When Udinese and Borussia Mönchengladbach used the same shirt

Repeating the same template for all contracted teams is a common practise for technical sponsors who sign contracts with football teams. It's the easiest way to encourage stylistic choices that then spill over into th

e sportswear style of that brand. They may change the colours, but the shapes and details remain similar in most cases. The problem can arise when two teams have the same social colours that are also rejected in the same geometric version, horizontal or vertical bands. In this case, fashion houses have to try to produce two different products to avoid the impression that two teams wearing the same jersey both bought the same jersey for their match jerseys from some sportswear shop. However, sometimes it happens that two teams, perhaps from different leagues, wear the same jersey. This was the case in the 2006/07 season when Lotto made two identical jerseys for Udinese and Borussia Moenchengladbach.

The jersey in question is a reinterpretation of a classic black and white vertically striped jersey. More precisely, it is a white jersey featuring three black stripes curved to the left, leaving a slightly larger white area on the right side. This is an innovative solution that Lotto has chosen for both the Italian and German teams. Also identical is the finish of the black edging on the sides of the jersey and the collar, as well as the white Lotto logo with a red background on both sleeves below the shoulders. Apart from the font of the numbers and names, the two jerseys differ in two small details. The first is the style of the collar: both have a slight V-shaped division, but the collar used for Borussia has softer shapes than the one used for Udinese. The second is the placement of the club logo: for Borussia it is on the top left, while for Udinese it is on the right just below the Lotto logo.

What makes the situation even more paradoxical is the fact that Lotto could have avoided this embarrassment of having two teams with two identical jerseys by simply respecting tradition. While the vertical bars of the bianconere have been an identifying feature for Udinese on the Italian football scene since the late 1980s, they represented an absolute novelty for Borussia Moenchengladbach. Black and white, along with green, are the club colours of the German club, but before this season they had never been associated with the use of vertical stripes. At most, they had been combined with split outfits, where one colour was used for the jersey and one for the trousers, and the use of vertical stripes was limited to white and green. Complicating matters for Lotto was Borussia's relegation to the 2.Bundesliga, where they finished last that season. The black and white jersey with the vertical stripes was also used the following season and accompanied Borussia to promotion to the Bundesliga, after which Lotto abandoned the design with the vertical stripes and returned to the classic white jersey.