Kits of the Underdogs: 7 Memorable Shirts from Surprise Teams

All football fans have their favourite, iconic shirts that they are emotionally tied to. Whether it’s one that their team wore when winning a trophy, or one that was simply just a beautiful design, fans treasure football shirts. The appreciation of an iconic shirt, however, can defy team loyalties and is one area where tribal lines are crossed.

Some football shirts gain a big reputation because of being linked to underdog success stories. Everyone loves an underdog story, where a team, whose pre-match chances of winning were evaluated as being low, somehow produced an unexpected victory. Browse any sports betting platform from a list of betting sites from Legalbet or any other services that study online bookmakers, and you’ll see that sportsbooks are seldom wrong in their analysis when setting odds. But once in a while, a team does manage to defy those bookie underdog odds, and glorify their football kits. Let’s have a look at these memorable shirts. 

Leicester City 2015-16 Premier League

The Leicester City shirt from their shock 2015-16 Premier League title campaign, has become such a classic. There’s nothing particularly unique about the shirt, but it gained universal appeal as so many neutral fans cheered the Foxes on to the unlikely title.

It’s a simple and understated blue shirt, with a small white trim on the v-neck. But anyone looking at it will instantly recognise it and link it to one of the greatest feel-good football stories ever.

Wimbledon 1988 FA Cup Final

Still ranking as one of the greatest FA Cup Finals ever, the 1988 affair at Wembley between Wimbledon and Liverpool didn’t go the way that many expected it to. Wimbledon, aka “The Crazy Gang” were huge underdogs in their first FA Cup Final against the “cultured” Reds.

Dons keeper Dave Beasant became the first player to save a penalty kick in an FA Cup Final and the underdogs had their day when Lawrie Sanchez flicked home a header from a free-kick. The Wimbledon shirt, blue with a wide band of yellow across the shoulders, is still remembered fondly because of that day.

Lille 2020-2021 Ligue 1

In the 2020-21 Ligue 1 season, few predicted Lille to land the French top-flight title. Given PSG’s dominance for the last decade or more, it’s a title that is now almost forgotten. Thanks to a 2-1 away win at Angers on the final day of the season, Lille narrowly got across the line, taking the victory they needed to fend off Paris St Germain. Lille’s striking red shirt, with a mixed band of solid and striped blue across the chest, remains one of the most popular in the club’s history because of that heroic season.

Nottingham Forest 1977-78 First Division

After getting promoted back to the First Division under Brian Clough, few would have predicted Nottingham Forest doing so well in the 1977-78 season. “Cloughie” guided the club to their astonishing first-ever top-flight title just a year after earning promotion.

Not only that, Forest clinched the title the same month that they won the League Cup as well. Both shirts from that season are retro classics, as there is the solid red home shirt with double white stripes down the arm and the yellow away shirt with blue collar and arm trims.

Denmark Euro 1992

Denmark’s shirt from their surprise Euro 1992 title is one of the most iconic international football shirts around. After finishing second in their group behind Sweden, they advanced to the semi-finals where they eliminated the Netherlands via a penalty shootout.

The Danes then got the better of Germany 2-0 in the Final with some help from keeper Peter Schmeichel. The official slogan of Euro 1992 was “Small is beautiful” and the Danish underdog success played right into that, wearing a red shirt that had white shoulders and striped arms.

Blackburn Rovers 1994-95 Premier League

Guided by former Liverpool legend Kenny Dalglish, Blackburn Rovers upset the odds by winning the 1994-95 Premier League title ahead of Man Utd. Rovers, fired by the goals of Alan Shearer lost their final game of the season against Liverpool, which put their title bid in jeopardy.

But title-rivals Man Utd were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham, giving Blackburn their first league title since 1914, while wearing that famous retro blue and white halved shirt with opposing arm colours. It’s an absolute classic.

Greece Euro 2004

Greece pulled off a huge shock at Euro 2004 by taking the title as big pre-tournament underdogs. They simply relied on remarkable teamwork and a virtually impenetrable defence to take their first major title. During the knockout stage, they beat France, the Czech Republic and then host-nation Portugal in the Final. It was one of those occasions where neutrals couldn’t help but back underdogs Greece, who wore a typically early-2000s baggy shirt, which was predominantly white with a stripe of simple blue under the arms.