When Batman met the football

Today debuts in Italian cinemas the new Batman movie, which this time will be played by Robert Pattinson, and it is the perfect day to remember the most memorable forays of the DC superhero on the soccer fields.

Pino "Bat" Taglialatela

It all began during a Milan-Napoli match in the 1995/96 season, during which a young Pino Taglialatela saved every attempt of the Rossoneri players, including a penalty kick by Baggio and a shot by Savicevic. In that moment he became Batman for everyone, so much so that the following year he created personalized jerseys with the nickname, adding above the logo of the sponsor Centrale del Latte a symbol that was very reminiscent of the one projected in the skies of Gotham City. A personal branding that, however, pleased DC Comics little, who asked Pino Bat to remove the symbol of the Neapolitan goalkeeper. "DC Comics attacked us and the real Batman lashed out at me" - Taglialatela recently stated in an interview - "They told me to remove the branding, which is not that of Batman but Pino Bat". A symbol that Taglialatela insists he created starting not from Batman but from Goldrake's Space Halberd, of which he has always declared to be very fond. 

The Valencia's bats

Another historical case involving DC Comics and soccer is obviously the famous one against the Valencia team, commonly referred to as "The Bats". A name that has origins far older than those of the superhero, referring to a legend for which in 1238, when James I of Aragon entered the city reconquering it from the Moors, a bat landed on a flag becoming the symbol of the city. So when the soccer team was founded in 1919 it was a given to use the bat as the corporate logo, twenty years before the appearance of the creature of the imagination of Bob Kane and Billy Finger. But that didn't stop DC in 2014 from filing an appeal against one of the bat designs in the club's logos, citing a risk of public confusion. Fortunately, in 2019 the matter was dropped, giving both the opportunity to register their respective trademarks without further legal friction. 

The Batman Forever's font twenty-five years later

In one of the most unpredictable crossovers in recent history - and the competition is fierce - Celtic Glasgow created a shirt for the 2021/22 Europa League using the same font found on the advertising posters for Batman Forever, the Joel Schumacher film released in theaters in 1995. There are no real reasons why the Glasgow Catholic club decided to pay homage to the unsuccessful Batman played by Val Kilmer who had to contend with Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey, but 25 years later fans can enjoy this absolute oddity. Unfortunately for them the kit with this font will not be purchasable, as on the shop of the Scottish team there is only the one used in national competitions and that meets the standards required by the federation. 

The Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's masks

It wouldn't be a complete roundup of Batman football references without, of course, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, perhaps the biggest fan of the bat superhero to have walked the European fields. His exultations with the black mask flanked by Robin Marco Reus are now part of the shared imagination and the striker then at Borussia Dortmund but grew up in the AC Milan nursery has often used Bruce Wayne as his alter-ego, drawing the profile of the bat on the side of the nape of the neck and brandishing his gold Lamborghini. But Batman isn't the only comic book superhero that has inspired Aubameyang's jubilations, over the years after scoring a goal he has used masks of Spiderman, Black Panther and Iron Stinger.

PUMA Batman FUTURE Z 

To celebrate the release of the next Batman, PUMA has decided to involve its top testimonial for a soccer boot dedicated to the superhero of Gotham City. We're talking of course about Neymar Jr. who debuted on Saturday against Saint-Étienne a pair of PUMA Future Z 1.3 that featured the world's most famous bat symbol on the tongue and heel. "I'm a big Batman fan, he's my favorite character," said Neymar Jr. "Batman is an icon. I've been collecting Batman memorabilia for many years, so adding this special edition of FUTURE Z to the collection is great. These shoes are beautiful and I'm so happy to wear them on the pitch." The PUMA Batman FUTURE Z will be available starting June 3.