Earlier this month Real Betis dropped a retro capsule collection, which featured a recreation of the club’s hummel home shirt from 88/89, and the La Liga side wore it in the match against Las Palmas this weekend.
Retro is all the rage these days, with a particular attention being paid to the golden era of shirt design that was the 90s. But ahead of that glorious decade, the 80s threw up some absolute gems as well, and chief among them was the Real Betis home shirt from the 88/89 season. With this demand for all things yester-year, the retro replica market has flourished, but the Betis have taken things to new heights, with the help of technical sponsors, hummel.
It’s one thing releasing a recreation of a former kit, offering up a timeless and classic alternative to the present day strips, but Real Betis have gone one better, wearing the replica shirt in a match. See, back in the 1988/89 season, they were also supplied kits by Danish brand, hummel, and that parallel has provided the perfect platform for Betis to pull off a move that’s rarely seen, wearing the recreated kit in their La Liga match against La Palmas – a game the home side won 1-0 thanks to a Willian José finish.
The retro shirt is visually a very close recreation (makes for a good game of spot the difference) including that fold-over collar, those chevrons running down the sleeves, and even the “Expo92” sponsor, returning in place of current sponsor, fi Network. The retro return looked particularly fitting on the ever-stylish Hector Bellerin, who looked like he had stepped out of the late 80s with the shirt design.
The only change will come in the fabrics that the shirt has been produced in, switching out the clingy yarns that were in use 30 years ago for more technical performance materials – a move that makes sense.
The Real Betis 88/89 retro home shirt will be available in club stores.
