The Heritage of Torino Football Shirts
Torino FC football shirts carry one of the most profound and emotional legacies in world football. Founded in 1906, the distinctive granata (maroon/dark red) shirt has been worn through a history that includes seven Serie A titles - five of them during the legendary Grande Torino era of the 1940s when the team was considered the finest in the world. The Torino shirt represents glory, tragedy, and unwavering resilience following the 1949 Superga air disaster that claimed the lives of the entire Grande Torino team, an event that still resonates through Italian football today.
The Torino kit has been worn by Italian football legends from Valentino Mazzola, the captain of Grande Torino, to more recent heroes like Gianluigi Lentini, the world's most expensive player in 1992, and modern stars who've kept the granata spirit alive through Serie A battles and the fierce Derby della Mole against Juventus. Each shirt carries the weight of history and the eternal flame of remembrance.
Evolution of Torino Kits
The granata home shirt has been Torino's defining colour since 1906, creating one of football's most distinctive and elegant aesthetics. The deep maroon/burgundy shade is unique in Italian football, instantly separating Il Toro from rivals. While the primary colour has remained constant, designs have evolved from simple collared shirts to modern interpretations featuring white trim, different collar styles, and commemorative elements. Away kits have traditionally been white, though recent seasons have explored navy, black, and bold experimental designs.
Torino's kit partnerships have included Italy's major sportswear brands. Kappa produced their shirts during various successful periods, while Lotto brought sleek designs in the 1990s. Adidas had spells providing the kits, and more recently Joma has created distinctive designs before the current partnership with Kappa again, bringing quality Italian manufacturing to the granata shirts. Each manufacturer has respected the sacred nature of the maroon colour and the club's profound history.
Sponsors have ranged from local Turin businesses to international brands, with names like FILA, Suzuki, Beretta, and current sponsors becoming part of the visual identity while never overshadowing the importance of the granata itself.
Most Iconic Torino Shirts
The Grande Torino shirts from the 1940s remain the most sacred jerseys in Torino history. The simple maroon shirts worn by Valentino Mazzola, Bacigalupo, and teammates during their dominant period (1942-1949) - winning five consecutive Scudetti and providing ten players to the Italian national team - represent not just sporting excellence but a golden era tragically cut short by the Superga disaster. Original shirts from this era are museum pieces, revered across Italian football.
The 1975-76 Scudetto winning shirt, Torino's first title in 27 years and their last to date, featured classic 1970s styling and represents the club's post-tragedy renaissance. This shirt symbolises resilience and hope for Torino supporters.
Kappa's 1992-93 UEFA Cup campaign shirt, worn during Torino's run to the final (lost to Ajax), featured bold early-90s design and captured the club during one of their most competitive modern periods. This kit represents Torino punching above their weight in European competition.
More recently, commemorative shirts honouring the Grande Torino, particularly on significant anniversaries of the Superga disaster, have become deeply emotional collector's items that transcend sport and represent remembrance and respect.
Little-Known Facts About Torino Kits
The Superga Black Armbands Forever
Since the 1949 Superga disaster, Torino has worn black armbands on their shirts during every match played on May 4th (the anniversary date) and for significant commemorative occasions. However, what most fans don't know is that between 1949-1960, Torino wore a small black stripe integrated into the shirt collar for every single match as permanent mourning. This wasn't a removable armband but actual black fabric sewn into the collar design. Original shirts from this period are incredibly rare and deeply moving historical artefacts, as they represent a decade when the club literally wore their grief in every match.
The Granata Colour Copyright Attempt
In 1968, Torino attempted to trademark their specific shade of granata/maroon to prevent other Italian clubs from using similar colours. They commissioned a chemical analysis of their exact dye formula and filed it with Italian authorities, arguing their colour was as distinctive as Juventus's black and white stripes. The application was rejected because you cannot copyright a colour, but the documentation still exists in Italian football archives. This obsessive protection of their colour identity shows how sacred the granata is to Torino's identity. Some of the experimental dye samples created during this process were used to make prototype shirts that were never released, making them extremely rare.
The Mazzola Ghost Number
Valentino Mazzola wore number 7 for Grande Torino, but Torino has never officially retired it. However, there's an unwritten superstition that players who wear number 7 for Torino face bad luck - suffering injuries, poor form, or transfers away from the club. Between 1949-2000, the number 7 shirt changed hands 34 times at Torino, an abnormally high turnover compared to other numbers. Some players have refused to take number 7 when offered, and the club shop has historically sold far fewer "7" replica shirts than any other number. This curse-like reputation persists among superstitious fans who believe Mazzola's spirit protects his number.
