Introduction
Even though it was a terrible season for the club, the 1996-97 AC Milan Home Match Shirt is one of my favourites; beautiful fabric, bold colours, quality finish, and plenty of details that set it apart from the version sold in shops.
This guide will help you to easily spot the differences because, unlike today's shirts, 90's Player Issue jerseys are easily distinguishable from their store counterparts.
💡 Summary of Key Differences
Here are the key things you need to look out for to spot the difference between an AC Milan Store and Match Shirt from the 1996-97 Season; If you shirt has all of these then you are holding a piece of history, but be careful because some of these individual features — like the sublimated name and number or the Serie A patch — can still be found on limited edition store shirts, such as the ones issued to celebrate Franco Baresi's retirement.
- Larger size label on Match Shirts
- Lotto tape visible across the neck
- Embossed rather than sewn AC Milan club crest
- Sublimated name and number
- Heat press mark visible around the name
- 1996-97 Serie A patch sewn on
1. Neck Label
- Neck Label Size is large and sits under the Lotto tag, unlike the Store shirts which have the size written on a small label next to the Lotto tag.
- Shirt Size is always XL. All players wore XL, but the shirts were specially tailored to be a tighter fit that a Store bought XL.
2. Lotto Tape
- "Lotto" Tape Across the Neck appears on the match shirt above the size label.
- Store shirts are missing the tape so there is no Lotto writing at all above the neck label.
3. Embossed Milan Crest
- The Embossed AC Milan Badge is one of the easiest ways to spot the difference between a Store Shirt and a Match Shirt.
- Store Shirts have a Sewn Badge and the badge itself is visibly lower quality.
4. Sublimated Name and Number
- Sublimated Name and Number are one major indicator of a match shirt, but be careful because Milan also issued Store versions with sublimated numbers for key players like Weah, Baresi and Baggio.
5. Heat Press Marks
- Heat Press Marks are only visible on Match Jerseys. You have to look closely but you should be able to see a faint line about 2cm around the name.
- Store versions with sublimated names were done in the factory and are missing this detail.
6. Serie A Patch
- Serie A 50 Year Anniversary Patch was sewn onto the sleeve for every Serie A and Coppa Italia Match. This was replaced by the Champions League Starball in Europe, and often removed completely for friendlies.
🎓 This is the standard home Milan shirt, but there was another version of the home shirt released for the Champions League that season. If you are interested to learn more about that shirt visit Andrea Ronchi's excellent AC Milan site, which acts as a bible for all Milan kits right back to the 1960s and 70s.