Description
Match worn/issued Napoli long-sleeved home shirt in the 1996-1997 season by Napoli’s number 6 André Cruz. It doesn’t have the league patch on the sleeve which means this shirt is most likely worn/issued in pre-season or for a friendly match.
André Cruz is a former Brazilian defensive midfielder and libero. After playing in Brazilian teams until 1990, he moved to Europe to play for Belgian club team Standard de Liège (or Standard Luik). In 1994, at the age of 26, Cruz moved to Italy, to Napoli, to his credit he already boasted 22 matches with the Brazilian national team and the silver medal at the Seoul Olympics (1988). In three seasons with Napoli, he scored 13 goals in 83 games, seven in his first year, his own record.
In the 1996-97 season, manager Luigi Simoni moved Cruz to the midfield in the role of central defensive midfielder. Unfortunately for Cruz, Napoli lost in the final of the domestic cup, Coppa Italia, to Vicenza. After this season, Napoli were forced to sell him due to a financial crisis. Cruz moved to AC Milan (1997-1999), and later played for Standard Luik (Belgium, 1999), Torino (Italy, 1999), Sporting CP (Portugal, 1999-2002) and the Brazilian clubs Goiás (2002-2003), Internacional (2003-2004) and Goiás (2004). Cruz was active for the Brazilian national team in the period 1988-1998.
This shirt has all the characteristics of a match shirt: correct player size and style name/number from felt material; correct first team player size XL; the white Lotto label in the neck is different to the grey label in the commercially available fanshop shirt version.
Years: 1996-1997
Size: XL
Condition: Very good
Brand: Lotto
Sponsor: Centrale Latte di Napoli (dairy company, owned by Parmalat from 1993)
