Lazio Jersey 2000-01
The 2000–01 season began with Lazio still celebrating the extraordinary achievements of the previous campaign. The club had won its second Scudetto and third Coppa Italia, and the Centenary celebrations provided the inspiration for a special shirt that would become one of the most distinctive Lazio jerseys of the era.
The principal shirt was the Centenary jersey, produced by Puma in the traditional Lazio sky blue. It was worn into the new season carrying an unusual combination of honours: the Scudetto and the Coppa Italia coccarda were both displayed on the chest following the double triumph of 1999–00.
The positioning of the two symbols was itself the result of some last-minute ingenuity. The shirts had originally been manufactured before Lazio won the championship, with provision made for the Scudetto to be added in the centre of the shirt. Once the Coppa Italia had also been won, both symbols were placed together on the left side, covering the original Puma logo. The club subsequently had the shirts modified, with a new Puma logo applied centrally.
The Centenary shirt also acquired a special connection with the Jubilee celebrations in Rome. When Lazio made their Serie A debut at home against Perugia on 14 October 2000, the shirt carried a special Jubilee 2000 patch. Interestingly, this version had no Puma logo in its usual central position.
The Centenary design was used until January 2001. Its final appearance came on 14 January 2001, when Lazio defeated Udinese 4–3 in a remarkable match. By then, the shirt had become particularly symbolic, bearing both the Scudetto and Coppa Italia badge as a reminder of the club's historic 1999–00 double.
Image Sources: SS Lazio Museum (first), Football Kit Archive (others)
A new home shirt was introduced for the second half of the season, making its debut on 20 January 2001 against Inter. It retained Lazio's traditional sky blue but introduced prominent black inserts running from the collar down both sides of the shirt, giving the design a more modern appearance. The shade of blue was deliberately close to the famous colour used by Lazio in 1974, linking the contemporary shirt with one of the most celebrated periods in the club's history.
There were also several variations. In the league matches against Milan and Lazio–Parma, the shirt appeared with white cuffs, while short-sleeved versions were introduced later in the season, first appearing against Parma on 18 April 2001.
Image Source: Football Kit Archive (first and third), SS Lazio Museum (second)
The European campaign produced an even wider range of designs. Lazio's Champions League home shirt had an “Argentina-style” appearance, while the away version was navy blue. For the opening two Champions League matches, against Shakhtar Donetsk and Sparta Prague, Lazio wore a particularly rare version known as the “filo d'oro” shirt, distinguished by its different fabric and shade of blue and, most notably, a gold trim around the collar.
The Arsenal away match on 27 September 2000 produced perhaps the strangest variation of all. Lazio wore a navy kit featuring names and numbers apparently supplied by Nike rather than Puma, with white lettering edged in silver identical to Arsenal's own system. The shirt also carried an unofficial Champions League patch on the left sleeve.
Goalkeeper shirts reproduced with AI.
The goalkeeper shirts were a variation of the new home shirt: grey with black and white inserts, yellow with black and white inserts, black with white and yellow inserts as well as blue with white and grey.
The 2000–01 season therefore produced an unusually rich collection of Lazio shirts: the celebrated Centenary jersey, the special Jubilee version, the second-half sky-blue shirt with black detailing, several goalkeeper designs and a series of distinctive Champions League kits. Together, they reflected a club moving from the historic triumphs of 1999–00 into a new era while still proudly displaying the symbols of its centenary and its greatest season to date.
Sources
Comments