Argentina (Away 2018)

Well, there are two South American teams at this year’s World Cup that have not updated their away jersey since the 2015 Copa America. Hence, two posts covering only one shirt. Let’s get them out of the way. Quick!

What shirt am I looking forward the most ahead of each World Cup? Well, there are actually three: Italy and the Netherlands home and Argentina away – probably my favorite jerseys of all time. With two of these not even present in Russia, I was left only with Argentina who had recently issued a great away jersey to make up for the disaster in 2014 (side note: while I really hoped Argentina will win the final in Rio. part of me was relieved when they didn’t as that jersey would surely have been the worst looking World Cup winning jersey). So, hopes were high for an improved version, but unfortunately when I read about the proposed color scheme, disappointment set in. But given yesterday’s performance in Spain, the colors are fitting:

It is all black! Don’t get me wrong, I like to wear black, but this is underwhelming and boring. Yes, it makes sense given that the home kit has black shorts and we won’t have to endure non-matching kits this way, but how about custom-made pants? You may argue that I make a big deal out of this since the dark blue and the black are very similar, but I argue that the blue has not only a special shine to it, it also enhances the colors of the Argentinian flag quite nicely. Black does not do that! And, to add insult to injury, they took inspiration from one of the nicest shirts in Argentina’s away jersey history, but neither match the colors nor make a good-looking modern version of it. It is just an adapted version of the Colombia home design that lacks the vibrancy. In fact having the black fade into the light blue and white makes for one hell of a dirty flag. Disappointing! Well, at least all other applications are put nicely, so it is not a total disaster.

OK, big breather here! You can clearly tell that I am hurting over this one. Again, black is OK, but I really think (dark) blue is a better look for Argentina. The shirt is not very offensive design-wise, but rather boring and lacking punch. As I already said in the Colombia home post, this design tries to do too much: making a historic reference and fit the kit police. Having the black break the flags makes it even less interesting and feeble. If you want to make it black, do it Carlos Roa style! That could have been a great black away shirt, but I still would have bitched and moaned about it. I try not to make my disappointment cloud my judgement too much here, but I hope this shirt will immediately be retired after getting blown out in Spain in these colors.

My rating: 4/10 stars.

How would you rate this jersey