Home shirt circa 1978/79
Manufacturer: Le Coq Sportif
Sponsor: Super Tele (French magazine)
It’s common knowledge that football shirts back in the day came a little tighter than those we’re used to in 2008. Indeed, St Etienne’s late ‘70’s polyester satin vintage is not so much a shirt to be worn as one to be painted on, a fit far more in keeping with those streamlined jerseys adorned throughout the Tour de France.
St Etienne however could claim a paralleled popularity with France’s no. 1 sport (the town is coincidentally renowned for the manufacturing of bicycles), especially so over the period that this shirt was in play.
With players like Santini (future France national coach), Rocheteau (‘l’ange vert’ – ‘the green angel’) and the newly-signed duo of Dutch master Johnny Rep and French legend Michel Platini all pouring themselves into these classic green & white liveries, the Loire town side boasted great domestic success – as well as progress to the quarter-finals of the ‘79/’80 UEFA Cup - before a downturn in fortunes in the 1980’s.
Le Coq Sportif’s round, stand-up crossover collar echoes the similar Adidas design of the time (France, Queen’s Park Rangers), and whilst a lack of a club emblem is typical for French sides of the period, the club sponsors – the pop & TV magazine ‘Super-Tele’ – are given top graphical billing here in a flocked print. Two v-neck variations of this shirt appeared: one with the same green tone as the shirt’s body, the other a white collared version – both came with a yellow infill over smaller ‘Super’ lettering.
Gary Mills 13/01/08
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