Imagine a Premier League team arriving for an away match only to discover they have no kit to play in. That is exactly what happened to Chelsea in the spring of 1997. As a result, Gianfranco Zola, Roberto Di Matteo, and their fellow stars stepped onto the pitch wearing the home side's shirts.
How Chelsea ended up without their kit
On April 9, 1997, Ruud Gullit's side made their way to Highfield Road for a clash against Coventry City.
Among the visitors were Zola, Di Matteo, Mark Hughes, and Frank Leboeuf, and everything seemed to be in order for one of England's top clubs.
The trouble began just moments before kick-off.
Chelsea had brought their home kit, but the referee deemed the colours too similar to those of their opponents. Previously, Chelsea's dark blue shirts had posed no issues against Coventry's traditional sky blue. However, this season, the home side had opted for a darker shade of blue.
And unfortunately for Chelsea, there were no suitable away shirts in sight. The match was delayed by around 15 minutes.
A surprising solution emerged: Coventry generously offered their away strip to the visitors.
Zola dons Coventry's number nine
The Chelsea players took to the pitch in red and dark blue checked shirts emblazoned with the Coventry badge and Peugeot logo. The only items they retained were their shorts and socks.
Even the squad numbers had to be swapped around.
Zola, instead of his usual 25, wore the nine, Di Matteo took the seven, Eddie Newton donned the eight, and Frank Sinclair was given the four.
The scene was utterly absurd: Chelsea's stars were sprinting around the field in the colours of the team they were trying to beat.
Strange luck in foreign kits
Strangely, the unusual situation seemed to bring them some luck at first. On the 43rd minute, Paul Hughes opened the scoring, and Chelsea went into half-time leading 1-0.
It appeared the story might end with a funny win in the wrong shirts. However, Coventry had other ideas.
Just four minutes after the break, Dion Dublin equalised. Two minutes later, Paul Williams put the hosts ahead, and by the 58th minute, Noel Whelan sealed a 3-1 win.
Just like that, Chelsea transformed their advantage into a defeat in a matter of nine minutes.
Irony of a strong Chelsea squad
The irony is particularly rich given that Gullit's side was far from being a mediocre team without ambition.
Just a month later, Chelsea would lift the FA Cup, with Di Matteo scoring one of the tournament's most famous goals in the final against Middlesbrough.
At the end of the season, Zola was named Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year.
The Londoners were assembling a squad of European stars and were vying for silverware, steadily re-establishing themselves among the top clubs in the country.
Yet, even that couldn’t save them from a situation unimaginable in today's professional football climate.
A shirt no one will forget
The match against Coventry left behind one of the most peculiar incidents in Chelsea's history.
In the photos, Zola and his teammates look as if they accidentally found themselves in the wrong team. Sporting an opponent's badge, wearing rival sponsorship, and seeing a defeat of 3-1 on the scoreboard clearly paints a comical picture.
This was the only time Chelsea used that particular kit.
Not in honour of an anniversary, as part of a promotional campaign, or for a special release.
Just because they arrived at the match without the right kit.
The worst part for the Blues? They had to return the shirts to the hosts along with three points.
