Every now and then you come across someone who has a collection so impressive, that you just have to reach out to interview them. That’s exactly where I found myself when I saw Scott Anderson posting about some of his limited edition kits. The limited edition kits fascinate me more than anything else as they’re extremely hard to get your hands on and filled with intricate details. I thought we could hear from the man himself where he would share some of his favorite kits including ones most haven’t seen in person.
1. First off, please introduce yourself.
My name is Scott Anderson, I’m @Flying_Scotty on Twitter. I’m 34 years old, from Scotland and I’m a Manchester United fan.
2. What started your interest in collecting kits?
When I was 14 I got a job in a local sports store, this is what really fuelled the fire to start me collecting. We used to get all the new stock into the shop before release day and I spent hours going through all the new shirts for the upcoming season and pricing them ready for sale. I got a staff discount and trained at least 4 times a week for my local football team so I used to buy shirts to wear to training. Then around 2010 I saw the second hand market start to really take off and noticed there was quite a considerable difference in value of used shirts and shirts new with tags. Then on top of that shirts with name sets of iconic players increased the value again. Ever since then I have bought shirts to collect rather than wear in order to preserve their condition and value. Around a third of my collection is new with tags going as far back as shirts from 1992.
3. Do you remember what was the first shirt you bought?
The first shirt I ever owned was the 96/98 Manchester United Home shirt that was given to me as a gift on my 10th birthday from my parents.
The first shirt I ever bought was the 97/98 Manchester United goalkeeper shirt, I used money I was given for the same birthday to buy it.
4. How big is your collection now?
I currently have 389 shirts in my collection. It’s a real variety of shirts. The bulk is Manchester United but I also have a lot of European clubs as well. I don’t collect any other English clubs teams no matter how nice the shirt is. I also like to purchase a shirt from every country I visit and game I attend, it’s a great memory to look back on. I have a wide variety of international shirts as far back as the 80’s which vary between a design I like or if team has been successful in an international tournament. I like to collect shirts of iconic players as well. Zidane, Batistuta, Ronaldo, Mbappe, Cantona and Ibrahimovic just to name a few. David Beckham is my favourite player of all time and I have every club shirt he wore during the span of his career!
5. What is your favorite shirt in your collection? Rarest kit in your collection?
I think it’s impossible to pick one favourite out of them all. Some have a special meaning depending on where I got them or who got them for me. Others I really like because of the design or what was achieved during the season by that particular team. I’m sorry I can’t pick just one, haha.
My rarest would either be the 2019 128th Anniversary shirts released by AIK. Only 256 were sold, 128 direct from the club store and 128 exclusively released to Pro Direct Soccer.
AIK 1891 Black Edition Kit Box
AIK 1891 Black Edition Kit
AIK 1891 White Edition Kit Box
AIK 1891 White Edition Kit
The other would be the PSG 18/19 home shirt to raise funds for the Notre Dame Cathedral charity after it burnt down. The regular fly emirates sponsor was replaced with an illustration of the cathedral. Only 1000 were made and sold at half time of the game.
6. You have quite the collection of super limited kits, any in particular you’d like to highlight?
My favourites would have to be the 19/20 Juventus 4th shirt in collaboration with the fashion designer Palace.
A shirt that comes in a collectors box just adds that little something special.
The other is the Borussia Dortmund 110th anniversary Coal and Steel shirt.
It was used in a one off game in 2019 and only 9,009 were sold.
7. For those looking to build out their collection of limited-edition kits, what advice would you give to them?
Social media is a must, Twitter especially. When clubs are about to release limited edition shirts they will most if they time, not always, post teasers on their twitter accounts. These can be things like snippets of the shirt, time of release etc. Also there are a lot of good accounts on twitter that will retweet and post about these shirts if you miss the clubs hints. Another good thing to do is sign up for newsletters from the major retailers or direct with club stores. This means you will receive the news letters and get a heads up on any new stock that will be sold.
8. What kit are you still on the hunt for or consider your grail?
My current grail is either the home or away PSG 92/93 in long sleeves. The design was by the legendary Drake Ramberg and just screams 90’s.
