan of retaining the World Cup the following year. In ‘Sir Alf Speaks’, Ramsey explained the preparations already well underway in the lead up to the competition: “You are probably aware that in a few weeks the senior squad of players, most of whom I trust will be in the World Cup party next year, leave to play two matches in Mexico. Then we go on to play Uruguay in Montevideo and Brazil in Rio de Janeiro. While in Mexico I intend to finalise accommodation and training arrangements for our stay there next year. I am reasonably aware of the problems facing us, particularly from a climatic and altitude viewpoint.”

Aside from match practice and accommodation, however, Sir Alf was also looking at the clothing his players would be wearing at the World Cup, and here we were given something of an exclusive: “We have been testing light-weight shirts, boots and equipment for some time. In the World Cup, we shall play in an all-white strip, which affords maximum advantage and comfort under the conditions. Our change strip will be all sky-blue.” Nice…

Back at Wembley, the fans had everything they needed in their programme to feel the sense of occasion alright. There was a quiz featuring ten questions that only the most die-hard fans could have answered, and there were trivia facts galore about the match to come.

One surrounded the fact this would be a live match covered by BBC Television – something of a rarity back in the 1960’s. A large audience watching from home was hoped for, and even an all-time record wasn't out of the question: “It will take 27 million, the number which saw the World Cup Final and almost half Britain’s entire population. One million fewer watched Manchester United beat Benfica – also at Wembley – in last year’s European Cup Final.” No pressure then…

The actual figure for that final TV audience sadly remains something of a mystery, but for the England fans witnessing the match in person, there was at least a happy ending. England won the match 4-1 and the Home International championship was there’s once more. A suitable occasion to celebrate with a glass of a well-known brand of Pale Ale, no doubt...

Subbuteo Team Collections - Andrew Rockall

We received an email from Andrew Rockall (Statto_74) yesterday, showing us his recently discovered collection of Subbuteo teams. We're very happy to showcase them here as it's damn impressive! Over to Andrew for the background...

Twenty years ago I made a conscious decision to save my Subbuteo things for any future children I might have. I came across the box of goodies last week and thought it was time to dust it down and take a nostalgic look.

I was amazed to find I still have 33 teams. As you can see from the kit designs, I made almost all of my purchases during the 80's. What surprised me were several teams I know I had but have somehow mislaid.

My brother and I used to play for hours and fought for nearly as long. We had a traditional cloth pitch for several years but our Dad made a plywood base with wooden sides which we covered in adverts from papers and magazines. He also pinned an Astropitch to that and painted the base for extra realism. I was distraught to discover he broke this up in 2000 whilst I was in Australia.

We also had the 5-a-side pitch that we got in a jumble sale (an indoor boot sale, for any kids out there!) which was great fun, especially at the time of year when Soccer Six was broadcast from Manchester's GMex.

I do now have a son. He's only 10 months old at present so I will be packing these bits away for another 4 to 5 years, but I cannot wait for then. My biggest fear is him saying "Dad I'd rather play FIFA 18..."

No son, no!

Click on the image for the full size version... it's worth it!

Back Row: England, Netherlands, Denmark, Honduras, Wales, Brazil, Northern Ireland, Ireland Away, Wales, Germany, Scotland, England (I had 2 teams numbered 1-22)

Middle Row: Wimbledon, Norwich, Ajax, Manchester City, Everton, Manchester United, Leeds United, Ipswich Town, Oxford United, West Ham United, Chelsea

Front Row: Arsenal Away, Birmingham City, Chelsea, Watford, Juventus, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest, Celtic

Many thanks to Andrew for allowing us to share this. If you'd like to share your nostalgia memories with us, why not get in touch? Just drop us a line to admin [at] thefootballattic [dot] com and we'll do the rest!

Al Gordon's Top 5... World Cup Shirts

Al Gordon from God, Charlton & Punk Rock is the latest fellow blogger to give us his Top 5 World Cup Kits:

1. England (1982 Away)

Once upon a time Admiral set the standard in kit design.  This Leicester based firm had the best logo, the best templates and the best of the clients, England.
Many think the home kit of this era to be the greatest England shirt of all time, yet it is the red away version that I always fondly remember. A quarter past five on the 16th June 1982 we kicked off our World Cup campaign against Platini and the French. A Bryan Robson goal just a minute later and we all really thought it could be ‘This time’ after the disappointment of missing Argentina in 78. It’s interesting to note that both sides wore their away strips although the home ones didn’t clash.

