Shirt Stories: Coca Cola Cup Winners... In Japan!

In the pre-season of 1993 Villa triumphed in what would be their first of two Coca Cola Cup within the space of 12 months when they defeated J-League side Yomiuri Nippon (Tokyo Verdy Kawasaki) wearing a very unique shirt. 

After signing a deal with Japanese sportswear company Asics, Villa took to the field in the showcase friendly adorned in their new striped home shirt. However these shirts had a very different look to the ones that would become familiar to fans during their two season lifespan from 1993-1995.

The sponsorship deal with Muller Yogurt had yet to be agreed, in fact the dairy brand would not feature until eight games into the 1993-94 season. Instead Villa wore the new shirts emblazoned with Asics to maximise exposure for their new kit partners. 

This is the Asics sponsored shirt used in the game. Although the Muller sponsor later became familiar, I much prefer the contrast of the white sponsor against the claret over the red of the Muller sponsor. 

Players wore the traditional 1-11 numbering for the game despite squad names and numbers being introduced for the 1993-94 Premier League season. This shirt was worn by Earl Barrett.

The shirt would also appear at the unveiling of new signing Andy Townsend and one was even presented to Nelson Mandela during Villa's tour of South Africa in 1994. (Pictured below)