Kit Heritage Cup

The parentNotts CountyRef 8A · white with black stripes · white base

→1903

The heirJuventusRef 34 · black and white · black base

Juventus's first shirts were pink. In 1903 the Englishman John Savage asked a friend in Nottingham for a more hard-wearing replacement, and from Nottingham came the black and white stripes of Notts County, the oldest club in the Football League. The bond has endured: in 2011 it was Notts County who opened the Juventus Stadium.

The parentBlackburn RoversRef 31 · blue and white halves · blue base

→1886

The heirGrasshopperRef 108 · blue and white halves · white base

On 1 September 1886 an English student, Tom E. Griffith, founded Grasshopper Club in Zurich. With a donation of twenty francs the first kit was bought: half white and half blue, like Blackburn Rovers, the great team of those years.

The parentNottingham ForestRef 1A · red · white base

→1905

The heirIndependienteRef 297 · red · red base

In 1905 Nottingham Forest toured Argentina and thrashed Alumni 6-0. In the stand sat Arístides Langone, president of Independiente: he proposed swapping the club's white and blue for Forest's red, which Forest had in turn taken from Garibaldi. Ever since, Independiente have been "El Rojo".

The parentAston VillaRef 74A · claret and sky blue · pink base

→1905

The heirCrystal PalaceRef 40A · claret and sky blue · light blue base

When the professional Crystal Palace was founded in 1905, a helping hand came from Edmund Goodman, an Aston Villa employee who went on to become its manager. The new club wore Villa's claret and sky blue. Seventy years later Malcolm Allison changed it to red and blue stripes: inspired, this time, by Barcelona.

The parentBaselRef 107 · blue and claret · blue base

→1899

The heirBarcelonaRef 19A · blue and claret · blue base

Barcelona's blaugrana is a small mystery. According to the most popular theory, the Swiss founder Joan Gamper, who had also played as a guest for Basel back home, brought those colours to Barcelona. The club's official version, however, credits the Witty brothers, who had seen them on the rugby team of their English school, Merchant Taylors'. Either way, the two teams look like two peas in a pod.

The parentQueen's ParkRef 24 · white with black hoops · white base

→1872

The heirScotlandRef 318 · navy blue · blue base

On 30 November 1872, at Hamilton Crescent, Scotland played England in the first international match in history, wearing navy blue. All eleven Scots were Queen's Park members. Tradition has it that the national team's blue came from there; Queen's Park today play in black and white hoops.

The parentPreston North EndRef 135 · white · white base

→1898

The heirTottenhamRef 154 · white · black base

In 1898 Tottenham switched to white shirts and navy shorts, "in honour of Preston North End", the Invincibles of the first Football League. A 1921 club history said so, but Tottenham themselves admit there is no direct evidence. A fine legend, and one McGregor's Twelve would not mind.

The parentSouthamptonRef 9 · red and white stripes · red base

→1910

The heirAtlético MadridRef 226 · red and white stripes · blue base

A story in three steps. In 1909 Juan Elorduy of Athletic Bilbao was supposed to buy Blackburn Rovers-style shirts in London; he could not find any and, while waiting for the ferry at Southampton, bought fifty red and white Saints shirts instead. Athletic wore them from January 1910, and soon afterwards their Madrid branch, the future Atlético, did the same. Southampton, in other words, are the grandfather of the Colchoneros.