Palermo Away Shirt 1990-91 ABM Carrefour vintage #13

Palermo 1990-91: The ABM long-sleeved away shirt, number 13, Carrefour sponsored

In the early 90s, Italian Serie B was thriving with ambitious clubs dreaming of reaching the top flight. The Palermo 1990-91 long-sleeved away shirt, with number 13 printed on it and designed by the niche kit manufacturer ABM, is exactly the kind of item that tells a story of provincial football, far from the spotlight but incredibly genuine. The Carrefour sponsor on the chest? A period detail that anchors this shirt in its time like no other.

Shirt details

Season: 1990-1991
Club: Unione Sportiva Città di Palermo
Type: Away
Kit Manufacturer: ABM
Sponsor: CARREFOUR
Condition: 8/10
State: LITTLE PULLS - authentic wear of a worn vintage shirt

What this shirt represents

In 1990-91, Palermo FC played in Serie B, the second tier of Italian football. The Sicilian club, founded in 1900, was then in a period of construction, seeking to establish itself permanently in the calcio landscape without yet reaching the elite level. Sicilian football is characterized by intense passions in stadiums like the Stadio Renzo Barbera, and every away game is a battle in itself.

This season saw Palermo navigate a particularly dense and competitive Serie B championship, at a time when Italian calcio was at the peak of its global popularity — just after the Italia 90 World Cup, partly hosted on Sicilian soil with matches played in Palermo itself. The atmosphere was electric. Local kit manufacturers like ABM dressed these provincial clubs with an authenticity not found anywhere else in modern football.

Moments etched into this shirt

Italia 90: Palermo on the world map
In the summer of 1990, the Stadio Renzo Barbera in Palermo hosted several World Cup matches, putting the Sicilian city in the international spotlight. This unprecedented exposure directly impacted the local club and the popular enthusiasm around the Palermo shirt at the start of the 1990-91 season.

Serie B, the purgatory of calcio
The Italian Serie B of the 90s was a competition of rare intensity, with fiery regional derbies and promotion stakes that thrilled thousands of tifosi. Wearing number 13 in this championship, away from home, long-sleeved under the cold northern Italian skies, is concrete, real football.

Carrefour, an unexpected but telling sponsor
Seeing the Carrefour logo printed on a vintage Italian football shirt is striking. The French brand established itself massively in Italy in the 80s, and its partnership with a club like Palermo perfectly illustrates the local commercial logic of the time — a far cry from the mega-sponsorship deals we know today.

Authentic vs. Replica

An authentic vintage shirt is one that actually existed on a field or in a locker room, produced in limited quantities by the official kit manufacturer for real use. Here, ABM is a niche Italian kit manufacturer, active mainly for Serie B and Serie C clubs in the 80s-90s — its productions are rarely documented and scarce on the market, which gives them real rarity value for serious collectors.

This shirt is in 8/10 condition with a few small pulls (little pulls), which is absolutely consistent for an item of this age. These micro-defects are not imperfections — they are tangible proof that this shirt has lived, been worn, and is real. No replica can reproduce this patina.

Vintage size guide

Vintage Italian shirts from the 90s are cut according to the standards of the time, which do not correspond at all to modern cuts. A vintage XL, especially from manufacturers like ABM, can easily equate to a current L, or even an M depending on body shape. Never rely solely on the label without checking the actual measurements.

Before confirming your order, lay flat and measure one of your current shirts that fits you well: shoulder width, flat chest width, and total length. Then compare with the measurements indicated in our product sheet. This is the only reliable method to avoid unpleasant surprises with vintage football collector items.

Why have it in your collection

A Palermo 1990-91 away shirt signed by ABM is an almost impossible-to-find item on the vintage football shirt market. ABM never had the visibility of an Umbro or Adidas, its productions are extremely rare in collections, and the fact that this shirt is a long-sleeved away model with number 13 makes it an even more specific example. Collectors interested in Italian provincial clubs and niche kit manufacturers know exactly what we're talking about.

In 8/10 condition, with only a few small pulls but no major snags, this shirt is among the best of what can be found for pieces over thirty years old. There aren't many in this condition, and even fewer with this club + kit manufacturer + sponsor + long-sleeved version combination. If you are building a serious collection of vintage Italian Serie B shirts, this is exactly the kind of piece you'll regret not having grabbed when you had the chance.

To go further

• Palermo FC - Wikipedia
• Football Kit Archive - History of football kits
• UEFA - European football

A shirt of this caliber doesn't stay available for long — if you're serious about collecting Italian football from the 90s, you know what you need to do.