Romania’s Unique Shirt
This is the story of the time Romania wore turquoise coloured shirts against Brazil at the 1970 World Cup in Guadalajara. In recent years, many stories about these shirts have surfaced from different sources.
Occasionally, Romanian media outlets produce documentaries or shows that revisit the Romanian National Football Team’s 1970 experience, often focusing as a topic of discussion on this occurrence.
I’ve gathered information from various sources to explain the history and significance of these kits. At the end, I’ll reimagine them for modern times to see if they still fit today’s aesthetic and if they could have place among the overused yellow kits
If you’re interested in kit history and unique occurances, this story is for you.
Setting the stage — Mexico 1970
Mexico 70 was the first World Cup to be broadcast in color globally, the second to be held outside Europe and South America, after Uruguay 1930, the first to allow two team substitutions, and the first where referees used yellow and red cards.
In the summer of 1970, the Romania national football team embarked on a memorable journey to the FIFA World Cup in Mexico. It was their first appearance in the tournament since 1938, and the excitement was palpable. The Romanian team faced a tough draw alongside reigning champions England, powerhouse Brazil, and a strong Czechoslovakian team. Romania, led by the charismatic captain Mircea Lucescu, was ready to make a mark on the world stage.
Romania’s campaign kicked off against England at the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara. Despite a hard-fought match, England secured a narrow 1–0 victory with a goal from Geoff Hurst. The Romanian team, undeterred, went on to play Czechoslovakia. Falling behind early to a goal, Romania rallied in the second half. Romania secured a 2–1 victory, giving the team hope for progression if they would beat Brazil.
The decisive match against Brazil
Both teams wore yellow kits, leading to a unique situation at that time.
Mircea Lucescu, at 25, he was an indisputable starter for the national team and a champion with Dinamo Bucharest. While he may not have shone on the Estadio Jalisco so far, “Il Luce” kept the locker room alive, especially when the heat and tension were high. He also is also the reason Romania played a one off in these unique shirts against Brazil.
With no second set of uniforms brought from Romania, Lucescu took matters into his own hands. He used his own money to go buy new shirts in a local mercado from Guadalajara, which Romania would wore against the future world champions.
“When we played Brazil, I remember we didn’t have much of a kit. Our emblem was pinned on and could fall off at any touch. Lucescu went out and bought some turquoise shirts since Brazil was also in yellow. That was Mircea, always making decisions,” recounted Rică Răducanu in the documentary “Il Luce.”
Despite a valiant effort, Romania lost 3–2 to a Brazil team featuring the legendary Pelé.
At the end of the match, the captain exchanged shirts with the great Pelé. Today, that shirt, with holes and the Communist Romania emblem, is in FIFA’s possession and displayed on various occasions, first surfaced at a museum in Moscow during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
To this day Mircea Lucescu still has the reputation in Romania of being the only Romanian football player that exchanged shirts with Pelé.
A closer look at a picture taken by a Romanian reporter in 2018 reveals that the shirt’s brand was “Carier International,” and the captain’s armband was sewn with red thread. In 2024, the shirt reappeared in the “Legends — The Home of Football” museum in Madrid. This appears to be the only remaining Romanian shirt from that game, as no other shirts from Romanian players have surfaced since.
Romania has something from Pele. I have his shirt. We were quite close in age. Even though I, and not just I, looked at him like an alien. He had an aura… Moreover, back then you didn’t have the chance to meet such legends too often, or see them every day on TV, in all the footage. — source
Lucescu quote after hearing his shirt has surfaced again in Madrid.
Life after Mexico
Brazil became champions in 1970, and the legendary picture of Pelé being carried on shoulders at Estadio Azteca will live forever in our minds.
After their participation in the 1970 World Cup, the Romanian national football team faced hard times. The 1970s and 1980s were difficult decades, with Romania failing to qualify for the World Cup from 1974 to 1986. They struggled to make an impact on the international stage, missing out on both the 1974 and 1978 World Cups.
These turquoise shirts became iconic in Romanian football lore, synonymous with the 1970 World Cup. Although Romania occasionally played in blue for away and friendly matches in the following decades, they never played in that exact shade again. The story of these unique kits and the team’s spirited performance in Mexico remains a chapter page in Romanian football history book.
How it would look in 2024
During my early design brainstorm sessions with Romanian Football Federation, working on the upcoming Romania National Team shirts, set for release next year, I brought up brining back the turquoise shirts. In the end we pursued other ideas.
Hopefully one day the turquoise will come back to Romanian fans as a special edition shirt commemorating the 1970 World Cup throwback.
Fun Fact
FCSB played in similar color back in 2012–2013 season for the away games. Alternating their shorts and socks between turquoise and black. And once again later in 2019–2020 season.
I post stories about Romania match worn shirts on Instagram. If you want to get in touch with me you can find me there as onromanianfootball:
https://www.instagram.com/onromanianfootball/
