FOOTIE mad Antonio Massari shows off his 400-shirt collection — and gets a kick from wearing one each day.
The Portsmouth and Inter Milan fan, 35, has visited 90 countries and spent £10,000 on tops, from the biggest clubs to obscure local ones.
He is midway through a year-long challenge to wear a different one every day. He told The Sun: “I love football but I like the shirts more than the game itself.
“A lot of people collect them but not all wear them. I want to change that.
“They are beautiful, colourful, sometimes even elegant, and they aren’t just for sport.
“Now I have so many, it’s difficult to find a shirt for a team I don’t already have!”
Antonio, of Portsmouth, started collecting after getting them for birthdays as a child.
Some are new while others he picks up from charity shops. He even bribed a cleaner in the Maldives to get one from a dressing room.
Most are stored at his part-time home in Milan where he was born. Antonio is travelling the world, but will wear a different shirt every day until July. He has already been to 12 countries since starting the challenge.
He said: “I promised myself no matter where I go or what I do, I will wear it.
“Lots of shirts means there isn’t much space left for my jeans, jumpers or underwear!”
Antonio even wore one on Christmas Day — a 2009 Wales shirt. He said his challenge is about more than just liking football — it’s about “changing the perception” of the shirts. Antonio, who has sold pasta, worked in schools and for tech firm IBM, added: “You often see people wearing different countries’ basketball vests but why don’t you see people wearing a different country’s football shirt?
“They represent a country, or a city, or a category of people — they all have different meanings.”
His Top Ten favourite shirts are listed below.
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ANTONIO’S TP 10 SHIRTS
1. GENT 2019-2020 season third kit. “It’s so yellow it can be seen from the moon. It’s very eye-catching.”
2. CAMEROON 2002 season. “The only sleeveless shirt, even banned by Fifa. It’s so unique.”
3. GUANGZHOU EVERGRANDE 2017 season. “I used to wear it at the stadium in China when I had the season ticket. It’s incredible.”
4. SHANGHAI GREENLAND 2012 season. “Chinese tops are not so common — and finally, a Drogba shirt that is not Chelsea. It’s really unusual.”
5. CHIVAS GUADALAJARA 2006 season. “The only shirt with “100” on the back. Adolfo “El Bofo” Bautista was allowed to play with number 100 in the Mexican league — but had to change it in international competitions. It’s obscure.”
6. ESPANYOL 2018-2019 season. “This was given to me by the six-year-old of one of the Chinese owners of the club.”
7. MALDIVES 2019 season. “Literally stolen from the national team’s dressing room after bribing a cleaner. Legendary.”
8. OLYMPIAKOS 2005 season. “I bought it during a school trip in Greece. Everybody was buying classic Greek souvenirs and products. I invested €30 on that top with “RIVALDO” on the back.”
9. PORTSMOUTH 2007-2008 season. “The first thing I bought after arriving in Portsmouth. Straight to Fratton park to buy the shirt with “MUNTARI” on the back. A week after Portsmouth won the FA cup. Unforgettable.”
10. PARMA 1997-1998 season. “An iconic ’90s look and it was the first top that my mum bought for me.”
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