Worn for this match with white shorts and socks, it really suited Paul Mariner with the shirt doing its best to hide the shorts, complementing his wonderful head of hair. As an eleven year old boy, I thought he really looked sharp. Coolness personified. Yet the exact same articles of clothing did nothing for Mick Mills. Some players just need a large flappy collar! It would go on to get another outing in the second round against West Germany although this time with the correct red socks.
This was to be Ron Greenwood’s last hurrah as England boss and we went home without being beaten. It was a great squad of players, perhaps never bettered? The kit certainly hasn’t been.


2. Zaire (1974 Home)

The 1970’s threw up some rather ‘way out’ clothes from platform boots to kipper ties. In between these were ‘hip’ t-shirts with a wide range of novelty slogans. Zaire bought a box load of one particular design.
Green and yellow are the traditional colours for Africa, Leopards are native animals there. Some things are just meant to be. What that country needed was a football shirt that would fulfil a purpose after the side were knocked out and could be worn back home with a pair of flared jeans and an afro.
Adidas got it bang on I’d say. The picture on the front was bigger than most modern day sponsors logos and has inspired a generation of real t-shirt copies ever since.
They reversed the colours for the second strip although this lost the collar and with it some of its charm becoming a simple V-neck.
Then of course there’s that Brazil free kick which guarantee’s this kit will always be seen and loved by generations to come.


3. Scotland (1986 Home)

Although worn in Mexico for a disappointing showing in the World Cup finals, this kit is more remembered for a sad night in Wales which saw Scotland claim a play-off spot against Australia.
Jock Stein was the manager that night but suffered a fatal heart attack due to the stress caused by the whole affair. His assistant at the time was a certain Alex Ferguson, then manager of Aberdeen. Ferguson stepped up to the mark and led his country to Mexico.
A traditional blue number from Umbro, the shirt was striped horizontally in two different tones, yet it was the shorts which always stick out in people’s minds.  A big bold horizontal stripe ran through the middle of them! Other than this band, the kit was very conservative with standard Umbro collar and very plain socks.
It was this under stated but smart look that made the blue stripe on the shorts seem even more shocking and appealing.
Defeats to Denmark and West Germany both by the odd goal and a goalless draw with Uruguay saw the brave scots go home early.
It was also a brave attempt by Umbro as the competition was hotting up, especially from Denmark and the superb creations from hummel.


4. Belgium (1982 Home)

Braces, need I say any more? Admiral’s greatest template idea which had the most important of features,  a design that continued from the shirt to the shorts.
These weren’t just striped braces but ones that had small admiral logos running down the length of them in a similar fashion to the stripes on the Tottenham and Leicester kits a few years previously.
Belgium started the tournament with a win over holders Argentina and wore white shorts with their red shirts and socks.  The yellow braces on the white shorts looked a little harder to interpret yet maybe due to the quality of the opponents have become a little iconic. Well in my eyes anyway.
With the likes of Gerets, Ceulemans and West Ham’s Van Der Elst, this was one of the greatest Belgian sides ever to be assembled. They however struggled to make an impression after beating the holders gaining a 1-0 victory over the very inexperienced El Salvador and only managing to draw with Hungary.
That first game was enough to see them win the group and go on to face Poland and the Soviet Union in phase two. Belgium struggled to make an impact and went out quietly. After the European Championships two years previously where they had reached the final this was a bitter disappointment.
Once again the kit is fondly remembered for its design rather than the performances whilst wearing it.