The Derby della Mole Reversed Shirt Incident
In 1995, before a Derby della Mole against Juventus, Torino's kit manufacturer accidentally produced the match shirts with the granata and white colours reversed - white bodies with maroon sleeves instead of maroon bodies with white trim. The error wasn't discovered until the morning of the match. Unable to source replacement shirts in time, Torino considered playing in their training kit before a frantic search located enough correct shirts borrowed from youth team stock in various sizes. Some players wore youth XL shirts that didn't fit properly. Juventus won 4-1, and superstitious fans blamed the "cursed reversed shirts." The mistakenly produced shirts were supposed to be destroyed, but a few escaped and are now extremely valuable collector's items known as "the backwards derby shirts."
The Lentini £13m Printing Error
When Gianluigi Lentini became the world's most expensive player in 1992 (before his move from Torino to AC Milan for £13 million), Torino produced a farewell commemorative shirt with "Lentini - World Record £13m" printed on it. However, the currency conversion was wrong - they used an outdated exchange rate, so the lira amount printed on the shirts was incorrect by approximately 2 billion lira. This mathematical error on a commemoration of a world record transfer is darkly ironic. The misprinted shirts were sold anyway, and collectors now value them for the mistake, which perfectly symbolizes Torino's bittersweet relationship with selling their best players.
The Invisible Superga Tribute
Torino's 1999 shirt commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Superga disaster featured a hidden tribute that most fans never discovered. Using UV-reactive ink, the names of all 31 victims (players, coaches, journalists) were printed microscopically inside the collar, invisible under normal conditions but readable under UV light. The idea was that players would "carry the victims with them" in every match but not in a visible, exploitative way. The club never publicized this feature, wanting it to be a private tribute rather than a marketing tool. When the story emerged years later, fans who owned the shirt were moved to discover they'd been unknowingly wearing this memorial, and collectors now use UV lights to verify authentic shirts.
The White Away Kit Superstition
Torino has worn white away kits periodically since the 1920s, but there's a statistical anomaly: the club has a significantly worse win percentage in all-white kits compared to any other colour combination. Over nearly 100 years of data, the difference is substantial enough that some managers have specifically requested alternative colours for crucial away matches. This has created a genuine superstition among the fanbase that white away kits are unlucky. Modern kit designers are aware of this and now almost always include granata elements in away shirts, even when the primary colour is white, to hedge against the "white kit curse."
The FILA Sponsor Integration Controversy
When sportswear brand FILA (based in Turin) became Torino's shirt sponsor in the 1990s, they also became kit manufacturer, creating a unique double-branding situation. However, FILA's logo was so prominent on the shirts that it was larger than the Torino crest in some designs. This created controversy among fans who felt the granata was becoming a FILA advertisement rather than a football shirt. The Italian Football Federation actually investigated whether the branding violated kit regulations about logo sizes. The shirts from this period are now collector's items precisely because of this controversy - they represent corporate overreach that was eventually corrected, and some designs were modified mid-season, creating multiple versions from the same campaign.
Our Torino Shirt Collection & Personalisation
At UK Soccer Shop, we stock the complete range of Torino FC football shirts including the latest home, away, and third kits alongside classic retro designs celebrating the club's Scudetto victories and Grande Torino legacy. Our collection covers adult sizes from small to XXXL, kids' kits with matching shorts and socks, and women's fitted jerseys. Every shirt is 100% authentic and officially licensed by Torino FC.
Personalise your Torino shirt with official Serie A printing, adding your favourite player's name and number with authentic league patches. Our professional printing service respects the sacred nature of the granata and uses the same technology as Serie A clubs themselves.
Fast UK dispatch typically arrives within 2-3 working days, with express international shipping available worldwide, ensuring Torino supporters across the globe can wear the granata with pride.
Related Serie A Shirts and Italian Football Kits
Explore our complete Serie A shirts collection featuring all Italian top-flight clubs. Check out Turin rivals Juventus kits for the fierce Derby della Mole, or browse AC Milan shirts, Inter Milan jerseys, and Roma kits for other Italian giants. Our Italian football shirts category includes all divisions and the national team.
For fans of clubs with maroon/burgundy colours, explore Aston Villa shirts, West Ham kits, Burnley jerseys.