My First Football Shirt: Graham Ruthven

We caught up with football writer Graham Ruthven to talk about the iconic France '98 Scotland kit, a sophisticated Arsenal shirt and Wayne Rooney lashing in goals.

What was your first football shirt?

Kits of Scotland: 1998 World Cup. The last time Scotland qualified for a major tournament. (Scotland Now) pic.twitter.com/kCTNylfXBy

— PictureThis Scotland (@74frankfurt) October 3, 2019

My first ever football shirt was the home shirt that Scotland wore at the 1998 World Cup. It wasn’t an especially well-designed shirt but it became iconic, given that it was the shirt Scotland wore the last time they made it to a major tournament.  

It will always remind me of John Collins’ penalty equaliser in the opening game against Brazil. Of course, it didn’t get any better than that for the Scots at France 98, but at that moment Scotland were a match for anyone, at least for a seven year old.

What is your favourite football shirt?

Arsenal's redcurrant kit. The definition of iconic ✨@Arsenal played their first game at the Emirates 15 years ago today. Before that, they paid an emotional farewell to Highbury 🥺

From the 1860s to 2006 - THIS is the story of one of the Premier League’s greatest kits 😍 pic.twitter.com/I9vN7aQ0b1

— GOAL (@goal) August 19, 2021

Now this is a tough question! Not sure I can pick one single shirt as my favourite, but a few certainly stick in the memory. The shirt Arsenal wore to mark the final season at Highbury was a beauty.

It gave Arsenal an edge of sophistication and class at a time when that’s exactly what their team was on the pitch. Another of my favourites was the red third shirt that Real Madrid had a couple seasons back. They didn’t wear it very often, but it was so unusual to see Los Blancos in roja. And if I’m going more recent, the centenary shirt that the USA wore throughout 2013 was fairly special.

It used the federation’s original badge, rather than the 1990s badge they normally use, and demonstrated perfectly how sometimes less can be so much more. It’s such a shame that they didn’t keep the retro bade for the World Cup.

What is your favourite goal?

Wayne Rooney scored 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 goal against Newcastle, #OnThisDay in 2005 🤩 pic.twitter.com/Hn7L63LZwU

— Premier League (@premierleague) April 24, 2021

Once again, it’s extremely difficult to pick just one goal as my favourite. The goal Wayne Rooney scored against Newcastle United for Manchester United all those years ago is one of my favourite, simply because it summed up what made Rooney so great at that time. Just seconds before he had been arguing with the referee, then lashed a volley into the net from 30 yards in a fit of seething rage.

Another Manchester United goal sticks in the mind, Cristiano Ronaldo's strike against Porto in 2008. To even shoot from that range was ridiculous. To drive it into the top corner from there was unbelievable. And my third pick would be Siphiwe Tshabalala’s goal in the opening game of the 2010 World Cup. It was a stunning goal, right in the top corner from an impossible angle, but the drama of the goal is what made it so special. The celebration wasn’t bad either.

If you want to read more about the football memories of players, writers, and more you can buy the full Your First Football Shirt book. Discover Alan Shearer's first ever football shirt, Carl Anka's most cherished shirt and more. All proceeds go to the charities CALM and Willow.