A red-and-white striped shirt and black shorts: PSV traditionally wear this kit at the Philips Stadium, posing a challenge for many kitmen. The outfit contains many common colours, so away teams must improvise to set them apart from the home team.
For the first time, Vincent Kompany’s men will combine the black Champions League jersey with the red shorts of the home kit and black socks in Eindhoven on Wednesday night. But this is not the first unusual combination in Eindhoven in the club’s history, as this retrospective shows.
1986: Premiere in ‘Brazilian shorts’
Bayern and PSV first met in Eindhoven in October 1986. Munich wore the white away shirt, “Brazilian shorts” and blue socks. The yellow and blue jerseys inspired by the Seleção were part of Munich’s repertoire and had their origins in the 1983/84 season, when an experiment in kit choice helped FCB put an end to a negative run in Kaiserslautern (more here). The shorts were a lucky charm in the Netherlands too, Bayern winning 2-0 thanks to Reinhold Mathy’s brace in the closing stages.
1990: Darker shorts
Bayern had to come up with another trick in their second match at the Philips Stadium in March 1990. Out of superstition, Munich once again chose the white away jersey but combined it with red socks and dark blue shorts with red adidas stripes. FCB broke new ground in fashion and helped referee Helmut Kohl from Austria and themselves keep track of the teams. The German record champions won 1-0 and advanced to the semi-finals thanks to an own goal by PSV defender Eric Gerets.
2016: Grey, not mousy
Bayern were better prepared in 2016/17. The grey-and-black jersey with black shorts and dark socks went well with the all-white away kit. Bayern had chosen a similar combination with white socks away at Atlético Madrid before the match in Eindhoven. Munich wore the dark jersey, white shorts and dark socks. Despite their clothes, FCB did not feel off-colour and went on to win 2-1 thanks to Robert Lewandowski’s brace.
Jersey chance as lucky charm
PSV decided not to wear their red, white and black home kit against Bayern in October 1999, choosing a blue kit instead. Bayern played in red as usual but suffered their only defeat in eight duels with the Dutchmen when they lost 2-1 away at Eindhoven. With that in mind, Munich surely won’t mind wearing a slightly unusual kit on Wednesday evening.
Mark van Bommel on the duel of his ex-clubs:
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