THE VITALS:

Team: Italy

Brand: Kappa

Era: 2000-02 (Used for 2000 UEFA European Championships and the 2002 FIFA World Cup Qualifying campaign)

Name/Number: -

CONDITION: EXCELLENT

With this shirt now 20 years old (at the time of writing), this article comes in as good condition as you will ever expect to find as far as this piece of art is concerned! The material is shows very little use or wear albeit with some very faint staining.

DIMENSIONS:

Size: Medium

Pit to Pit Measurement: 18 inches

Shirt Length: 24.25 inches 

Not to be confused with the Gava mould Kappa used for in the following cycle; this shirt is of a tougher material without compromising any of the stretch that Kappa shirts are synonymous with. Please be mindful of the length of the shirt, while quite stretchy, is fairly short, and thus, this shirt would probably be better suited for a size small.

DESCRIPTION:

Kappa’s 2^nd presentation as Italy’s kit supplier was a bonafide classic! Using a lighter, more ‘azure’ shade of blue; the Kappa embroidery would be moved from the chest to the sleeve and a hoop collar would be instated as this shirt debuted in Italy’s penultimate game ahead of Euro 2000 against Norway. This shirt would of course be synonymous with ‘Gil Azzurri’s run to the final of the legendary tournament, however, this shirt remains one of the absolute classics of the Italian home shirt pantheon!

THE SEASON(S):

8 days ahead of their Euro 2000 curtain raiser against Turkey on 11 June 2000; Italy would be dealt a huge blow as Gianluigi Buffon was ruled out of the competition an Italy were beaten 1-0 by Norway in a friendly. Still, touted as one of the tournament favourites; Italy would start the competition with a 2-1 win over Turkey, Francesco Totti and Stefano Fiore would score a goal each to see off Belgium 2-0, before the clean sweep of wins was completed following their 2-1 win over Sweden to top Group B.

In the quarter final would await a Romania side that qualified ahead of both England and Germany; however, for a 4^th game in a row, Giovanni Trappatoni’s side would score twice with Totti and Pipo Inzaghi helping themselves to a goal each in another 2-0 win! Up next though, would be a mouth-watering affair in the semi-final against the host nation: the Netherlands.

A goalless draw would unfold in Rotterdam, and penalties would be called on to decide who’d take their place in the June 29^th finale in Amsterdam. Alas, it was Italy were held their nerve; eradicating the memory of their shoot-out defeats to Brazil in 1994 and France in 1998. Ironically, it would be France awaiting in the final. Marco Delvecchio would give Italy the breakthrough after 55 minutes before Sylvain Wiltord equalised at the death for the World champions. It would be heartbreak for Italy as David Trezeguet’s Golden Goal would decide the game 2-1 in favour of France.

With the Euro disappointment in the rear view mirror, the next task would be qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. After their opening game with Hungary ended 2-2, they’d pick up wins over Romania and Georgia before ending the year 2000 with a 1-0 win over England on November 15^th.

2001 would begin with a  2-1 defeat against Argentina, however, a fine year would unfold as they would seal qualification to Japan and South Korea for the 2002 FIFA World Cup in an unbeaten qualifying campaign; winning in 5 of their 6 qualifiers in 2001. The year ended with a draw against World Cup co-hosts Japan in a 1-1 draw in Saitama, before a February 13^th 2002 friendly in Catania saw Itay defeat the United States 1-0 in the first of four preparation games before their World Cup opener against Ecuador.

The notable players to wear that season(s) were:

Vincnezo Montella, Marco Delvecchio, Christian Vieri, Filippo Inzaghi, Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti, Stefano Fiore, Luigi Di Biagio, Antonio Conte, Gennaro Gattuso, Gianluca Pessotto, Angelo Di Livio, Massimo Ambrosini, Alessandro Nesta, Gianluca Zambrotta, Fabio Cannavaro, Paolo Negro, Mark Iuliano, Paolo Maldini, Ciro Ferrara, Demitrio Albertini, Gianluigi Buffon, Francesco Toldo, Francesco Antonioli