The neon Barcelona jersey that revolutionised football And how everyone was forced to copy Nike

In football there is a before and an after. There was a moment that revolutionised the game forever, taking it to a dimension from which there was no turning back: the abolition of the away goals rule, the introduction of VAR and goal line technology, the ban on goalkeepers picking up the ball with their hands on a backward pass. There is also a before and after in football aesthetics, a choice that set a new standard that sooner or later would be replicated by all.

In the 2005/06 season, Nike produced a revolutionary away jersey for Barcelona: for the first time in football history, a team would wear a solid-coloured phosphorescent jersey. In a world dominated by pastel colours and shades almost always tending towards the dark, Nike demolished every convention by producing a fluorescent yellow uniform on which appeared just a few details in navy blue, the club's coat of arms, the swoosh and a tiny flag of Catalonia inserted inside a v-shaped collar.

Some sooner, some later, all clothing manufacturers involved in football had to bow to Nike's intuition. In most cases the phosphorescent colours have been used for goalkeeper kits, such as PUMA with AC Milan last season, but the same German company opted for the phosphorescent yellow for Manchester City's third kit this season and last season produced an entirely fluorescent yellow one for Borussia Dortmund. Kappa has never opted for an entirely fluorescent uniform but for example in the 2018/19 season decided to introduce phosphorescent yellow details in the home jersey used by Napoli in the Champions League. Even adidas has converted to fluo by using it for both details and plain jerseys. Then there are the cases of New Balance, Macron, Umbro, Joma. In short, all brands over the years have been forced to follow Nike's example in order to keep up with the times and meet the fans' tastes.