Right, so I was clearing out the attic the other week. Proper mess up there, boxes everywhere. Found this old sports bag tucked away behind a broken chair. Nearly threw it out, honestly.
Opened it up, just for a look. Bunch of old clothes. And then I saw it. This old Spurs shirt. Proper vintage stuff. The material felt different, you know? It wasn’t one of those modern slick ones. This was… heavier. It was the old Pony kit.
Turned it over. Faded, yeah, but you could still make it out. KLINSMANN 18 on the back. Wow. Took me right back. Jurgen Klinsmann at Spurs. What a signing that was back in ’94. People forget how big a deal that was. World Cup winner, coming to Tottenham. Nobody expected it.
Remember his debut? Against Sheffield Wednesday? Scored a header, then did that dive celebration. Brilliant. Shut everyone up who called him a diver. He just owned it. Loved that attitude.
Getting it Cleaned Up
Anyway, this shirt. It was looking a bit sorry for itself. Bit grubby around the collar, the sponsor logo was cracked. The name and number were faded but mostly there. I thought, I can’t just leave it like this. Gotta try and bring it back to life a bit.
So, first step, gentle wash. Nothing harsh. Used one of those delicate wash liquids, cool water, inside out. Put it in a pillowcase too, just to be safe. Didn’t want the machine to wreck it.
- Filled a basin with cool water.
- Added a tiny bit of mild soap.
- Let the shirt soak for about half hour first.
- Gave it a very gentle hand wash, focusing a bit on the grubby bits.
- Rinsed it really, really well with cold water.
- Didn’t wring it out – just squeezed gently.
Then I laid it flat on a towel, reshaped it a bit, and put another towel on top. Pressed down to get more water out. Left it to air dry flat, away from direct sunlight. Took ages to dry properly.
The Result
Did it come out perfect? Nah, course not. It’s an old shirt. The fading is still there, the sponsor’s still cracked. But it’s clean. It looks respectable again. The dirt marks are gone. It feels cared for, if that makes sense.
Holding it now, properly clean, it just brings back memories. Klinsmann’s goals, the excitement he brought to White Hart Lane. Even his second spell, shorter, but still chipped in with important goals. He just got Spurs, didn’t he? Scored goals, smiled a lot.
So yeah, that was my little project. Didn’t do anything amazing, just cleaned an old football shirt. But it felt good, remembering that player and that time at Spurs. Proper bit of history, right there in my hands.
