On Wednesday 13th December, the Group Stages of the Champions League wrapped up for the final time, with 32 teams becoming 16 for the Knock Out Stages starting in February.
The format of the competition is changing from next season will see the removal of the group stages as we know them.
In true Kit Geek style I wanted to take a look at the kits worn by the 32 teams competing in these group stages.
Overall Kit Stats:
- 90 Kits worn in Group Stages – 96 games
- 38 Home Kits (27 first choice / 11 variations)
- 22 Away Kits (19 first choice / 3 variations)
- 21 3rd Kits (18 first choice / 3 variations)
- 9 “Cup” / 4th Kits (7 first choce / 2 variations)
Group A
- 11 Kits worn in the Group
- Manchester United the only team to use Home, Away and 3rd Kits, with 2 Home variations used 4 variations in total (joint highest in Group Stages)
- Bayern Munich and FC Copenhagen in just Home and Away Kits
- Galatasaray in two variations of Home Kit (one with Alternative Shorts)
- Most worn Kits in the Group Galatasaray Home and Bayern Munich Away – 4
Group B
- 11 Kits worn in the Group
- No team wore Home, Away and 3rd kits, just two kits with some variations!
- All teams wore alternative white socks when playing at Sevilla, all the only alternative worn by that team
- All teams wore change kits in away games
- Most worn Kit was all Home Kits (Cup Kit for RC Lens) and Sevilla 3rd Kit – 3
Group C
- 10 Kits worn in the Group
- No Team wore Home, Away and 3rd Kits
- Two Home Kit Variations worn, Napoli and SC Braga with Alternative Shorts
- Real Madrid in 3rd Kit in all Away games
- Most worn Kit, All Home Kits and Real Madrid Away, Union Berlin Cup Kit
Group D
- 12 Kits worn in the group
- Inter Milan and Real Sociedad in Home, Away, 3rd Kits
- RB Salzburg in Home Kit for just one game, wearing Cup Kit 5 times in 2 variations
- Real Sociedad only team to play in change kits in all away games
- Most worn kit in the group, Inter Milan Home – 4
Group E
- 12 Kits worn in the group
- Celtic and Atletico Madrid only teams to wear 3 different kits, Celtic (H, A, 3rd) and Atletico (H, 3rd, Special)
- Atletico Madrid in Special Kit against Celtic
- Celtic wore plain teamwear socks with Home Kit (x3) and Away Kit (x1) meaning 4 different kit variations used (joint highest in Group Stages)
- Most worn kit in the group, Lazio Home – 5
Group F
- 11 Kits worn in the Group
- PSG and AC Milan used Home, Away and 3rd Kits
- Borussia Dortmund in just Cup Kit in all group games, using alternative yellow shorts in all away games
- Newcastle United in alternative white shorts in 3 games, including one home game and only used change kit once
- Most worn kits in group, PSG Home, Borussia Dortmund Cup kit (both variations), AC Milan Home, Newcastle United Home with white shorts – 3
Group G
- 9 kits worn in the group (lowest in Group Stages)
- BSC Young Boys in Home Kit in all games, only team to do so in Group Stages
- RB Leipzig only team to wear Home, Away and 3rd Kits
- Red Stat Belgrade in 2 variations of Home Kit, Red shorts and socks (4), White shorts and socks (1)
- Most worn kit in Group, BSC Young Boys Home – 6
Group H
- 14 Kits worn in the group (Highest in Group Stages)
- FC Barcelona only team in Group Stages to wear Home, Away, 3rd and 4th Kits, a different change kit in every away game
- Shakhtar Donetsk in Home, Away and 3rd Kits
- FC Porto in 4 different kit variations (joint highest in Group Stages)
- Most worn kit in the Group, Shakhtar Donesk Home Kit – 4
Matchday Breakdowns:
Match Day 1
Match Day 2
Match Day 3
Match Day 4
Match Day 5
Match Day 6
Kit Highlights:
Looking at some of my favourite Kit highlights of the Group Stages.
In Group B, Sevilla’s default look with black socks with their white home kit meant that each of the teams visiting The Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán Stadium wore alternative white socks with their change kit!
When Atletico Madrid visited Celtic, they wore a Special All Red Shirt with Home Shorts and Socks. It is the same as the special kit from the 2021-22 season, with a different sponsor and without the 75th-anniversary logo. The red also means Atletico pay homage to the red kit worn in the famous battle away against Celtic 50 years ago.
When Manchester United visited Galatasaray, they wore their 3rd kit with alternative red shorts… this gave us a unique look of White / Red / White for The Red Devils, Red shorts not being used since 1956/57 season when an all red look was used by Sir Matt Busby – Details about this can be found on Museum of Jerserys here
FC Barcelona used four distinct kits within the Group Stages, using a different change kit in each of their away games, this included their 4th Kit (Senyera Kit) which has been used by the club since 2022/23 Season.
The only team in the Group Stages to wear just one kit (with one variation) was BSC Young Boys, their home kit being worn in all six group games.
There we have it, my round up of this season’s and the final ever (?) Champions League Group Stages, let me know you favourite kits, kit highlights and kit match ups in the comments below or over at @Kit_Geek
Football Kit Geek - @Kit_Geek 