5. Peru (1978 Home)

Number five was going to be Cruyff, the big badge and the two stripes. At the last moment though I’ve gone for another side with a big badge and a wonderfully simple shirt, Peru. I do like big badges.
Wins against Scotland and Iran plus a very commendable draw against the Dutch blur into the memory compared to events that would occur in the second round.
That defeat to Argentina is one of the most controversial moments in World cup history, if they were playing Olympic badminton they would without doubt have been thrown out of the competition.
The politics behind it all are no way near as simple as the kit. A plain white shirt with a large red sash diagonally adorning it has become synonymous with Peru, but 1978 saw it in one of its simplest forms.
A colour way not unfamiliar to those in Argentina, River Plate wear the same design, this had a large Peru badge which was just as simple as the shirt itself. Two red stripes either side of a white one with the letters F.P.F. above them.
I recently saw a picture of Peru in the 1936 Olympics and the design, even down to the badge, was the same.
Over the years Umbro and Adidas amongst others have produced this kit, yet never deviating from what must be a very strict brief. It’s so good Peru have become far and away my favourite South American footballing nation just on the basis of it.
I’m even partial to the odd can of Red Stripe when they’re playing.

Chris O's Favourite 5... World Cup Shirts

1. South Africa (1998, home)

I know my taste in virtually everything represents the minority view, but I absolutely loved this kit when it appeared in the 1998 World Cup. Kappa, the manufacturers, showed brilliant originality in weaving together four colours into a mad tapestry the like of which has rarely ever been seen.

Rather than go for an intricate pattern, South Africa’s white home shirt featured large stripes of yellow and black with a splash of green on the collar and sides. The colour scheme extended further onto the green and black shorts and white socks. A fabulously inventive creation, but one that admittedly will generate more negative comments than positive ones.

2. Scotland (1990, change)

In a not dissimilar way, Scotland’s change shirt for the 1990 World Cup also made virtue of yellow stripes on a white background. Even as an England fan, I loved it – so much so that my 18-year-old self went out and bought it.

There was something about the simplicity of those lemon-coloured bars evenly spaced from top to bottom, broken in sequence only by two in navy blue straddling the team badge and the Umbro logo. Throw in a navy blue button-up collar and you had a shirt that was bordering on perfection to my mind, especially when worn with the navy blue shorts and socks that went with it. It’s just a shame it was only worn the once in the 1990 tournament – a lamentable 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica.

3. Nigeria (1994, change)

Yet another white strip, but this was a complete one-off. Nigeria made their World Cup debut in 1994 and did so in eye-raising fashion by wearing a kit so distinctive as to be utterly unique.

Against Bulgaria and Greece, Nigeria had the opportunity to show off arguably their most distinctive shirt ever. It was white and decorated all over in a regular pattern of ethnic African symbols coloured black. It remains one of the finest Adidas strips ever seen in a World Cup and shows how, with a little imagination, a shirt can break all the rules and still attract worldwide admiration.

4. West Germany (1990, home)

How often have you seen a stripe wandering across a shirt of its own free will in a seemingly random direction? That’s what you got with the shirt West Germany wore in the 1990 World Cup. Upon yet another white background, the colours of the German flag – black, red and yellow – meandered their way from one arm across to the other. The shirts worn by the West German national team hadn’t featured much red and yellow prior to the 1990 World Cup, but this signalled a turning point the effect of which lasts to this very day.

The design was very nicely executed. Each of the three coloured tapes were punctuated by white diamonds in two places which, through a cynics eye, could have been seen as an accidental nod towards Umbro on this Adidas shirt. As it is, they helped to prevent the coloured bands from being too bold on the eye and, like the overall design, looked entirely appropriate and stylish to boot.

5. Denmark (1986, change)

Football shirts with a ‘half-and-half’ design have been commonplace since the origins of the game. Think of Feyenoord and Blackburn Rovers and you’ll soon get the picture. Denmark, however, are not famous for wearing such a distinctive design, but that didn’t stop them donning a fabulous first-choice shirt during the 1986 World Cup.

Hummel were the company that added a fresh twist to an old look by representing one half of the Danish away shirt as a series of red pinstripes to complement the other half in white. With Hummel’s distinctive chevrons running down both sleeves (one of which had red pinstripes, the other in white) this design looked wonderful in the glorious sun-baked hues of Mexico. Worn with red shorts against Scotland and white shorts against Spain, this was a shirt that looked good in any colour, be it two-tone red for Denmark’s home strip, claret and blue for Aston Villa or sky blue for Coventry.

What would be your favourite five World Cup shirts? Leave us a comment below, or better still, explain your choices in a guest post on The Football Attic. Drop us an email at admin [at] thefootballattic [dot] com and we’ll do the rest.