Adidas – Page 4 – Football Kit Geek

A huge congratulations to all the winners and the finalists in each award, I also want to thank Josh over at The Kitsman for pulling this all together, it brought a lot positivity to the Kit Community but also highlighted many great accounts that are out there in the “Twitter-sphere” at the moment, check out the Kitsman timeline to find some wonderful kit content!

Shelter’s No Home Kit

Although the traditional Boxing day fixtures were severly impacted by postponments due to the current COVID-19 situation in England, we did see a couple of teams embracing this initiative….

Oldham Athletic at home to Scunthorpe United

Tranmere Rovers at home to Barrow AFC

A Special call out to Dulwich Hamlet, who also had Shelter as their Sponsor on their away kit and are auctioning their shirts to raise money for the campaign.

Adidas to change logo?

It has been reported over the last week or so that Adidas will be changing their logo from late 2022, to coincide with 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The new logo will see a slight change in the alignment of the traditional 3 Stripes and the removal of the “adidas” word mark… with those Counties with their kits manufactured by Adidas participating in the World Cup being the first kits seen with the new logo.

Full details can be found over at Footy Headlines – Link to Article click here

And Finally….

Whats happening in the Kit Community.

I want to end each issue with some of the “going ons” within the Kit Community

The guys over at Kit Mag ran a knock competition to find their follower’s Kit of 2021, the winner was the Liverpool Away kit beating Venezia away in the final with 64% of the vote.

Andorra’s Ildefons Lima Solà gave away one of Match Worn shirts as part of a Christmas giveaway and added a nice touch by signing the number

This wonderful picture was shared by @TRiCKETTengland highlighting the kits worn on 1984/85 Serie A Season

Let me know your thoughts and comments and if there is any content that you would like me to share in coming weeks, please message me and let me know the details or use the comments field below or contact me over on @Kit_Geek on Twitter

Premier League One Kit Wonders – 2019/20

Jul 23, 2020Jul 31, 2020Posted in General, Premier League Kit LogTagged Adidas, EPL, Football, Football Kits, Kits, Nike, Premier League, Soccer, umbroLeave a comment

As we approach the final round of fixtures of the 2019/20 Premier League season, its always to time to take stock and look back the season and reminisce over the good and bad of the latest season.

There will be plenty of looking back at the season from me over the coming weeks but I wanted to kick this off by looking back at those kits that were only worn once this season.

So far we have seen 107 different kits worn in the Premier League and in this post I want to call out the 24 Kits that have been worn just once, our “One Kit Wonders”.

Arsenal

Southampton v Arsenal, 25th June 2020

Arsenal’s popular away kit, that pays homage to the classic “Brusied Banana” kit, was worn in their 2-0 victory at Southampton with yellow shorts, giving an all yellow look which was also used with the “Bruised Banana” kit against Southampton back in 1991.

AFC Bournemouth

Watford v AFC Bournemouth, 26th October 2019

Bournemouth’s draw at Watford saw the south coast team pair their home shirt with white shorts and socks, giving them a classic AC Milan look.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v AFC Bournemouth, 24th June 2019

One of the (minor) impacts of “Project Restart” was that some clubs had sponsorship deals ending, which in turn saw new kits launched with a significant number of games still to play. Bournemouth was one of these teams, who wore their 2020/21 Home kit from Umbro (with holding sponsor Vitality). This was worn with white shorts and socks in the 1-0 defeat at Wolves in June.

Manchester United v AFC Bournemouth, 4th July 2020

The visit to Manchester United saw Bournemouth use their 2020/21 away kit from Umbro, with a graphic of the famous Bouremouth Pier sublimated onto the aqua shirts, similar to the Manchester United umbro shirt from 1994/96 which had Old Trafford on their shirts. It did not prove a lucky shirt with The Cherries losing 5-3 in this kit’s only appearence.

Brighton and Hove Albion

Newcastle United v Brighton and Hove Albion, 21st September 2019

With Brighton’s away kit being all black it meant that The Seagulls reached into the back of the Kitman’s cupboard at The Amex to pull out 2018/19 away kit to be used as this season’s third kit. In this drawn game it was worn for the only time this season with white shorts.

Aston Villa v Brighton and Hove Albion, 19th October 2019

Brighton’s second “One Kit Wonder” was their home kit worn with blue socks in a defeat at Aston Villa.

