Manchester United have decided to tug on the nostalgic heart strings of supporters with their kit for the new season.
Ahead of the 2018/19 campaign, United have added a train track graphic to their new jersey as a tribute to the club’s original name: Newton Heath (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) Cricket and Football Club.
This year marks the 140th anniversary of the club’s foundation and the throwback kit was unveiled on Tuesday morning.
Richard Arnold, Group Managing Director of Manchester United, said: “There are many great moments in this club’s fantastic history, and none more important than the year the club was founded, back in 1878. This shirt from adidas pays homage to the year we were founded, and marks 140 years of footballing success.
“The train track graphic on the shirt is a reference to the origins of the club, when the team was known as Newton Heath (Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway) Cricket and Football Club. Again, adidas has shown how innovative they are with their designs – taking a moment from the past and reshaping it for supporters into a jersey which I am sure the fans will love.”
The model who was selected to sport the new kit on United’s website provided another element of nostalgia for supporters because he bears an uncanny resemblance to the club’s former captain, Nemanja Vidic.
Plenty of fans had to double-take at the sight of the model after believing that Vidic had picked up a side gig.
Didnt know Vidic was back!
£75m a season not getting you player rights @adidasUK ????
£109.95 jokes #mufc pic.twitter.com/F9zhm47lSU
— JJG (@JayJoeGeorge) July 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/jacquesn_edits/status/1019139002685886464
https://twitter.com/olutugbele/status/1019232656704376832
For a moment there I though Nemanja Vidic had re-signed 😅 https://t.co/7DmPriqKxt
— Ben (@MA25EY) July 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/bsng17/status/1019222074374656001
was full sure that was vidic in the picture https://t.co/w1I3QB7vvH
— Aido 🇾🇪 (@Aidan_Brady87) July 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/ibracelona/status/1019205555691274240
Vidic modelling the new kit 👌
— WayneMakaveliDavies (@Makaveli1878) July 16, 2018
Why do they have VIDIC modelling it?
— Mohamed Ahmed (@Momo2k20) July 14, 2018
