Manchester United had failed to win their first four matches wearing their grey away kit in 1995-96. With United 3-0 down to Southampton in April 1996, Sir Alex Ferguson forced his players to change into a blue strip.
Whether born out of superstition or to improve players’ vision, the change slightly worked as United only lost 3-1. They won the Premier League title in 1996 and never wore the grey kit again.
Cameroon are one of football’s great fashion pioneers. Having previously caught the eye with a sleeveless kit, in 2004 Puma delivered a surprising onesie design in the classic Cameroon green and red.
FIFA didn’t love the kit as strongly as fashionistas, with a $154,000 fine and World Cup qualifying points deduction for Cameroon only overturned after appeals from Puma.
Nike turned Barcelona’s famous red-and-blue vertical stripes on their side in 2015, making the stripes horizontal for the first time. Kit sales at Barca had declined because fans saw no reason to buy another version of the same thing.
Barca played their usual fashionable football on their way to a league title, with the club one of Europe's strongest sides whatever their attire.
Brazil’s yellow shirts are now iconic because of the country’s success, but they were created as a result of failure. A defeat to Uruguay at the 1950 World Cup shocked the nation, which expected Brazil to claim the trophy.
Brazil ditched their white shirts for the yellow, adopting the design of the artist Aldyr Garcia Schlee. Schlee was actually a Uruguay fan, but things haven’t gone too badly for Brazil since.
The Colorado Caribous only lasted one season in the NASL, but they’ll always be remembered for wearing a shirt with tassels across the midriff.
The players also entered the field wearing cowboy hats, although they removed them for the match. The Caribous wanted to use a western theme to create a strong brand. 22 defeats in 30 league matches had the opposite effect.