Burnley FC

West Ham United v Burnley FC, 8th July 2020

When Burnley visited a fellow Claret/Blue wearing West Ham, it was deemed that their away kit (All Sky Blue) and 3rd Kit (Green/Black) were not enough of a contrast to hosts home kit, Umbro created a one off white shirt to be worn with white shorts and socks to make a “4th Kit”, one of three 4th Kits seen this season and has a 100% win ratio in its use.

Chelsea

Crystal Palace v Chelsea, 7th July 2020

Chelsea’s new sponsorship deal with “3” started on the 1st July, this meant the 2020/21 kits were brought into action at the end of this season. The pale blue away kit saw it first and only appearence of this season in the 3-2 victory at Crystal Palace.

Everton

Crystal Palace v Everton, 10th August 2019

Looking way back to first round of fixtures of the 2019/20 season, Everton were asked by the Premier League to use their third kit from 2018/19 as the “coral” away and navy 3rd kits supplied by Umbro were seen to be too much of a clash to their visit to Crystal Palace, the game ended in a draw and is the one of the three “4th” kits seen used this season.

Manchester United v Everton, 15th December 2019

Everton’s second “One Kit Wonder” was the variation of their home kit, worn with blue shorts that The Toffees wore in their drawn game at Manchester United.

Leicester City

West Ham United v Leicester City, 28th December 2019

Leicester City often use variations of their home kit to avoid unnecessary use of their change kits, their 2-1 win at West Ham saw using their home kit with white socks, a combination only used once this season.

Manchester United

Southampton v Manchester United, 31st August 2019

Manchester United have worn their 3rd kit three times in the Premier League this season, in three different variations, the first worn with white shorts (bespoke to this kit, not the home shorts which have red Adidas stripes) at the drawn game at Southampton.

Sheffield United v Manchester United, 24th November 2019

The second use of the 3rd kit was at Sheffield United with bespoke white shorts and socks, the game ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw.

Arsenal v Manchester United, 1st January 2020

The final appearence of the Manchester United 3rd kit was its only use in its first choice all black variation, the game at Arsenal ended in defeat which means they did not win a single game using their 3rd Kit in the League this season.

Sheffield United

Chelsea v Sheffield United, 31st August 2019

Sheffield United’s versitle white away kit has been used in four different combination this season, the use of white shorts and red (home kit) socks was only used the once, to give us a nice looking kit, the red socks work really well with red Adidas stripes on side panels and shorts, the red flowing through out the kit. The game ended in a draw in what has been an inspresive return to the Top Flight for The Blades.

Newcastle United v Sheffied United, 21st June 2020

Sheffield United’s second “One Kit Wonder” was a variation of their home kit, combined with away shorts and socks to give us an overall “white” feel to their home kit. The kit did not prove a lucky one with the game ending in a 0-3 defeat.

Southampton FC

Newcastle United v Southampton, 8th December 2019

Southampton’s use of their 2018/19 3rd Kit at Newcastle United was called for due to the three kits registered for 2019/20 all clashing with Newcastle’s home kit, this is third and final 4th Kit used this season and the only one that was used by the losing team, the kit was combined with home shorts and socks.

Tottenham Hotspur

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Tottenham Hotspur, 15th December 2019

Tottenham’s visit to Wolves in December saw them use their home socks with their away kit, to give us a Navy/Navy/White variation, tying in nicely with Nike’s Vapor Template’s use of contrasting socks. The game ended in victory for Spurs with an injury time winning goal.

Watford

Newcastle United v Watford, 31st August 2019

Watford are another team that used their away kit from 2018/19 as a 3rd kit for 2019/20, the only appearence of this kit was their visit to Newcastle United back in August. This is the least used 3rd in the League and its only use ended in a draw.

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Watford, 28th September 2019

The second “One Kit Wonder” from Watford was a variation of their away kit used with white socks which was seen in their defeat at Wolves.

West Ham United

Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Ham United, 4th December 2019

West Ham’s home kit from Umbro was a popular one with fans, when worn against Wolves it was paired with sky blue shorts and socks for a variation that still gives a strong West Ham feel, this did not prove sucessful on the pitch, with the game ending in defeat.

