Alright, so today I wanted to chat a bit about this little project I had going on for a while: getting my hands on one of those UEFA Champions League 6 times trophy badges, specifically the style they used from around 2000 to 2012. It sounds pretty niche, and well, it kinda is!
How It All Started
You know how it is, I’ve been a football nut for ages. Got a small collection of jerseys, nothing too crazy, but I like the ones with a bit of history. A while back, I was looking at an old AC Milan shirt, one from the mid-2000s. They’d won their sixth European title back in ’03, and I remembered seeing that special blue badge with the ‘6’ on it. It just looked so classy, you know? And the specific design they used in that period, it just felt right. So, the idea got stuck in my head – I had to find one for a jersey I was restoring.
The Usual Grind: Searching High and Low
First thing I did, obviously, was hit the internet. Typed in all the keywords, “Champions League 6 badge,” “Milan 6 trophy patch 2000s,” you name it. And boy, what a mixed bag that was. Lots of stuff popped up, sure. But so many of them looked… off. You know, the colors not quite right, the material looking flimsy. Fakes are a massive headache with these things. Genuine ones from that specific 2000-2012 period, especially the ‘6’ version, weren’t exactly falling off trees.
I spent weeks, maybe even a couple of months, just casually browsing. Some evenings, after putting the kids to bed, I’d just scroll through forums, auction sites, that sort of thing. Prices for anything remotely legit were pretty steep too. Some sellers were asking for silly money. It was a bit frustrating, to be honest. I nearly gave up a couple of times, thinking maybe it was a wild goose chase.
- Loads of modern reproductions, not the period-specific one I wanted.
- Some clearly dodgy listings with blurry photos.
- A few potentials, but the sellers seemed unreliable.
It’s like, you want this one specific thing, and the internet shows you a million almost-things, but not the thing.
Finally, A Glimmer of Hope
Then, one afternoon, I was actually supposed to be sorting out some old paperwork – you know, the boring adult stuff – and I decided to have “one last look.” Classic, right? I was deep in some old football collectors’ forum, a thread from years ago, and someone mentioned a specialist seller based in Europe who sometimes stocked older, official badges. The post was ancient, but I figured, what have I got to lose?
So, I did some more digging, found the seller’s slightly outdated website. It was one of those old-school sites, not very flashy, but it listed a bunch of rare patches. And there it was, tucked away: “UEFA Badge of Honour (2000-2012 design) – 6 Titles”. My heart did a little jump, not gonna lie.
Taking the Plunge and the Anxious Wait
The pictures looked good, the description matched what I knew about the genuine articles from that time. I shot them an email, asked a couple of questions just to be sure, mostly about the condition and if it was an original Lextra/SensCilia type flock print, which was common for those. They replied pretty quick, seemed knowledgeable. So, I decided to bite the bullet. It wasn’t cheap, mind you, but it felt like a fair price for what it was, especially after seeing all the inflated prices elsewhere.
Then came the waiting game. International shipping, you know how it is. Every day I’d be half-expecting it, half-worried it would get lost in the mail. I even had a nightmare it arrived damaged. Yeah, I get a bit invested in these little quests!
Success! And Getting it Just Right
About two weeks later, a small, unassuming padded envelope landed on my doormat. I carefully opened it up, and there it was. Perfect. The flock material felt right, the colours were spot on, the little details on the trophy silhouette – exactly as I remembered from seeing them on the players’ shirts back in the day. Such a small thing, but so satisfying!
I had this one specific AC Milan 2006/07 home shirt, the one they wore when they won their 7th, but it was originally sold without the ‘6’ winner’s badge (as they’d wear the ‘7’ badge the following season or the starball). So, the plan was to apply this ‘6’ badge to represent their status during that 6-time champion era before the 7th. I’ve got a heat press I use for these things, got it all lined up, took a deep breath, and applied it. Came out beautifully.
So yeah, that was my little adventure. It took a bit of patience and digging, but totally worth it to get that authentic touch. It’s not just about the badge itself, but the process of hunting it down and making that old jersey feel complete. A small win, but a good one.
