MANUFACTURED BY ADIDAS

#3

MATCH WORN / ISSUE

 

Towards the end of season 1991/92, Rangers announced current kit manufacturers Admiral would be replaced by legendary sportswear giants Adidas.  Indeed Rangers walked out the tunnel at Hampden Park for their last match of the 1991/92 season donning their new Adidas Equipment home kit, as they took on Airdrieonians in the Scottish Cup Final.

Goals from the deadly strike duo Mark Hateley and Ally McCoist were enough to see off the Diamonds 2-1, who bagged a late consolation from Andy Smith. Rangers uniquely faced Premier Division in each of the five rounds they played in the competition, with victory in the Final sealing a domestic double.

With three large white stripes on each shoulder, and a large red v-neck, this was the boldest home shirt design in Rangers’ history at the time.  The white shorts in contrast were a plain white affair, and the traditional black socks with red tops returned, much to the delight of the majority of the fan base.

In season 1992/93, the first full season featuring the new template, a 2-1 victory over Aberdeen at Parkhead sealed a fifth domestic treble, which of course included a fifth league title in a row.  This treble could very nearly have been a quadruple had Marseille not bribed their way into the inaugural Champions League Final where they went on to defeat AC Milan.

In season 93/94 wearing the same template, Rangers won their sixth league title on the bounce, and it would’ve been a back-to-back treble for Rangers had it not been for a solitary Craig Brewster strike for Dundee United early in the second half of the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden.

The 92/93 season in particular with Rangers wearing this shirt will go down in the history books as one of the Club’s finest seasons.  The ‘Battle of Britain’ two-legged defeat of English Champions Leeds United to qualify for the group stages of the first ‘Champions League’ group stage deserves a specific mention.

The regular number three during this period was marauding left-back Davie Robertson, and these particular Adidas Equipment numbers were only used domestically.