Newcastle United v West Ham United, 5th July 2020

This is the 3rd variation of West Ham’s home kit, this time combined with sky blue socks was used in the drawn game at Newcastle United.

Manchester United v West Ham United, 22nd July 2020

In the final away game of the season at Manchester United, West Ham used their away kit with change Sky Blue shorts, to give us again an alternative but classic West Ham look. The game ended in a draw.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

AFC Bournemouth v Wolverhampton Wanderers, 23rd November 2019

Wolves’ home kit in 2019/20 was paired with black shorts and socks, surprisingly an alternative of the kit was only used once this season with “old gold” socks in the victory at Bournemouth.

The 24 games in which our “One Kit Wonders” were worn, saw 6 wins, 10 draws and 8 defeats.

There are still the final ten games of the season to be played, so there may be some changes to this final list, Brighton in particular I can see using their home kit with blue socks in their game at Burnley, Sheffield United may use a different variation of their 3rd kit in their game at Southampton and at the moment Manchester City have only used their 2020/21 Home kit once in their victory at Watford but with their final game being at home at likely to wear this kit again in this game which is why I have not included in them in this overview.

Let me know what your favourite “One Kit Wonder” of the 2019/20 Premier League Season at https://twitter.com/kit_geek

UPDATED – MATCH DAY 38

On the final round of fixtures of season, we saw six teams launch their new home kits…. increasing our “One Kit Wonders” to 30…. All fixtures took place on 26th July.

Arsenal

Arsenal v Watford

Arsenal’s victory at relegated Watford give us the first view of the new Adidas 2020/21 Home kit, a darker shade of red than 19/20 version with the use of red socks as first choice!

Brighton & Hove Albion

Burnley v Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton’s new home kit is a really interesting change from their traditional look, one the club has used in the past as points but something new and fresh for their 2020/21 Premier League campaign, its debut was victorious one with a 2-1 win at Burnley.

Leicester City

Leicester City v Manchester United

Leicester City revert to all blue for 20/21 season with this Adidas Convido 20 Template! Their 2-0 defeat cost the team and this kit a place in the Champions League next season.

Newcastle United

Newcastle United v Liverpool

Newcastle’s 2020/21 Kit sees the magpies use thinner stripes than 19/20, but the red numbers remain (something I love to see in a Newcastle Kit) and check out them socks…!!! Its first outing ended in 3-1 defeat to Champions Liverpool.

Southampton

Southampton v Sheffield United

Southampton are ditchng the stripes in 2020/21 in favour of a sash…. I love a sash, so this looks great in my eyes, Southampton ended the season in style beating high flying Sheffield United 3-1.

West Ham United

West Ham United v Aston Villa

West Ham are our final team introducing their new kit in 2019/20 season, a return to white shorts and socks paired with a more traditional looking shirt, the drawn game with Aston Villa saw the visitors stay up on the last day of the season.

So there we have it, the 30 “One Kit Wonders”, our final record sees 9 wins, 11 draws and 10 defeats!

Kit Log – Euro 2016

Jun 9, 2020Jun 10, 2020Posted in UncategorizedTagged Adidas, England, Euro2016, Euros, Football, Football Kits, France2016, Internationals, Kit Log, Kits, Nike, Puma2 Comments

To coincide with my “Debut” Podcast appearence on the latest Kitted Out Podcast talking the Nike Vapor Template and Kits worn at Euro 2016, I thought I would pull together a Kit Log from that Tournament, so look back at the kits worn and some of the stats behind the kits.

Euro 2016, was hosted by France and change of format saw it become the largest European Championships to date, with the tournament being expanded to 24 teams from the 16 team that had been in place for the previous 5 tournaments dating back to Euro 96.

In terms of kits, the “Big Three” manufacturers, Nike, Adidas and Puma supplied 20 of the 24 teams qualifying for European Championships!

Kits Stats:

24 Teams
55 Different Kits Worn
7 Kit Manufacters (Nike, Adidas, Puma, Joma, Macron, Umbro, Errea)
Adidas – 9 Countries
Nike – 6 Countries
Puma – 5 Countries
10 Countries wore three different kit combinations
Only 3 Countries wore the same kit in all their games

Looking at bit more detail into the Countries kit choices, taking each Group at a time and their progress through the Tournament.

