Spectacularly rare East Germany (DDR) third strip from the mid-80’s, produced in Ljubljana under Adidas license. The full history of this specific piece isn’t fully clear, however, we have been able to find various insights a into the background of this stunning shirt.

Many Adidas designs were produced under Adidas license by the Pleterina textile company of Ljubljana, Slovenia throughout the 1980’s, so the authenticity of the shirt is not in doubt. Trying to date it exactly is another issue, though.

The DDR crest was, in the pre-1984 period, backed by a sewn border. This style was then discontinued for the nation’s shirts from 1986 onwards. While this shirt has the 1984 design but has the 1986 crest, we can speculate that this shirt was produced between 1985 and mid-1986 when the new design became available.

We may also notice the boxy number style (I’m unsure if this style was worn by the senior side at the time, however it may well have been) and the fact that there is no documented evidence of this shirt being worn in a competitive match (evidence from 1980’s East German football is tricky to find).

Taking all of these factors into account, I believe that this shirt was worn by an East Germany youth national team side for a fixture in either 1985 or 1986. Phew. Got there in the end.

Whatever the origin of this shirt, it’s an absolute beauty and a treasure from a now-defunct national side.