Napoli claimed their 6th Coppa Italia crown behind closed doors on Wednesday night, in a completely dotty, “love it or hate it,” figure-hugging, camouflage kit by Kappa.
After a goalless 90 minutes, the match went straight to a shoot-out where Gennaro Gattuso’s men stopped the Juventus juggernaut, winning 4-2 on penalties in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico.
This was Napoli’s first silverware since 2014, and their first title wearing the famous Omini logo of Kappa.
Napoli’s Azzurri represents the Gulf of Naples, and Kappa have been particularly inspired by the sky-blue shade since taking over from Macron in 2015.
The partnership has brought a line of designs as eye-catching as they are tight-fitting, with bold mosaic patterns and luminous inserts pasted across Kappa’s Kombat chassis.
The 2019-20 vintage presents Napoli’s huge sponsor’s logos onto a dotty, camouflage shirt with a button-up crew neck collar and white shoulder panels.
There’s an awful lot going on here.
The massive sponsor logos plastered across the front of the shirt include Italy’s leading mineral water company Acqua Lete and cruise-liner MSC, whilst Neapolitan coffee brand Caffé Kimbo takes advertising space on the back.
Reports suggest that Serie A will bring in stricter controls on how sponsorship can be displayed from next season, with measures aimed at bringing a more harmonious placement of logos and stopping big blocks of colour from jarring with shirt designs.
They may be an acquired taste, but Kappa’s Napoli kits have become popular amongst collectors and connoisseurs and the good news is that supporters’ have options away from the ultra-slim-fit style favoured by Mertens, Insigne, Koulibaly and Milik.
We always say Memories are made of Polyester but in the case of Napoli’s lycra looking Coppa Italia winning shirts, they’re at least 9% elastane too.
What do you think of Napoli’s Kappa kits and Serie A attempts to regulate how sponsors are shown on a shirt?
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