Group A

Hosts and eventual finalists France, one of the six countries to wear the Nike Vapor Template only change from their first choice “Home” Kit once, this was kit that we discussed at length on Kitted Out Podcast where they could not wear their initial “Away” kit which broke the UEFA Equipment laws by having two different colour sleeves. The Kit worn in the tournament, had almost grey looking sleeves instead of the red / blue in the original design.

Albania, who in their first ever tournament appearence also created a first by wearing Home, Away and 3rd choice kits in their three group games, something that I do not believe we have seen in an International Tournament before with Countries normally having just two kit options.

Group B

England, another team with Nike Vapor Template and one that was seen by many to be a controversial choice. I am probably in the minority of England fans that liked it, it was something different and I always like to see experimentation in Kit design and this was possibly Nike’s biggest risk in the International market. The Home and Away kits were both used through the tournament but unfortunately this kit will likely always be remembered for exit at the hands of Iceland.

Wales, who reached the Semi Finals had one of the standard Adidas Templates for their home kit, however their away kit was something different with the use of the fluorescent trim really popping from the two toned grey hoops.

Group C

Ever efficient Germany wore their Home kit in all of their six appearances, with the only variation being the use of white socks in their Quarter Final match against Italy.

Ukraine, one of the three teams (All wearing Yellow) to wear the same kit throughout the Tournament.

Poland, wearing probably the least adventurous Nike Vapor Template, no risks in colour choice, no alternative sock choice just the standard colour choices in place and an away kit that many England fans would have happily swapped for one used by the Three Lions!

Group D

Group D is all about Turkey for me, another Nike Vapor Template and one of the more interesting designs, with a mesh like appearance in the shirt blending to black shorts / socks. They wear also one of the teams to wear three different kit combinations in their three group games, mashing up home shorts and socks with their away kit, for me the best use of Vapor Template seen on show!

An honourable mention to Spain and their away kit which contains an interesting pattern on chest and shoulder, which is to reflect the heat map of their winning goal at Euro 2012 scored by Fernando Torres.

Group E

It was all about Belgium’s away kit for me in Group E, my favourite kit of the tournament and one that paid homage to the Belgian cycling team with the Belgian Flag being used as a chest band across the cyan shirt! It was used three times in their six games with both black and cyan shorts, both looks working in my eyes!

Italy (as Belgium) used three different kits in their six games, with two home kit combinations used, their stylish away kit only used on their opening game.

Group F

Tournament winners Portugal, the final team to wear the Nike Vapor Template kit, also wore three different kits in their six game with their home kit being one of the best fits in colour combination of the template.

Iceland’s kit produced by Errea deserve a call out, not only a tournament to remember for their progress to the Quarter Finals but a simple, yet unique kit with the use of a single stripe made their kits stand out from some of the generic templates used by several nations.

Austria wore three different kit combinations in their only three appearances at Euro 2016.

My favourtie 5 Kits worn

Belgium Away (with black and cyan shorts)

Turkey Home

Italy Away

Turkey Away with Black shorts

Iceland Away

Euro 2016 Fixtures

An overview of the kits worn by tournament fixtures.

10th June 2016 to 18th June 2016 (Group games)

19th June 2016 to 3rd July 2016 (Final Group Games to Quarter Finals)

6th July 2016 to 10th July 2016 (Semi Finals and Final)

Well there we have, let me know your favourite kits worn through out Euro 2016 and of course make sure you check out the latest Podcast from Kitted Out discuss these kits and The Nike Vapour Template.

A final thank you to Ollie from Kitted Out for intiviting me on to his Podcast and giving me an opportunity to talk about football kits, please use the link above to check out Kitted Out back catalogue, some wonderful football kit conversations to listen too.

Kit News, Edition 1 – A Hummel renaissancei

May 26, 2019May 26, 2019Posted in Kit NewsTagged Adidas, Football, Football Kits, Hummel, Kit Geek, Kit News, Kits, Ligue 1, Nike, Premier League, Puma, Serie A, SoccerLeave a comment

Kit news is coming thick and fast, so I thought it was a good opportunity to have a look at what we have seen over the past few days in terms of Kit News.

Confirmed Kits

Middlesbrough – Hummel have delivered a look in the new home kit for Middlesbrough that is a return to a classic look for Boro and one that synonymous with the club.

