Borussia Dortmund Away Jersey 1978-79 Erima Vintage

Borussia Dortmund 1978-79 — The Erima away jersey with Die Continentale

In the late 70s, the Bundesliga was a jungle and Borussia Dortmund was looking to regain its place among the greats. This 1978-79 season long-sleeved away jersey, manufactured by Erima and flocked with the sponsor Die Continentale, is a fragment of this pivotal era — rare, concrete, impossible to reproduce.

Jersey details

Season: 1978-79
Club: Borussia Dortmund
Type: Away
Kit manufacturer: Erima
Sponsor: DIE CONTINENTALE
Condition: 7/10
State: LITTLE PULLS, SPOTS, DIRTY, USED PRINTINGS — authentic wear of a worn vintage jersey, each mark tells a story.

What this jersey represents

In 1978-79, Borussia Dortmund was going through a period of rebuilding, far from its glorious years of the 60s, when the club won its first national titles. The Bundesliga of that era was dominated by behemoths like Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV, and BVB had to fight season after season to exist in this merciless landscape. It was a club in transition, rooted in its working-class city in the Ruhr, supported by a loyal and demanding public.

This long-sleeved away jersey precisely symbolizes this atmosphere of raw German football of the seventies — no glitter, no excessive marketing, just the BVB crest and the Erima logo on a fabric that has lived. Players like Horst Bertram and the executives who wore the club's colors at that time fought on pitches often heavy with autumn and winter, exactly the type of conditions for which this long-sleeved jersey was designed.

Moments etched in this jersey

The 1978-79 Bundesliga, a season of resistance
BVB played in an incredibly competitive German league, where every point snatched away from home was worth its weight in gold. This away jersey was worn during away matches in stadiums where visitors are never welcome — Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart — arenas of pure football.

Erima, the benchmark kit manufacturer of German football
In the 70s, Erima dressed a large part of German-speaking football and its textile expertise was recognized. Wearing an Erima jersey from that era means holding a piece of the history of European sports equipment in your hands, before the major brands crushed everything in their path.

Die Continentale, the first shirt sponsor
The insurance company Die Continentale, based in Dortmund, is one of the club's historical sponsors. Its presence on this 1978-79 jersey testifies to an era when partnerships between clubs and local businesses formed the economic fabric of German football, long before the era of mega-contracts.

Authentic vs. Replica

An authentic vintage jersey is an object that existed in the real world of football — not a reproduction made twenty years later to satisfy nostalgia. The materials, the prints, the cut, the finishes: everything corresponds to the production standards of the time. You can't recreate that by ordering it on an e-commerce site, no matter how reputable.

This one is rated 7/10 — which means it is clearly usable and presentable, with slight and normal signs of wear for a textile over 45 years old. The small fabric pulls, slight stains, slightly faded prints: these are not defects, it's the DNA of the worn vintage collector's jersey. A 1979 jersey in perfect condition hardly exists — and when it does, the question of authenticity arises by itself.

Vintage size guide

Vintage S size jerseys from the 70s absolutely do not correspond to current standards. The cuts of the time were more fitted, the fabrics less stretchy, and European size charts very different from today's norms. A vintage Erima S can correspond to a modern XS, or even a very near-fit cut for an M-sized torso depending on body types.

Before any purchase, measure your chest circumference and compare it with the exact flat measurements of the jersey. If you want to wear it, be realistic about the size — if you collect it framed or under glass, the fitting is less critical. In any case, do not hesitate to contact us to obtain the precise measurements of the jersey: it is the only way to avoid unpleasant surprises with vintage textiles from the seventies.

Why have it in your collection

A long-sleeved away jersey of Borussia Dortmund 1978-79 branded Erima with the sponsor Die Continentale is a piece you don't come across every day. The market for vintage Bundesliga jerseys from the 70s is structurally undersupplied: few pieces have survived five decades of life, washes, moves. Each copy circulating is a godsend for the serious collector.

There aren't many in this condition circulating — a 7/10 on a 1979 jersey is still a great catch. Pieces from this era that are often found are either in very poor condition or questionable in terms of authenticity. Here, you have something solid, real, that holds up for a collector's display case or even for occasional wear by lovers of retro German football.

To go further

• Borussia Dortmund — Wikipedia
• Football Kit Archive — History of jerseys
• UEFA — European Football

If BVB from the 70s and German football from that era speak to you, this piece clearly deserves its place in your collection — it's up to you to decide if you let it pass.