Home 1995
Matchworn/Matchprepared K. Al-Dawd
Manufacturer: SIX5SIX
Source: Collector
THE TEAM
You have to be well over 40 to remember the Kuwaiti national team's greatest successes. In fact, the late 70s/early 80s were the heyday of Kuwait's football. After narrowly losing to Iran in the 1976 Asian Cup final, the Kuwaitis managed to win the title for the first and only time in 1980 with a 3-0 win over South Korea. In 1982, they also managed to qualify for the World Cup. After a 1-1 draw in the first game against the Czech Republic, who took the lead through a Panenka penalty (which was not one of his iconic "Panenka penalties"), they lost the two following games against France and England.
In 1998, the national team made it to a surprising 24th place in the FIFA rankings before the "decline" of Kuwaiti football began. Since then, they have worked their way down to 139th place and are reminiscing about past successes.
THE SHIRT
Who doesn't love them? Adidas jerseys from the 90s:
A huge collar, three thick horizontal stripes and huge numbers. It felt like every other team had one of these shirts in the mid-90s.
Kuwait probably only wore this design very rarely. There is only one picture of the national team in this jersey on the entire internet (yes, I've looked in every corner). It is dated "1995", but with this information alone it was not possible to find out exactly in which game the jersey was worn. The name on the back "Aldawd" also raises more questions than it answers. Presumably an unfortunate transcription of the Arabic name "Al Dawoud", this name also provides little information as to which player was involved.
The numbers are also a whim of the kit manager: the "0" of the 10 on the front is upside-down, while a completely different number style has been flocked onto the back of the jersey.
The jersey is an absolutely exciting addition to my collection, and I will certainly spend another hour or two looking for more information.
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