"Lazio in Lacoste" was the headline of some newspapers of the time. That's right, it was not a joke or a mistake, but it... referred to a technical-sporting supply of considerable prestige, even if anomalous for the world of football. Lazio surprisingly, takes the field with the polo shirts of "Lacoste", a famous French sportswear brand, especially in vogue in tennis and leisure. How does this high-quality supply with a great global impact reach Lazio? Fair question and simple answer. It comes from the "Bottega dello Sport" of Uber Gradella, Lazio's technical-sports supplier for more than a decade. At the beginning of the '60s, in the middle of the era of the economic boom in Italy, the "Lacoste" was an extraordinary success in Italy and became one of the most used garments in the world. Even Lazio, at that time, could not resist the charm of the French brand of the "crocodile" and so it finds itself dressed in the highly sought after and elegant "Lacoste" polo shirts. But what was that Lacoste worn by Lazio players in the two aforementioned championships like? The answer is that it was the same as those that we mere mortals still often use in our days, with a closure with two white mother-of- pearl buttons. The material is made of cotton with a geometric weave in relief alternating with diagonally crossed "jersey" "honeycomb" recesses. In addition to the novelty of the polo shirt, Lazio fans are surprised by the chromatic shade used, no longer the traditional light blue, but blue. Until 1964, there were four colours made for Lacoste: blue, red, white and yellow. In terms of chromatic affinity, the only color that can be assimilated, close to the light blue of Lazio, is Lacoste blue. This is the reason why Lazio did not take the field with the classic light blue shirt. Curiously, the "crocodile" logo is "obscured" and then unstitched from the polo shirt prepared for the game of football. In addition, in the history of Lacoste adapted to football (the red ones are also worn by Roma), match numbers are applied, which were made of lenci cloth, a type of felted fabric in white, sewn onto the shirt and roughly cut by hand without a precise character. For the record, shorts and socks with the Lacoste brand are not supplied, which therefore remain of Italian production supplied by the "Bottega della Sport".
SS Lazio
