Five Best Shirts Since 2006

Here is one observer’s opinion of the five best shirts in world football over the last dozen years.

• Angola 2006 home

In 2006, the Southern African nation of Angola qualified for their first ever World Cup. Following a devastating 27 year Civil War that finally ended in 2002, the World Cup would be a chance for Angola to show a revitalized face to the world. Although the Sable Antelopes would bow out in the group stages following a loss to Portugal and creditable draws with Mexico and Iran, shirt sponsors Puma provided the Angolans with one of the best jerseys of the tournament in the shape of their home kit. The majority red strip featured horizontal bands of black and yellow, which along with the red represented the colors of the nation’s flag.

• Croatia 2016 home

Ever since the tiny Balkan nation Croatia became independent in 1991, their national team has become renowned for fielding some of the most talented players in Europe, including Zvonimir Boban, Robert Prosinecki and more recently Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic. However, the Croatians have also stood out amongst admirers of football kit fashion for their consistently excellent home strips. The Croatia home kits stand out for their employment of a white and red checkerboard pattern, a national emblem in the country that is believed to represent the ancient “red” and “white” regions of the state. The Nike designed strip for the 2016 Euro aligned the checkerboard pattern in “modulating angles”, designed to evoke a “fun house mirror” effect, adding a further wrinkle to one of the most striking kits in all of football.

• Inter Milan 2007/2008 Away Kit

Designed specially to celebrate the Nerazzuri’s centenary, this Nike strip stood out for the large red cross on the front of the otherwise white jersey, a reference to the coat of arms of the city of Milan. Refreshingly in the context of modern football shirt sponsorship, main shirt sponsor Pirelli’s logo was not present in the center of the shirt, but rather just below the club crest on the left breast, thus making the red cross even more prominent. However, the red cross brought about a surprising criticism from Tukish lawyer Baris Kaska, who claimed it evoked the symbol of the Templar Knights following a 3-0 Inter home win against Fenerbahce in the Champions League group stage. In spite of the apparently baseless assertions that the red cross was a racist anti-Islamic symbol, Inter went on to win the Serie A title that season with a team including the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Javier Zanetti.

• Puma Africa Unity Kit 2010-11

Released in the lead up to the 2010 World Cup, Puma’s Africa Unity kit became the third jersey for all of the brand’s African national teams, which included four of the five African nations due to participate in South Africa 2010. The shirt’s creative design attempted to serve as a representation for African togetherness. The shirt features a mostly sky blue color at the shoulders, fading into brown just above the waist, representing the connection between soil and sky. The brown color on the shirt was created by combining real soil samples from Ghana, Ivory Coast, South Africa and Cameroon. Furthermore, the yellow detailing visible on the numbers and puma symbol represent the African sun.

In addition to the larger meaning behind the design of the shirt, profits from sales of the kit contributed to the company’s “Play for Life” initiative, which looked to raise awareness for habitat and species conservation on the continent. Unfortunately, such a visually pleasing and meaningful jersey was only used in a handful of friendly matches, and never appeared at the first African World Cup.

• Peru Third Kit 2018 World Cup

The story behind the design of this Umbro Kit, released in mid-April 2018, ensures its place among the best shirts in history. Peru’s home (white base with diagonal red sash) and away (red base with white sash) are two of the most iconic and elegant jerseys in soccer. However, with Russia 2018 representing the Incas’ first World Cup qualification in 36 years, team sponsor Cerveza Cristal created a campaign, “El Rojo de Todos” (Everybody’s Red), for the new third jersey that will amplify the traditional design’s mystique. Cristal’s campaign, launched in March of 2018, aimed to create a unique red color for Peru’s third kit. The manner in which this red color was created is what makes this kit stand out. Cristal set up collection centers in five cities in Peru for citizens to come in and give a drop of blood. Additionally, Peruvians had the opportunity to take a flash photo of their forearms and send it via whatsapp, where the red color that the flash showed was compiled along with the other photos and blood drops collected to make a distinct shade of red for the shirt. Unfortunately, the limited edition (only 4,000 were made) status of the kit means that this stunning design will not be seen on the fields of Russia. If I ever have enough money to own my own professional team, my first decision as owner will be to change the team’s primary jersey color to red and copy Cristal’s campaign.