The 2002/03 season is one of the most dramatic in Leeds United’s recent history: the club that just two years earlier had reached the Champions League semi-finals was crumbling financially at an alarming rate, with forced sales of key players and a downward spiral of debt that would culminate in relegation to the Championship in 2004. Paul Robinson and Nigel Martyn shared goalkeeping duties that year, standing in a defense that was trying to hold together the unsustainable. The goalkeeper shirt from that season—manufactured by Nike in the grey and neon yellow combination characteristic of the goalkeeper kits of the era—features the Strongbow sponsorship, the Heineken cider brand that was one of the most memorable Leeds sponsors of that time, printed in raised velvet flock, an application technique that provides tactile texture and a premium finish very characteristic of official merchandise from the early 2000s. A collector’s item tied to one of the most turbulent and fascinating moments in modern English football, in size XL Youth.
Official vintage Leeds United FC goalkeeper football shirt from the 2002/03 season, manufactured by Nike. Grey and neon yellow design with front Strongbow sponsor in raised flock/velvet and embroidered club crest. Size XL Youth (US 18-20 · EU 164–176 cm).
