Introduction
The 1997-98 Inter Milan Home Match Shirt has to be one of the most sought after 90's shirts in the world, Ronaldo Fenomeno in full flight, and a team full of cult players like Recoba, Zamorano, and of course the green dreadlocks of Taribo West.
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 Inter Milan Store and Match Shirt from the 1997-98 Season; If you shirt has all of these details you are one of the lucky few collectors in the world.
- Vertical waves in the fabric of the shirt, rather than horizontal.
- Missing Umbro Vapa Tech Performance label on the back below the neck
- Thick flock name and number.
- Long sleeve version was never sold in shops.
- 1997-98 Serie A patch heatpressed on
1. Wertical Waves
- The Vertical Waves are the almost mythical differentiator between store shirts and match shirts. There are almost no differences between the two shirts, but that is the unmistakable fingerprint of a Match Shirt.
- Store Shirts have horizontal waves.
2. Missing Vapa Tech Label
- The Vapa Tech Performance label is always missing from match shirts, and usually sits between the name and the collar on the back of the shirt.
- Be Careful though, this is an incredibly sought after shirt so often people often manage to remove it with almost no trace, but now that you know about the vertical waves that won't be enough to fool you!
3. Thick Flock Name and Number
- A Thick Umbro Flock Nameset is a key detail of an Inter Milan Match Shirt, but identical version were also sold in shops.
- These days it is also really easy to pick up identical copies, but they always look too perfect. Match Shirts are 30 years old, the name and number are often slightly damaged or discoloured, and sometimes the edges have started peeling away from the shirt.
- The Inter Kit Room was notoriously messy. They used a variety of different sized namesets, and sometimes even used 1996-97 numbers when they ran out.
4. You Can't go Wrong with Long Sleeve
- Umbro Never Sold Long Sleeve. It is one of the crying shames of 90's football, but Umbro never released long sleeve store versions of many of their most famous kits to the public.
5. Serie A Patch
- The Serie A Patch is heat-pressed on. This was sometimes sewn on, but it is an unmistakable detail on all match shirts.
- Even originals of this patch are really hard to get hold of because they were mostly heat-pressed onto match shirts, but the fakes never quite look right either. Look for the little white lines on the green paint sash, they are almost always in the same place.
🎓 If you are interested to learn more about Inter Shirts visit Franco Galli's fantastic Inter Museum, which must be one of the most complete Inter Milan collections on the planet.