Inter Milan – Striped kits are always difficult to deliver something new or give a fresh approach to the design, however Inter Milan are a club that often looked to do this over the years and this effort from Nike for 2019/20 is something different and does stand out from the others

Cambridge United – A new Kit deal for Cambridge United with Hummel and the first home Kit is a real classic in design, a clean and simple look on The U’s traditional amber and black. Looks like Hummel will be bigger players in the kit market in 2019/20 and if what we have seen so far is anything to go by we should be in for a treat.

Leicester City – The launch of Leicester City’s away and 3rd kits was no surprise with these kits leaked a few weeks ago. The Away, a pink version of the kit worn by Germany in 2018 World Cup and 3rd Kit, a dark grey version of the Adidas Tiro 19 template. After the introduction of their new home kit in the final game of the season, this completes the kits for the Foxes in 2019/20.

Olymique de Marseille – OM in the second season with Puma have seen the launch of their new home kit sees an introduction on sky blue pinstripe with an all white kit. The kit is also being marketed as 120th Anniversary kit.

AS Roma – Nike have returned to a more classic look for AS Roma this coming season, with the traditional red shirt being paired with white shorts and red socks. There is some “lightening” detailing on the collar, inspired from Roman iconography, which is also continued into name/number fonts for the season.

Ipswich Town – Quick to move on from their recent relegation from Championship, Ipswich Town have launched both their new Home and Away kits from Adidas, both kits from the Adidas template catalogue and the away sees a return to red/navy stripes. A big change with the kits is the sponsor, moving away for black and pink logo to a plain white one that fits with the overall aesthetic of the shirt. It is also worth highlighting that the Children’s versions of the kits will have a local charity as sponsor.

Preston North End – The final kit that I am looking at this first edition of Kit News, is the Nike kit for Preston North End, this template looks like a return to Nike Legend template, most known for its use by several teams in 2002 World Cup, this particular version really reminds me of the England Rugby Union kit worn when they clinch the World Cup in 2003.

Other News:

Aston Villa after a solitary season with local designer Luke1977 (which delivered some amazing kits) have signed a 3 year deal with Kappa
Burnley FC are rumoured to be wearing Umbro next season after leaked photos seen on Twitter
Millwall to have a brown away kit based on their sponsor, chocolate manufacturer Huski
A new badge for FC Nantes
Leaked Arsenal / Adidas kits
New sponsor for PSG

I will follow up with Edition 2 over the coming weeks, let me know your thoughts at Twitter @Kit_Geek or on the comments below.

Real Madrid, 20 years of Adidas

Dec 20, 2018Nov 29, 2021Posted in General, Kit HistoryTagged Adidas, Football, Football Kits, Kit Geek, Kit Log, Kits, Real MadridLeave a comment

The 2018/19 season sees the 20 year partnership between one of the biggest clubs in the world with one of the biggest brands in the world, Real Madrid and Adidas.

I thought I would take a little time to look back over the kits worn through these two decades and some kit highlights.

Adidas became Real Madrid’s kit manufacturer in 1998 taking over from Spanish kit maker Kelme and last month signed the largest Kit Deal seen in the sport with a reported €1.1 Billion (£950 Million) 10 year deal extending their partnership to 30 years.

The Kit Overview

Looking at the home kits, considering Real Madrid never deviate from their traditional all white kits, it is surprising how many changes there have been to the home kit through each season, only in the 1998/99 and 1999/2000 seasons was a kit used for more than one season.

Over the years the famous all white has been trimmed with Black (the most frequently used), Shades of Grey, Yellow, Navy Blue, Royal Blue, Orange, Pink and Aqua / Turquoise, always given us that slight variation from the season before.

However, given the tradition used with the Home Kit, the away kit is different “ball game” altogether. Real Madrid are team that often turn to away kits when playing away from the Santiago Bernabeu, they will always wear away kits when there are clashes of white shorts / socks, think European games at Manchester United for examples.

In the first few years of the Adidas relationship there were very traditional Real Madrid away colours used, Navy Blue, Purple, Black all playing a prominent part of alternative colours in away and 3rd kits.

There was a change in 2007/08 season, the home was highlighted with purple for the first time in this Adidas Era (previous Adidas kits in 80s, Hummel and Kelme had all used purple elements in their home kits), looking at the alternative kits of that season the away was Navy trimmed with Gold and 3rd was a charcoal grey trimmed with neon green.

