Angola
Home, 2008/09
This Angola shirt is was one I picked up long before the idea of starting any sort of actual collection. I just thought it would be fairly unique in Ireland to have an Angola shirt. And to be fair, I never did see another one around. I saw it in a retail chain store and picked it up quite cheaply. Puma have released some really eye-catching shirts for African nations over the years, but it must be said that this wasn’t one of them. The Puma logos are a thick rubber, which was standard at the time and feel sturdy, the crest is another stick-on job and feels quite cheap. The material is not quite what you expect from a football shirt, but Puma did have a habit of releasing differing quality replicas, some of which used cheaper materials, around this time. This is an example of the low end, which is likely why it was on the rails at a discount price. Though not as common, you can also find these cheaper versions of European shirts such as the Czech Republic at this time. The player version of this template used heat-pressed seams for comfort and a type of dual layer system. The cut of the player version is also cleaner, and overall it looks better on the field than this replica.
The 'Sable Antelopes' played their first game in 1977, following Angola's independence from Portugal in 1975. That first game was a 1-0 win at home to Cuba. Twenty-one years later, in 1996, they qualified for the African Cup of Nation's for the first time. Sadly, they lost their first two games but a 3-3 draw against Cameroon was sure to reclaim some pride. After qualifying for the 1998 tournament, they then had to wait until 2006 for another appearance. They have become regulars at the ACN since then though, even reaching the quarter finals twice (at the time of writing) and notably throwing away a 4-0 lead in the last 11 minutes versus Mali in 2010, ending up drawing 4-4 as hosts of that tournament. Two of Mali's goals came in injury time. Ouch.
Angola have also played in a World Cup, having reached the 2010 tournament in Germany.
