Ahead of Tottenham's Champions League clash with AC Milan we thought we'd delve into our Kit Vault once again, this time to recall a shirt worn by Spurs as they tasted European football in the late 90's.
The adidas 1999/2001 Tottenham Hotspur home shirt was worn during quite a barren period of European football at White Hart Lane. But following League Cup success in 1999, Tottenham found themselves competing in the UEFA Cup for the 99/00 season.
On this occasion, disaster struck in the last few minutes for Spurs as they played Kaiserslautern in Germany. Taking a 1-0 lead into the second leg, Spurs conceded in the 90th and 92nd minutes to lose the tie 2-1, a feat they will be hoping not to repeat in the Champions League.
The 99/01 Tottenham home shirt brings back memories of some quality players though, with the likes of David Ginola, Sol Campbell, Stephen Carr, Steffen Freund and Darren Anderton all donning this classic football shirt.
The shirt was designed and engineered by adidas, featuring technology that wouldn't be too unfamiliar on a modern shirt, such as the ClimaLite fabric to wick moisture away from the body. The 99/01 Tottenham jersey also features the sponsor Holsten, who were the first sponsor to appear on a Spurs shirt adorning them for a combined period of more than 15 years.
As a quick history lesson, the club itself was formed by a group of cricketers in 1882 as Hotspur FC, later adding the prefix Tottenham to avoid confusion with London Hotspur. The name Hotspur is one of the more bizarre additions in football, and was chosen because of the fiery reputation of Shakespeare's Harry Hotspur, a character in his play "Henry IV Part 1". Harry was based on a 14th century ancestor who owned large amounts of land in the Tottenham area in the 1880s, and acquired his surname because of his frequent use of spurs when riding!
The Spurs motto, shown on this football jersey but no longer incorporated into the modern badge reads "Audere est Facere" which means "To Dare is To Do". A motto that Spurs will need to call on as they look to progress in the Champions League.
Stay tuned to the SoccerBible as we reveal even more retro soccer shirts from the Kit Vault, showcasing the best retro amd classic kits and bringing them back to life!