Sporting Clube de Portugal 1993/94 Home Shirt

Sporting home shirt from 1993/94, with the heraldic lion jacquard and diagonal stripes in the fabric, Danish brewery FAXE across the chest and, on the back, the number 10 flanked by adidas trefoils, as was the era's custom. It is the shirt of one of the most dramatic seasons in the lions' history: Sousa Cintra sacked Bobby Robson with the team top of the league, after European elimination by Casino Salzburg, handed the reins to Carlos Queiroz, and the title slipped away on a rainy Alvalade afternoon, in an unbelievable 3-6 against Benfica in May, with Figo opening the scoring. To rub it in, the Portuguese Cup escaped in a replayed final against FC Porto. A beautiful team, with Figo, Balakov and Cadete, that held everything in its hands and finished one step from everything. The shirt of almost.

Here at Hoopster this shirt dressed one of Alvalade's cruellest afternoons, the 3-6 that took away an almost certain title. We keep it the way scars are kept: unhidden, because they are history too.