Retro Udinese Shirt – The Zebras of Friuli

Udinese's story begins in 1896, making them one of Italy's oldest sporting institutions, though football took hold as the primary focus in the early twentieth century. The club spent much of the early decades oscillating between the top divisions, building local identity in Friuli without ever quite breaking into the national elite on a permanent basis.

Their most significant early landmark came with consistent Serie A presence from the 1950s onward, but it was the 1980s that truly put Udinese on the map internationally. The signing of Brazilian legend Zico in 1983 – fresh from the famous Brazil 1982 World Cup side widely considered the greatest team never to win the tournament – was a thunderbolt moment. Zico's time in Udine, spanning from 1983 to 1985 and again from 1988 to 1989, drew global attention to this small northeastern club and elevated the entire region's pride. He scored prolifically and played with the artistry that made him one of the greatest players of his generation.

The 1990s brought turbulence. Udinese suffered relegation to Serie B but bounced back with characteristic resolve, returning to the top flight and beginning to develop what would become their defining trait: a world-class scouting network capable of identifying talent before the big clubs came calling.

The 2000s and early 2010s marked Udinese's genuine golden era in the modern game. Under a series of smart coaches, they competed regularly in the UEFA Cup and Europa League, with memorable runs that showcased the quality assembled at the Stadio Friuli. The 2011–12 season stands as perhaps their finest in recent memory – finishing third in Serie A and qualifying for the UEFA Champions League group stage, a remarkable achievement for a club of their size and budget.

Throughout it all, Udinese have maintained their reputation as a selling club with principles – developing players, maximising value, and reinvesting wisely. The Pozzo family, who also own Watford and previously owned Granada, have run the club along these lines for decades, keeping Udinese financially stable while others around them stumbled.

No Udinese player casts a longer shadow than Antonio Di Natale, the diminutive striker from Empoli who arrived at the club in 2004 and never left. Di Natale became the embodiment of Udinese – loyal, lethal, and utterly underrated by the wider world. He won the Serie A top scorer award twice (2010 and 2011), finished as one of the league's all-time great goalscorers, and rejected moves to bigger clubs to remain in Friuli. He retired in 2016 as Udinese's all-time record scorer and one of Italian football's most beloved figures.

Before Di Natale, there was Zico – the Brazilian maestro who brought global glamour to Udine and remains a legend in the city to this day. His technical brilliance and free-kick artistry left an indelible mark on the club's identity.

Udinese's scouting network has produced a remarkable conveyor belt of stars. Alexis Sánchez arrived from Chile as a raw teenager, developed his explosive directness in Friuli, and was sold to Udinese's sister club, Watford, before joining Barcelona and becoming one of South America's finest players. Oliver Bierhoff, the German striker who would go on to score the golden goal in the Euro 1996 final, had a prolific spell at Udinese. Slovenian midfielder Robert Koderman, Cameroon international Benoît Assou-Ekotto, and midfield general Gokhan Inler all developed at Udinese before moving on to bigger stages.

In management, Pasquale Marino and Francesco Guidolin both delivered Europa League football and established the tactical frameworks that became synonymous with Udinese's organised, combative style.

The Udinese retro shirt is one of the most visually striking in Italian football. Their black and white vertical stripes – earning the nickname 'le zebre' (the zebras) – have been a constant visual identity since the early twentieth century, giving their kits an instant recognisability that many bigger clubs would envy.

The kits of the 1980s are particularly cherished by collectors. The Zico-era shirts, typically featuring thin black and white stripes with simple round-neck collars, carry an almost artisan quality that reflects the era's straightforward aesthetic. These shirts, especially those from the 1983–85 period, are among the most sought-after Udinese retro shirts on the market.

The 1990s brought bolder sponsor logos and the introduction of synthetic fabrics, with Udinese experimenting with slightly wider stripe patterns and more elaborate collar designs. The kits from their first serious European campaigns in the early 2000s featured cleaner, more modern templates while retaining the classic stripe DNA.

The 2010–12 Champions League era kits represent a high watermark of modern Udinese shirt design – smart, confident kits worn during their finest recent season. Away kits across the decades have included memorable all-white, all-black, and occasionally orange designs that stand out as collector's pieces in their own right.

With 92 retro Udinese shirts available in our collection, there is something for every era of this proudly consistent club's visual history.