3 brands that didn't make it

In the world of football, we have become accustomed to seeing different brands every year, from the most diverse we never thought we would see on a football pitch to the big sportswear giants. Every fan even feels a crazy anticipation in knowing to whom their favourite teams will entrust their aesthetics. It seems like something obvious and extremely easy, but in reality it is not, because the brand today is not just a mark placed on the jersey, in the football universe, today that small symbol usually positioned at the top right, means so much, it is not just an economic link. Over the years, however, there have been brands that despite having dressed great teams and consequently great players, have failed to remain in the small circle of the brands that count, losing ground until they disappear for good. Technical sponsors that despite big proclamations, exceptional testimonials and great jerseys after a few years have vanished into thin air, leaving only a tepid memory. An inevitable cycle, which in Italy above all, but also in Europe, is constantly fed by the constellations of amateur clubs, semi-professionals and football schools.

And after having taken you on the discovery of six other brands that have slowly disappeared over time, leaving a huge void, we at nss sports have also never entirely forgotten ABM, Onze and Virma. Technical sponsors who, despite having played an important role in football, stopped making club kits, disappearing into thin air after only a few years.

Onze

The first one we have decided to bring to your mind is Onze, a company from Calabria, born exactly in Cosenza. Its history goes parallel with that of Reggina, which back in 2005 bet on the local company's desire for prominence. The partnership between the two companies got off to a flying start and also seemed to show great promise, but the initial enthusiasm waned over time and the story between the two parties soon took a turn for the worse. The Calabrian brand takes over the legacy left by Asics and is called upon to cultivate the heritage that the team has carried with it since the glorious 1990s. For Onze it is a more than important occasion as Reggina is in Serie A and for the newborn brand it can only be a fundamental showcase to do well and consolidate itself in the sportswear scene. In the six years of activity, however, spent between Serie A and Serie B, the brand will not prove up to the task, producing standard models that have nothing to do with the aesthetics of the Calabrians. A story that will end in a bad way in 2011, after the semifinal playoff valid for the top series, the Calabrian club will decide to abandon the local brand to switch to Givova, to no avail the 2016 turnaround, lasting only a year and still quite anonymous in terms of design. 

Virma

If you are a true fan of jerseys, it is impossible that you do not know Virma. The Italian company founded in 1982 in a town in the province of Treviso has signed some of the most iconic jerseys the Italian top flight has ever seen. We are talking about those of Venezia, of which the Italian company was a sponsor from 1995 to 1998. The Venetian brand for the orange-black-green team created the same home jersey for three years in a row, exploiting the city's symbol, the San Marco lion, and transforming it into a strange but very recognisable pattern in orange and green that characterised the entire jersey. The rest was done by two of the elements that are also present in the jersey of the team from the Lagoon this season, the collar and long sleeves. Unfortunately, however, after those three years the Italian brand was unable to follow up on the good things it had done, embellishing the jerseys of Siena and San Marino for just a few seasons before disappearing for good.

ABM

If there is a brand that together with Ennerre in the 1980s and 1990s defined the aesthetics of Italian Serie A, it is ABM. The Italian company founded in 1981 has sponsored teams of the calibre of: Catania, Fiorentina, Piacenza, Torino, Udinese, Triestina, Casertana and foreign teams such as CSKA Moscow, AS Cannes, Hereveen, Ksk Beveren, Lierse, PAOK Thessaloniki and União Leiria. Among all, the most iconic jerseys are undoubtedly those made for Palermo, Fiorentina and Torino, for which the brand has always stood out for its simplicity. A simplicity, however, that is elegant despite making jerseys characterised by great patterns and textures with a vintage flavour, and which have become heirlooms that cannot be found in the aforementioned cities. Despite the good looks of ABM's products, however, the brand would no longer find a place in football counts at the end of the 1990s, losing all those teams that had made it famous in Italy, until it slowly disappeared.