SSC Napoli (Away 2014/15)

Napoli is having a good season again. They are probably a bit too far off the pace in Serie A, but not since the times of Diego Maradona have they reached a European semifinal – and that after the disappointment of failing to qualify for the Champions League. I am sure that the fans were rather jubilous after drawing FC Dnipro as the opponent for their semifinal clash and equally disappointed when the team only managed a 1-1 draw at home. No disrespect to FC Dnipro, but I still fancy Napoli’s chances. I only wish they would go back playing in their current home jersey rather than the away jersey that we will look at now:

The jersey actually comes in two versions: one as the Serie A away jersey (shown on the left) and the slightly more garish European away jersey. I will focus on the latter in this post. I guess the first thing anyone will notice is that this is another denim jersey and another pay with non-soccer fabric after last years camouflage and extreme camouflage jerseys. Well, I referenced Napoli so often in the denim Marseille post, that Napoli seemingly got a denim jersey of their own. Well, this one has a classic jeans-shirt look thanks to the dress collar. Also, the seams are kept to a necessary minimum. There are a few light blue accents to remind us of the club’s colors, namely on the opening of the collar and the sleeve trims (and the Macron logo on the Serie A version). As last year, the main sponsor is pushed quite high up and is figured in an unsightly red shield. That moves the supplier’s logo and the crest (as well as the Coppa Italia shield) quite high up – way above the chest and more onto the shoulders. I wish they finally would get it right. It all makes more sense on the Serie A version as the jersey features one more sponsor. Now, to the crazy: on the European jersey the supplier’s logo as well as the Macron logos on the sleeves and the circular frame around the crest are in a birght green tone (light blue on the Serie A version). Yes, you got me! Bright green! What has this color to do with Napoli?

The name and the numbers are also in this near impossible green tone as is a tiny SSC Napoli wordmark just below the collar. In addition the lettering style is quite odd upon closer inspection with two horizontal breaks. This makes one almost forget about the blue trim to the bottom of the back. Needless to say that all these green features are in a more reasonable light blue on the “regular” Serie A away jersey.

The jeans shirt does not look too bad. But the green puts it over the top! Yes, it is striking and you won’t forget it and maybe that is what Macron and Napoli want. I find it slightly distasteful and just not fitting. Neither with the jersey nor the club. And this way, you have an example how lettering and accents can ruin an otherwise nice looking shirt.

My rating: 4/10 stars.

How do you rate this shirt?