The Men Who Gave Their Skin

Posted on 19/08/16

Since the turn of the Millennium shirt designs have become slick, modern and marketed thoroughly by the powers that be, seemingly seeing wacky and unorthodox strips become a rare breed.

However, over the past few seasons the lower ebbs of the Spanish leagues have brought them back, and with a bang too.

Look no further than C.D Palencia of what was the Spanish third tier. In 2016 they reached the play-offs for promotion to the Segunda Division B, but the team they assembled wouldnâ€™t be enough, they had to give their skin.

Far fetched? Maybe. Did it work? Definitely! The strange â€˜flesh kitâ€™ as it became known was a special one off for the play-off matches against Loja, SD Logrones and Deportivo Aragon.

It drew mass media attention on a small club who were only formed in 2011, but have since seen a rapid rise up through the Spanish structure.

The interest shown in the small club generated momentum with pictures of the players showing off the odd design circulating around as one of the worst (or best) shirts in history, making it a vital piece of attire for any collector, and can be found here on Vintage Football Shirts.

The Kappa design as mentioned indicates that the club and players would â€˜give our skinâ€™ for promotion and continue the rise of the Palencia based side, a city boasting 81,000 inhabitants.

â€˜Nosdejamoslapielâ€™ was the official hashtag used translating to the above â€™we give our skinâ€™ in a marketing campaign which blitzed the competition, leaving fans confident of promotion having lost in the play-offs the season before.

A controversial design which joins the legends in regards to pushing the boundaries of sporting attire, a hall of fame which includes CD Lugoâ€™s beer themed home shirt and octopusâ€™s tentacle away strip designed by Celu, and the infamous tuxedo worn by Cultural Leonesa.

But with all of these designs, this may just top them all. Literally shedding the skin of the strip leaving bare the muscle and bone of those who wear them in hope of securing a result on a famous season for the young club has now put them in the limelight.

Who needs a tuxedo or even a basic basic modern day kit when Palencia have gone so close to the bone to bare all for their supporters (this time not literally) and secure a result. Casting away the traditional purple (which is what the goalkeeper wore whilst the flesh shirt was paraded by the outfielders), they created more history as they put themselves on the map.

Surely never to be seen again by a club any time soon, now is as good as any to grab yourself a highly sought after item with a twist. From the muscles to the sponsors it blends well, but will stand out in any collection.