Suited and booted: MM’s top ten classic Umbro Football kits:
5. Scotland 1978 kit
Is there a kit that encapsulates the word ‘retro’ better than the Scottish strip of 1978? With its wide colours and classic combination of navy blue and white the kit worn by the heroes of the tartan army back in Argentina ‘78 is a throwback to the days of perms, platform shoes and when Scotland actually qualified for tournaments.
The minimalistic but smart shirt was intended to be uniform for the Allie Macleod’s side as they took the world by storm in South America.
Alas this did not materialise.
Despite boasting kop icons Kenny Dalglish and Graeme Souness not to mention Manchester United’s Lou Macari, Gordon Mcqueen and Joe Jordan in their squads, Scotland quest to win the World Cup ultimately ended in heroic failure.
The Scots ranged from the ridiculous to the sublime in the tournament throwing away an early lead to lose their first match 3-1 to Peru. A tepid 1-1 draw with Iran followed before the Macleod’s side miraculously defeated tournament favourites the Netherlands 3-2 in their final group match.
However Scotland had left themselves too much to do and exited the finals on goal difference.
Nonetheless Scotland’s 1978 kit will always be remembered for being worn by Archie Gemmill, who scored one of the World Cup’s classic goals against Holland.
Like most great football kits, it made its way into popular culture with footage of Gemmill’s goal featuring in Danny Boyle’s 1996 cult classic Trainspotting, when the film’s lead character Mark Renton remarks after the climax of his first sexual experience in a considerable while: ‘I haven’t felt that good since Archie Gemmill scored in 1978!
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