The Y2K shirts of Inter Milan and Barcelona

The 2001-02 season was one to forget for both FC Barcelona and Inter. Barça finished 4th in La Liga and were defeated in the Semi-finals of the Champions League by eternal rivals Real Madrid and Inter lost the title on the last day of the season despite starting the final round clear on top, in what is one of the darkest days in the clubs’ modern history. Ronaldo's cry on the pitch at the Stadio Olimpico on that 5 May remains one of the most painful images for every Nerazzurri fan, a disappointment that almost wiped out all the efforts made by the technical sponsor Nike in the design of the shirts for that season.

One thing that unites the two beside the disappointment and assortment of superstars is one of the most beautiful collections either team arguably had in the 2000s. Both shared a home kit template (look away now anti-template campaigners) collared, with gold piping framing the body and a satisfying shimmering polyester fabric that gives the shirts a sophisticated silk-like glow, Inter jersey featured a snakeskin mesh panel down the sides – a design that felt like it had been born in a sartoria in Milano as opposed to a sports brand. But the real show-stopper was the lifestyle offering that accompanied the seasonal collection. Bucket hats, intricately constructed multi-panel sweaters and training jerseys and the piece-de-resistance: the shiny presentation jackets. Inter in a rich navy framed in an unorthodox orange and yellow – Barcelona in a magnificent shiny gold. There can never be enough shiny fabrics in sports.

It was an era where the stars of football flocked to both clubs Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Vieri, Riquelme & Seedorf amongst the many others immortalised in imagery of these now iconic pieces, reinventing the off-pitch look. What helps elevate the collection further is the sponsor logo, or lack of in Barça’s case, the Pirelli logo enhancing everything it touched for Inter. What happens on the pitch decides the legacy of the season, the reputation of players, coaches and so to the kits. Where successes shroud kits in eternal glory cementing icon status, failures taint the memory of kits and given their one-year lifespan this determines how fans of clubs see these items for years to come. Both these sides had seasons fans would rather forget, but even that doesn’t dampen just how great both teams looked almost 25 years ago.