The Derby della Capitale is one of football’s fiercest rivalries, and AS Roma have honored the match’s importance by introducing a special kit for the occasion multiple times in club history. We take a look at the most recent derby-specific kit that the club donned in its clash with crosstown foes SS Lazio last weekend.
In life’s biggest and grandest occasions, you have to make sure to dress the part. AS Roma have certainly done so over the years, enough to garner a reputation as one of football’s most fashionable clubs.
Roma typically have some of the best kits in the game, but the club will occasionally take things up a notch when it comes to its derby match against SS Lazio. It’s always an event when the two Roman behemoths square off, no matter where each club sits in the league table. To signify the importance of the Derby della Capitale, AS Roma will don a special kit in the match from time to time.
The “SPQR” shirt from 2017 is perhaps the most memorable of these derby-specific kits, with its simple yet majestic design, not to mention its rarity, making it one of the most coveted Roma kits among fans and collectors alike.
Roma went back to the well to introduce a new derby jersey for its most recent showdown with Lazio, incorporating retro aesthetics and timeless design elements that harken back to a famous derby victory to make for yet another fantastic football shirt.
While we can appreciate the kit’s looks from a superficial perspective, there’s another layer of greatness to this shirt when you understand the importance of the Derby della Capitale’s history.
The football world would have been denied such a spectacle had it not been for a firm decision against the powers that be.
In the early 1900s, Rome was awash with an excess of football clubs, with none able to challenge the Northern giants of Milan and Turin. Italian fascist leader Benito Mussolini moved the idea of consolidating the clubs in the area in order to create a single team that could compete effectively with those from the North.
In 1927, Football Club di Roma, Societa Sportiva Alba-Audace, and Fortitudo-Pro Roma Società di Ginnastica e Scherma were merged to become the AS Roma club we have today.
Lazio, which was established in 1900 and older than all these football clubs, was also called to the merger, but refused largely on the grounds of being older and far ahead in their establishment. Lazio also fancied themselves as an upper-class club, playing their home matches in the posh neighborhood of Rondinella, compared to the working class nature of the other clubs involved in the merger.
It’s been bitter blood between the two ever since, and now sharing a home in the Stadio Olimpico, it’s a must-watch affair every time the clubs lock horns.
There have been plenty of iconic showdowns between Roma and Lazio, but the most recent derby kit pays tribute to a 4-1 Roma victory in the 1999-00 season.
The kit worn in that match is one of the most revered in Roma’s history, which is full of beautiful shirts. The bright orange collar, white supplier logo, and famous monogram badge are the most notable features of the retro-inspired 2024 version of the shirt, and they look just as beautiful today as they did in ’99.
Sure enough, Roma defeated Lazio 1-0 in last weekend’s derby match, only further proving the old adage of “look good, play good.”
Amidst the intense commercialization of football shirts, sportswear brands and football clubs are looking for various ways to cash in on shirt sales, and this presents another perfect avenue for it. It doesn’t come off as another shirt for shirt’s sake, but instead as a celebration of a momentous occasion and tribute to club history. More teams, especially the ones that are going to release five or six kits per season anyways, should take note.
