Sporting Clube de Portugal 2021/22 Home Shirt

For the first time in over a century of history, Sporting wore Nike, and the debut came with the rarest of accessories: the golden national champions patch beside the crest. The American brand designed white shoulders and yoke over pinstripe edged hoops, with Betano debuting on the chest in place of NOS. The title defence ended in second place, behind a Porto side racking up big numbers, but the season left plenty to remember: the Supertaça and the Taça da Liga both won and added to Amorim's trophy cycle, and above all a triumphant return to the Champions League, with Sporting emerging from a group containing Ajax, Borussia Dortmund and Besiktas to reach the last 16, thirteen years after the previous time. The European night of that season is engraved in memory: the 3-1 over the Germans at Alvalade with a Pote brace, before Manchester City closed the road. A shirt that changed manufacturer and had the privilege of being born a champion. Not every debut starts with gold stitched to the chest.

Here at Hoopster this debut wears a crown: the first Nike in the lion's history was born with the golden champions' patch beside the crest. Few brands ever reported for duty with the work already done.