The next few seasons saw a return to navy, blue, black and purple rotation of away and 3rd kits. In the 2011/12 season saw a new colour introduced by Adidas in the Real Madrid colour palette, red….

In a kit that took inspiration from one worn in the early 1970’s and was a real change from the norm and the start of run of different colours used in Madrid’s alternative kits which with have also seen this season with another red 3rd kit being used.

2011/12 – Red 3rd kit
2012/13 – Green 3rd kit
2013/14 – Orange 3rd kit
2014/15 – Pink Away kit
2015/16 – Two-tone Grey (with Neon highlights) Away kit
2017/18 – Aqua/Turquoise 3rd kit
2018/19 – Two-tone red 3rd kit

In the 2017/18, there was a running theme of aqua used in all three kits, with both home and away kits having aqua highlights on shirt, shorts and socks, the 3rd kit being a Aqua / Turquoise kits (mentioned above).

It seems there has been a shift in the kits created by Adidas and looks like we now always see the traditional all white home kit and then one of the traditional away palette colours (Navy, Black, Blue, Purple) used for one of the alternative kits and the other will be something completely different…. yellow, neon green… who knows what the future holds here.

My 5 favourite Real Madrid Kits

Home kit, 2009/10

I do have this shirt in my collection, all the way from Bernabeu Stadium itself (my shirt below), I really like this shirt, nice collar, subtle yellow trim, it just all works for me.

Home Kit, 2012/13

A simple but classic kit for me, the navy and light blue trim complements the kit perfectly, there is also a shadow pinstripe on the shirt as well.

3rd Kit, 2003/04

The third kit used in the 2003/04 season (David Beckham’s first season with the club) is one of my favourite alternative kits used, the blue/grey shirt, black short and socks, all trimmed with sky blue and gold, just a pleasing kit all round.

Home Kit, 2014/15

This home kit was trimmed with pink and black across shirts, shorts and socks, there was also an additional pink stripe across the back of the shirt above the players name (we can just see it on the above image), another shirt with a shadow pattern, close examination and it is very similar to the pattern used on several Adidas shirts this season.

3rd Kit 2001/02

A kit that I am not sure was ever seen in action, as I can only find digital (Pro Evo) and pictures like the above but this kit from 2001/02 season was one that combined some of the “go to” colours for alternative shirts but the combination of kit, especially with the black socks really works for me.

Please let me know you thoughts of Real Madrid’s Adidas kits over this 20 year period, use the comments below or contact me on Twitter, @Kit_Geek

Kit Log – World Cup, USA 1994

Mar 23, 2018Posted in World Cup Kit LogTagged Adidas, Brazil, Football, Football Kits, Kit Geek, Kits, Soccer, USA, world cup2 Comments

With an explosion and colour and design The 1994 World Cup rolled into new territory and into a new market when 15th Tournament headed off to the USA!

For the third time the tournament format remained unchanged which meant between 17th June and 17th July 1994 there were 24 teams taking part, split into six groups of four teams, followed by the knock out stage of competition to give us a total of 52 games to look at.

In terms of kits there was a leap from the 1990 World Cup in terms of designs, almost all kits had some form of added splashes of colour (for example, the Adidas three strips in Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania), design element (seen with Nigeria, South Korea, Morocco) and even the plain kits had elements of water mark contained within the shirt (think Netherlands, Italy, Brazil).

In terms of manufacturers, Adidas again led the way supplying the most teams playing but their number declined from 1990 World Cup where they had 15 countries in their ranks, this time round they had 10 countries. Umbro appear next on the list supplying 4 countries, all from Central and South America, something of surprise with a brand that is historically linked with the Home Nations. Other brands such as Lotto, Diadora, Reebok, Mitre also graced the field but there were significant absentees from the manufacturers that we see today in Puma and Nike, who where to enter the market in big way after this tournament.

We need to talk about Adidas, wow…. in my opinion some of their greatest designs appeared at USA 94 and none more-so than the hosts themselves. USA’s classic “Stars” and “Stripes” kits, which I think should be discussed as a pair, as they were seamlessly interchangeable with their respective shorts and socks, any combination which they took to the pitch just worked beautifully, in their 4 games they used 3 different combinations of kit, a true World Cup classic kit up there with Denmark in 1986 – click here for that tournament’s kit log

Other classic kits seen from Adidas were Nigeria’s second choice kit, a unique design and something that is now the inspiration behind their 2018 World Cup Kit, one of the best we have seen so far this year. Ireland also had unique designs from Adidas and I believe these kits, particularly the away kit being underrated as one of the best away kits Ireland have had, they were also short lived designs with Ireland moving across to Umbro shortly after the conclusion of the World Cup.

