Retro Sassuolo Shirt – The Black & Green Revolution

Unione Sportiva Sassuolo Calcio was founded in 1920, a century of history rooted in the working-class culture of a town synonymous with ceramics manufacturing and artisan craftsmanship. For the vast majority of those hundred years, Sassuolo existed quietly in the lower tiers of Italian football, a provincial club with modest means and modest expectations. They bounced between the regional leagues and the national lower divisions, never threatening to break into the elite but maintaining a loyal local following that kept the club alive through lean decades.

The transformation began in 2002 when the Mapei Corporation – one of Italy's leading construction products manufacturers, headed by the Squinzi family – took over the club. The investment was patient and methodical. Sassuolo climbed from Serie C2 to Serie B, and then in 2013, the unthinkable happened: promotion to Serie A for the very first time in the club's history. Italian football had a new top-flight member, and the neroverdi were determined to make their mark.

Rather than struggle for survival, Sassuolo flourished. Under manager Eusebio Di Francesco, they played a brand of aggressive, pressing football that confused and overwhelmed opponents who underestimated them. In the 2015-16 season they finished an astonishing sixth in Serie A, qualifying for the Europa League group stages – a result that sent shockwaves through Italian football. Their debut in European competition was a genuine milestone, and while they didn't progress to the knockout rounds, the experience of competing against clubs from across the continent was invaluable.

Subsequent seasons saw Sassuolo consolidate their top-flight status and repeatedly finish in the upper half of Serie A. Under Roberto De Zerbi, who took charge in 2018, the club reached new aesthetic heights, playing some of the most sophisticated positional football in Italy. De Zerbi's Sassuolo became must-watch television, attracting attention from coaches and analysts worldwide. A top-eight finish in 2019-20 and again in 2020-21 cemented their status as genuine Serie A regulars rather than lucky visitors. Their rivalry with neighbouring Modena and the broader Emilian football culture adds regional flavour to their identity, while their battles against the established giants of Juventus, Milan, and Inter have produced some of the most memorable upsets in recent Italian football history.

No player defines the modern Sassuolo story more completely than Domenico Berardi. The Calabrian winger has been at the club since 2012 – first on loan from Juventus, then permanently from 2015 – and his loyalty to the neroverdi in an era when top Serie A performers routinely move on is remarkable. Berardi has been the heartbeat of the team for over a decade: fast, technically brilliant, capable of moments of genuine genius, and a consistent double-figure scorer in Serie A. He has resisted moves to bigger clubs on multiple occasions, becoming as synonymous with Sassuolo as the black and green stripes themselves.

Manuel Locatelli emerged through the Sassuolo system as one of the most elegant defensive midfielders of his generation. His performances in 2020-21 were so impressive that they earned him a place in Italy's Euro 2020 winning squad, scoring twice in the group stage against Switzerland. Juventus subsequently paid significant money to acquire him – a transfer that underlined just how far Sassuolo's talent identification had come.

Francesco Caputo was another fan favourite whose goals during the 2019-20 season helped push Sassuolo to eighth place. His instinctive finishing and work-rate made him a terrace hero. Stefano Sensi, the creative midfielder, dazzled in the neroverdi colours before departing for Inter Milan, while Filip Đuričić provided craft and creativity in the midfield during the De Zerbi era.

From a managerial perspective, Eusebio Di Francesco and Roberto De Zerbi both left lasting legacies – the former for establishing Sassuolo as a top-half Serie A side, the latter for building arguably the most attractive playing style the club has ever produced.

The Sassuolo shirt is instantly recognisable thanks to its distinctive black and green vertical stripes – a colour combination rare in world football and immediately associated with the neroverdi identity. The home kit has remained faithful to this palette throughout the club's history, giving it a visual consistency that makes older shirts from different eras easy to place in a collection.

During their lower-division years, the shirts were simple and functional, often produced by mid-tier Italian sportswear manufacturers, with minimal sponsorship branding. These early pieces are scarce and genuinely interesting from a historical perspective, representing a club that had no idea of the journey ahead.

The real collector's era begins with Sassuolo's rise through Serie B and their eventual arrival in Serie A. Kappa became a significant manufacturer partner, producing shirts with that house's characteristically sleek Italian tailoring. The Mapei branding as shirt sponsor during the top-flight years gives these kits an immediately identifiable look that connects the shirt to the club's modern identity.

The Europa League shirts from the 2016-17 campaign carry particular prestige – a retro Sassuolo shirt from that season represents a genuine piece of club history, the physical record of a provincial club standing alongside the established names of continental football. Away kits in white and gold have also attracted collector interest, offering a striking contrast to the familiar home stripes. Shirts from the De Zerbi era (2018-2021) are increasingly sought after as that period becomes recognised as a golden chapter in the club's story.