2019/20 · Away

Sassuolo are neroverde, but in 2019/20 Kappa drew them an away kit of green and white hoops that any Celtic or Sporting fan would swear was theirs. The omini file down the shoulders, banda style like the great Italian shirts, Mapei crosses the chest in the capitals of owner and sponsor at once, and the neroverde crest clashes deliciously against hoops that are not its own.

It was worn in a season both sad and great: the farewell to Squinzi, Serie A suspended by the pandemic, and 8th place for De Zerbi's Sassuolo, with Caputo's 21 goals and the short passing football that made the club Europe's tactical darling.

Here at Hoopster, this is the piece that proves the archive's thesis by absurdity: even a club that isn't about hoops, when it wants a beautiful shirt, ends up drawing green and white stripes.