The best football jerseys sponsored by beer brands

In sports culture, football and beer have always been a very strong combination that needs little explanation. In England and on the British island in general, a draft beer at the pub outside the stadium is a sacred tradition, almost a religion for fans who since their childhood are initiated by their parents to the doctrine of beer.

And also in Italy the world of football has always been surrounded by the scent of malt and hops. Pizza, beer and a game on the couch in the company of friends has become a social convention in our peninsula; a custom, a rule that unites and consolidates human relationships as well. Even in Italian movies the image of the fan in front of the television watching a soccer match is automatically associated to a bottle of beer frozen in his hands, as in the iconic scene of Paolo Villaggio in "Fantozzi", the perfect cliché of the Italian on the couch following his favorite team in the company of the unfailing 0.33l blonde. 

But in the world of soccer, the relationship with the world of beer has always been perfect. In Italy, from 1997 to 2008, the Birra Moretti Trophy was held, with the legendary motto that closed the television commercial: "Chi mastica calcio, beve Birra Moretti" ("Who chews soccer, drinks Birra Moretti"). But many clubs around the world have, throughout history, linked their name to the brand of some international brewery, but also to the same place of the sponsored team. 

 

Napoli-Peroni and the Albiceleste jersey 

In the early 2000s, among the darkest years of Napoli's history, the Neapolitan club wore the sponsor of Birra Peroni on its jersey. The brewery arrives on the blue jerseys in the 1999-2000 season, those signed by Nike and that the team will wear during the Serie B championship culminated with the promotion, while the following year, when Naples will return to the cadet championship, Diadora arrives and that will be the first season in which there will be the number 10, withdrawn in homage to Diego Armando Maradona. But one of the most original jerseys in the union between the Azzurri and Peroni is that of 2002-2003, the first Albiceleste-style jersey produced by Diadora and which is a rare piece among collectors. But with that uniform, the partenopei do not reach great results so as to be pointed out by the fans, who have always given great importance to superstition, as an unlucky outfit. 

 

Liverpool and the quarter of a century with Carlsberg

Liverpool has linked its name to the historic beer brand Carlsberg for 25 years. A very close relationship between the Merseyside club and the Danish company, so much so that the brewery has produced a beer entirely dedicated to the Reds and made with a special red hop plant to guarantee the drink that distinctive color of the English team. And the Liverpool jersey made by adidas, with the undulating Carlsberg logo on the chest, with which the club won the historic Champions League in the 2005 Istanbul final against AC Milan, will remain legendary.

 

Quilmes and the feat of uniting Boca Juniors and River Plate

The Argentine brewery Quilmes, founded in 1988, in the course of its history succeeded in an almost impossible feat: to somehow unite Boca Juniors and River Plate. The South American beer has in fact been the sponsor of the two Buenos Aires teams, defined by an intense rivalry; for the Xeneizes from 1995 to 2001 while from 1996 to 2002 for the Millonarios, a period in which a very young Javier Saviola made his debut. But Quilmes has also appeared on the jerseys of the club from the city of the same name, whose players are nicknamed Cerveceros because of the presence of the beer plants in the area.

 

Newcastle's golden years with Brown Ale

In the 1990s, Newcastle's uniforms were sponsored by a local beer: Brown Ale. It was the golden age of the Magpies, who saw the likes of David Ginola, Faustino Asprilla and Alan Shearer, who would later become a club legend, wearing the black and white shirt. Among other things, in 1996 Newcastle managed to snatch the English bomber from Blackburn thanks to the economic help of the brewery, which aimed at raising the level of the team to which it had linked its name. A relationship that still remains even though the contract expired a long time ago, since on the facades of St. James Park, the stadium of the black and white club, the blue star, symbol of Brown Ale, can be seen in full view. 

 

Carling and Tennet's at the Old Firm

Just as happened with Quilmes for Boca Juniors and River Plate, the two great rivals of Scotland, Celtic and Rangers, have also had the same sponsor on their shirts. From 2003 to 2010 the Old Firm was played with Carling beer, of Canadian origin, on the jerseys, while from 2010 to 2013 it was Tennent's turn to be the peacemaker in one of the most fiery derbies in the world.

 

Lugo CD and the beer jersey

But the most unique beer-themed jersey is definitely the one worn by Lugo CD, a team currently playing in the Spanish Segunda Division, in the 2014 season. The sponsor of the club was the Estrella Galicia brewery, which had the idea of creating a special edition jersey in which a full-blown beer was designed, complete with bubbles and foam. An out of the ordinary concept, but one that remains among the most original to this day.