COPA 'ZAIRE' MENS RETRO SEVENTIES INDIE WORLD CUP 1974 QUALIFIERS FOOTBALL SHIRT (Green).
Brand: COPA
Zaire (now DR Congo) beat Morocco 3-0 in December 1973 to claim their place at 1974's World cup finals in West Germany. A qualifying campaign that saw the team wear this rather dashing Retro football kit. A cool Vintage reproduction by Copa of the iconic Zaire Leopards kit. A great Indie gift idea and the epitome of pure Retro style. Zaire Leopards Football Shirt by Copa.
Copa make a faithful replica of Zaire World Cup 1974 qualifiers kit. The kit was replaced for the actual finals with a similar design that instead featured a collar and yellow Leopards design. This cool Retro green V-neck top features Vintage red flock Leopards print motif to front and stylish Indie tipping to the collar and cuffs. Soft jersey cotton fabric. Comes in a neat presentation box. 'Zaire' Mens Retro Seventies Football Shirt by Copa. [The Zaire story from this era is interesting to say the least. We've tried to include a potted history below].
Macedonian Manager Blagoje Vidinic's era of Zaire football. Overseeing success, strangeness and a whooping 9-0 defeat to Yugoslavia at the 1974 World Cup in West Germany. A strange goalkeeping substitution exasperated the anguish against Yugoslavia and led to Zaire dictator, Mobutu Sese Seko implying anything worse than a 3-0 defeat against Brazil of all countries would result in the entire team being effectively banished. Commence one of the funniest moments in World Cup history when with just minutes to go, Brazil already 3-0 up and standing over a free kick 25 yards out, Zaire's Mwepu Ilunga rushed out to boot the ball upfield before the free kick had even been taken. Knowing what we know now, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Mobutu used the football team as a propaganda tool and Vidnic's association with Horst Dassler led to Adidas creating the teams kit. The dictators tendency for wearing leopard skin hats filtered through to the national football teams kit, hence their name - the Zaire Leopards. Prior to the World Cup, Zaire had already claimed the African Cup of Nations trophy (beating Zambia 2-0 in the final), so expectations in the country were high.
COPA ZAIRE MENS RETRO SEVENTIES LEOPARDS FOOTBALL KIT. 'ZAIRE' MENS RETRO SEVENTIES INDIE FOOTBALL KIT bu COPA - Zaire Mens green Retro jersey cotton short sleeve football kit. Cool Indie style leopards flock motif to front. Retro tipping to V-neck collar and cuffs. Finished with Copa signature tab to hem. A faithful replica of Zaire's (DR Congo's) football shirt from the 1974 World Cup Qualifiers. Made in Portugal. Comes in a neat cardboard presentation box. 'Zaire' Retro Football Shirt by Copa.
Brand: Copa.
Colour: Green.
Composition: 100% Cotton.
Care: Machine wash. Please refer to full instructions on garment care label.
SKU: 694 Zaire Leopards Copa Football Shirt. COPA Zaire Mens Retro Seventies Indie V-Neck Football Shirt.
Approximate sizing as follows:
Small - 36 inch - 38 inch chest.
Medium - 38 inch - 40 inch chest.
Large - 40 inch - 42 inch chest.
XL - 42 inch - 44 inch chest.
XXL - 44 inch - 46 inch chest.
Product ID: 12474
