“I never wore ugly uniforms.” Gianluca Paluca played for Inter in a Tottenham shirt

The most stylish keeper in history.

Gianluca Pagliuca is one of the best goalkeepers in the history of Italian football. For a long time, he held the record among goalkeepers in Serie A matches (592) and in the number of penalties saved there (24). The first achievement was beaten by Buffon, the second – by Handanovich.

But the image of Palyuki, a tenacious keeper in a bright uniform with a raised collar, is forever with us.

Recently, one of the iconic goalkeepers of the 90s spoke to La Gazzetta dello Sport , where he spoke exclusively about his favorite jerseys. Below are a few stories that characterize the era as much as possible. Thanks for the tip telegram channel Footurism .

When Palyuke didn’t like the Asics uniform, he took a Reusch T-shirt and glued the logo of the Japanese brand on it.

In 1990, Sampdoria, where Gianluca began his career, changed his equipment supplier: Asics replaced Kappa. The club’s cooperation with the Japanese lasted right up to 2004, but the goalkeeper did not always like the result. But aesthetics for Palyuki was always important:

“I didn’t wear ugly uniforms. Never went on the field, being dissatisfied with the shirt he was wearing.

The goalkeeper talked to a representative of Asics – and he did not balk, saying only that the main thing for the company was that their logo was on the form. Gianluca chose a set from the German brand Reusch, which is known for the production of goalkeeper gloves. And then I just glued it on top of the Asics logo: in the photo on the left is the original from Reusch, on the right is what Palyuka ended up playing in.

But the operation was not always successful – sometimes two labels were visible on the T-shirt at once.

I called Umbro to send me a Tottenham kit. Then I sewed on it the emblem and logo of the sponsor of Inter

In 1994, Palyuka moved to Inter, where the team was already dressed by Umbro. Here the goalkeeper shared another story that is impossible to imagine in modern football.

“The Tottenham goalkeeper had a jersey that I loved because the colors reminded me of Aston Villa and I am a huge Villa fan. I called Umbro and told them I wanted this shirt. They sent me 3-4 pieces, but with the Tottenham emblem. Nothing, we just sewed the emblem of Inter to it. Now you will never be able to do something like that.”

We admire: on the left – the uniform of the keeper of “Tottenham” Ian Walker, on the right – a custom from Palyuki. The logo of the title sponsor, of course, was also killed in Inter.