Adidas also introduced some template designs which at the time I did not like but have grown on me over the years, particularly Sweden’s away kit and Argentina’s away kit, although when I think of that kit I have an image of Maradona screaming into the camera after scoring (the less said about that the better).

There was some unusual sights in both Quarter-Finals and Semi-Finals, where there games with both teams wearing the “away” strips, Netherlands v Brazil, Romania v Sweden and Sweden v Brazil, a common theme of yellow there but after looking into the reason behind this, there is no clear reason why this choice was made, if anyone has any thoughts or ideas about this please let me know.

Eventual winners, Umbro wearing Brazil wore they home kit 4 times including the final and away 3 times, where they combined the away shirt and socks with home shorts to give us a smart all blue (although slightly different shades blue, ahead of their time?) variation.

The West Germany 1990 shirt theory

Mar 16, 2018Mar 16, 2018Posted in GeneralTagged 1990, Adidas, Football, Football Kits, Kits, West Germany2 Comments

Well I guess timing is everything, whilst writing my Italia 90 post today (see the post here) I was listening to the latest episode of Totally Football Show where resident host James “AC Jimbo” Richardson was discussing the Fabric of Football event that took place over last weekend (9th / 10th March) and mentioned an interesting theory about the West Germany Shirt used at Italia 90….

West Germany’s World Cup performances in the previous tournaments before 1990:

1974 – Winners

1978 – Group Stage

1982 – Runners Up

1986 – Runners Up

1990 – Winners….. (from the expectation by kit designers)

and here is that theory in graphical format…!!

German efficiency and expectation or just coincidence……

Kit Log – World Cup, Italia 90

Mar 16, 2018Mar 16, 2018Posted in World Cup Kit LogTagged 1990, Adidas, Football, Football Kits, Germany, Italy, Kit Geek, Kits, Soccer, umbro, West Germany, world cup2 Comments

Italia 90… the birth of modern football and Adidas Designs start breaking the mould….

The World Cup parade returned to Europe in 1990 with Italy hosting for second time after the 1934 tournament. The 14th World Cup was held between 8th June and 8th July within 12 host cities. the format was the same as previous World Cup in Mexico, see my Kit Log for that edition here – Mexico 1986

So we see 24 teams, taking part in six groups of four teams, followed by knock out rounds giving us again a total of 52 games to look at.

In terms of kits, the 90’s hit us in a big way at this World Cup and in particular Adidas who introduced some very views on the traditional international kits that we seen in previous tournaments, we also saw 19 teams wear both their first and second choice kits through the tournament.

At this point although not in a World Cup I do feel I have to make special mention to Euro 88 and those kits worn by The Netherlands and USSR, take a quick moment to reflect on those shirts…….. and now back into Italia 90!

Adidas, who supplied 15 of 24 teams kits really caught the eye with some outstanding kits and several different templates and styles gracing the pitch. Some more classic templates, think Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium and then some real “modern” designs for USSR, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Colombia, not forgetting of course the eventual Winners West Germany who wore a kit that was then unique and instantly iconic, a kit that often comes into contention when discussing greatest kits of all time.

Another iconic shirt from the tournament was England, who only wore their home kit through out the tournament but thanks to efforts of Paul “Gazza” Gascoigne taking the team to Semi-Finals made this kit a real fans favourite. Umbro reproduced the shirt in 2010 including Gazza’s No.19 on the back (and yes, I do have this version of the shirt).

In that Semi-Final West Germany wore their away kit for only time in the tournament and again it was a classic kit, similar in design to previously mentioned Euro 88 shirts of The Netherlands and USSR and something if reports are to believed will be the basis of the German away kit at Russia 2018.

For me special mentions need to be made to Scotland, with a stunning pair of kits from Umbro, that away kit….. and also the Colombia kits from Adidas, again as mentioned with Germany, these kits are basis of the shirt that will be worn this summer in Russia.