European & World Classics
Juventus 1997/98: Del Piero, Zidane and the Pink Away Shirt
2 min read
Juventus won Serie A in 1997/98 and reached their third Champions League final in a row. They had Alessandro Del Piero and Zinedine Zidane, and an away shirt in pink.
Why do Juventus wear pink?
Pink was Juventus's first colour. When the club was founded in Turin in 1897, the players wore pink shirts with a black tie.
In 1903 they switched to black and white stripes, using shirts sent over from Notts County in England. The stripes stuck, but pink keeps coming back as an away colour.
The 1997/98 season
Marcello Lippi's side won Serie A. Del Piero scored 21 league goals, with Filippo Inzaghi, signed from Atalanta that summer, alongside him.
In Europe, Juve reached a third Champions League final in a row. They lost 1-0 to Real Madrid in Amsterdam, with Predrag Mijatović scoring.
Del Piero and Zidane
Del Piero wore 10 for Juventus from 1995 to 2012. He is the club's record scorer and has made more appearances than anyone else.
Zidane joined from Bordeaux in 1996 and wore 21. A few weeks after the 1998 final, he scored twice in the World Cup final for France, and he won the Ballon d'Or that December.
The shirts
Both shirts are made by Kappa, with Sony MiniDisc across the front.
The home shirt is black and white stripes with a polo collar. The away shirt is pink with a black collar and cuffs. We have both plain, or printed with DEL PIERO 10 or ZIDANE 21.
Quick answers
- Why are Juventus away shirts pink?
- Juventus wore pink when the club was founded in 1897, before switching to black and white stripes in 1903. Pink has come back as an away colour many times, including in 1997/98.
- What number did Zidane wear at Juventus?
- 21, from 1996 to 2001.
- Who sponsored Juventus in 1997/98?
- Sony MiniDisc. The kit was made by Kappa.
