Blue might be one the furthest colors associated with Manchester United, but some of the club’s most cherished moments have come in its alternate strip. Who could forget when Cristiano Ronaldo, fresh off winning his first UEFA Champions League title, hammered a 40-yard free kick against Arsenal at the Emirates in 2009 to jettison United back into the final. Off the pitch, United’s famed 1990 away shirt, featuring a bold snowflake pattern, has become arguably one of the most coveted football shirts of any club, easily fetching hundreds on the aftermarket. Dialing the clocks back to 1968, United won its first ever Champions League final in a 4-1 rout of Benfica, led by the late Sir Bobby Charlton in a royal blue strip with the club’s coat of arms at left chest, setting the stage for the pedigree of success the club would come to be known for in the decades to follow.
The Theatre of Dreams has seen better days over the past 10 years, but having recently won the FA Cup over rivals Manchester City and with a barrage of young talent, led by Alejandro Garnacho, Kobbie Mainoo and Rasmus Højlund, the Red Devils are looking to return to winning ways in the coming season. Produced by adidas, the club’s latest blue strip features a deep shade of royal blue that is accentuated by the letter ‘M’ in a tonal accent that, similar to the ‘90 snowflake design, creates a rhythmic effect when viewing the shirt. The collar features a one-button closure that tapers around the neck and prominently at the center is the Snapdragon logo, the club’s latest sponsor, in a metallic silver shade that appears aesthetically similar to the Vodafone kits of the early noughties.
“The link between academy and first team is special and not every team has it."
Unveiled during a special takeover at the adidas-run Fútbol Society in West Hollywood, the club was joined by a number of Man United celebrity fans, including trainer Mo Ali Heydarpour, heavyweight boxer Chase DeMoor and Manchester-based DJ-producer trio, Mason Collective. Like the retro inspiration of the new away kit, the interior of the space was specially designed with nostalgia overload — from Sir Alex Furgon's biography to past winners medals. Each person in attendance was given a new away kit with their name printed on the back, which they’d gear up in to play a special exhibition match later that day at UCLA’s Drake Stadium. On site were a number of United senior team players, including Mason Mount, Amad Diallo, newly signed French centre back Leny Yoro and Marcus Rashford.
Manc born-and-bred, Rashford was seven when he joined United’s academy in 2005. The benchmark set by the abundance of club legends during that decade under former manager Sir Alex Ferguson is a feeling he instantly replicated in his own meteoric rise, scoring a brace against FC Midtjylland in a 5-1 victory in the UEFA Europa League, as well going on a fairytale run of appearances against Arsenal and City, along with winning his first FA Cup Final later that season and a Europa League title the following year. “Cristiano and Wayne were the players I most enjoyed watching,” Rashford told Hypbeast at a training session during their current US Tour at UCLA’s Drake Stadium. While he says he doesn’t necessarily look to emulate either Wazza or Ronaldo, both the power and speed of both have been present over the past decade in Rashford’s game.
“It’s a difficult thing to break,” Rashford says of the bond between the current squad and just the club’s history of raising stars from the ground up. “The link between academy and first team is special and not every team has it. We’re lucky to have such a bond at such a big club. Hopefully it continues for a long time.”
As always, Liverpool at home is Rashford’s most “anticipated match,” he adds. It’s a game, despite how either side is performing in the league table, will carry with it the weight of 39 top flight titles and nine Champions League honors. The Red Devils won’t have to wait long for that match to take place, as the two Northwestern rivals will meet during the preseason tour on Saturday, August 1 at Williams-Brice Stadium in South Carolina, as well as at Old Trafford, in the fourth week of the 24/25 Premier League season on September 1.
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