AS Roma are set to kick-start their Serie A campaign on 20 August against Salernitana, but they seem poised to be ready to unveil a really innovative third kit before that.
The Giallorossi are going to play in the UEFA Europa League in the 2023–24 season after only finishing sixth in the league last season.
This could actually work in Jose Mourinho’s favor because of his ability to impress in such European competitions in recent years.
After helping Manchester United win the tournament in 2017, he aims to replicate the same with Roma in the upcoming campaign.
It also appears that Adidas are anticipating them to go far into the Europa League and that’s why they’ve created a really innovative jersey for the same.
The third kit is normally created by manufacturers for the teams to wear in away European games, which Roma could be involved in a lot if able to go far into the Europa League.
The AS Roma 23/24 third kit leaked
Adidas seem to have paid homage to the Giallorossi’s attire and identity from back in the late 1970s.
The third kit is mainly a black kit with an interesting tricolour combination of the club’s red, orange and yellow colours in the cuff and sleeve areas.
It has a ‘stealth’ design, as in the number and player names at the back will kind of blend into the attire. Though, the execution remains poor at best as the names and numbers are quite clearly visible as one can see below –
The kit has a bit of a v-neck design with a button around the throat area for the players and has a really old-school vibe to it.
With that being said, the most prominent change in this kit from AS Roma’s other kits is the change of logo that Adidas have chosen.
A look at the kit will make anyone immediately notice a different-looking logo for Roma, because this is actually a logo that was used in the 1970s.
Indeed, this is the Lupetto that became the official logo for the club from 1979 to 1997.
The logo is a relatively simple wolf emblem that stays close to the hearts of Roma supporters and people from Rome.
The logo was created by their famous supporter Piero Gratton, who was an Italian designer who gained fame in the country for creating many logos for sports teams.
The ‘wolf’ design was even incorporated for one of the their 1978/79 kits, which was their home kit with the ‘Lupetto’ logo and Gratton created their 1979-80 ‘Lollipop’ kit with this badge too.
Adidas has brought this symbol back for their kits for the upcoming campaign, with Roma’s home kit for the 23/24 season also having a yellow-coloured ‘Lupetto’ in it.
This marks a major change from kits of previous seasons, which had the previous badge, which has the symbol of a female wolf with two human infants, Remus and Romulus – a symbol for the foundation of Rome.
Which kit does this attire pay homage to?
While there is no confirmation on when this third kit will be unveiled, the reliable Footy Headlines states that it should be launched very soon, probably before the Serie A campaign begins.
This slick, yet simple kit should be a big hit with the AS Roma faithful because of how it honours their ‘Lollipop kit’ from the 1979/80 season and has the exact same symbol that was used in that campaign too.
Before it launches, one can only speculate on the price of the third kit. The current Roma home kit is priced at €70 (£60), so it’s fair to state that the newest attire should also be in that price range itself.
Adidas seems to have hit the ground running really well after becoming Roma’s shirt manufacturers in 2023 and could have hit a masterstroke by bringing back the ‘Lupetto’ crest – that is dear to so many of the club’s long-time faithful.
