I will leave the Chelsea third jersey for a later point and go on with the Champions League. Incidentally, it will again be an Adidas jersey and again an Adidas team is favored to exit at the first knockout stage. However, this is not the Leverkusen side that had no chance against Barcelona or PSG. No, the new look Leverkusen took the bull by its horns and etched out a slim 1-0 win over Spanish champions Atletico Madrid. So, it may well be that “Neverkusen” may advance for the first time since 2002 to the next round. And we all know where that journey took them 15 years ago. So, that tie promises to be an exciting one in Madrid.
With the new home jersey, Bayer keeps up with a new tradition, by (a) relegating the previous home jersey to away jersey status and (b) switching back to red from black. I guess with a team that despite its age is still seen as a team with little soul and/or tradition you can do that. I still liked it better when both od the club’s colors were present. But then, if I had the choice, red is more like a Leverkusen shirt to me than black. Well, red it is for this season with a few black accents. The shirt may not have a color gradient, but features vertical bands in a slihtly darker red tone on the front. The collar is V-neck with a black outline which is also featured on the sleeve trims, the three stripes and the arm patches. Curiously, the Adidas logo is also black while the sponsor is white, which is also a predominant color around the crest.
The back continues the black/white dichotomy as an accent color with all “design” elements being black, while the applications, names and numbers are in white. The black arc runs just below a “Werkself” wordmark referring to the popular nickname of the team. The font used on the back is very legible and bold. Once again a simple font prevails.
This jersey is an improvement over last season, but it still needs me wanting in terms of pizzazz. The striping pattern would look better as red/black version, while the black outlines on the collar are a tad too thin. I understand it is part of the template, but still a bolder outline on the collar would have looked better. Of course, the black Adidas logo should have been white. Overall, the shirt neither disappoints nor excites me – a trademark of Leverkusen jerseys.
My rating: 7/10 stars.
How do you rate this shirt?
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