Chelsea will head back to the 90s this season as they look to bounce back from their disappointing 2022/23 Premier League campaign.
The Blues might not be playing European football over the next 12 months, but they will still wear a kit that pays homage to a famous UEFA triumph. Back in the 1997/98 season, it was skipper Dennis Wise who lifted the Cup Winners’ Cup, won by a star studded team that included the likes of Gianfranco Zola and Roberto Di Matteo.
Under Gianluca Vialli, the team also won the League Cup that season, and would capture the European Super Cup at the start of the next campaign. And fans now have a throwback to those few months of glory via the newly released kit.
Like 26 years ago, the shirts are void of any peculiar designs or fancy patterns. Instead, the design is basic and yet historic, essentially plain blue with white underarms and a white sleeve outline. There is also a white strip inside the collar, along with a Chelsea badge and Nike symbol in the chest region.
The Chelsea website explained: "The new design for 23/24 remembers that special past while additional gold detail, including an iridescent crest, highlights the prestige and glamour of the famous King’s Road in the ’90s. Shimmering in gold, the lion roars on the shirt - symbolic of Chelsea’s prestige and history.
"While changes take place at the club, the pride stays the same. Interior shirt detail nods to exactly this - Chelsea FC remains the Pride of London."
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There is however, one notable feature missing. The shirt is yet to bear a main sponsor on the front, with the club yet to agree a deal with a new company after a three-year agreement with mobile phone giants, Three, ended on June 30.
Reports of a proposed deal with gambling and casino company, Stake, were met with resentment by supporters, with the club clarifying: "Fans should be aware that the 2023/24 home kit that features on pitch may subsequently feature a front-of-shirt partner. The club will communicate any changes to the kit in due course."
Chelsea players will wear the new strips on a field for the first time on July 19, when they open their tour of the US with a game against Wrexham. Further clashes follow in America against Brighton, Newcastle, Fulham and Borussia Dortmund.
