You know that earlier this year I decided to restart this blog and put a focus on national teams. Given that the World Cup was about to be upon us, that was a very easy decision for me. And now with the Nations League and my time restrictions it is still a challenge to post regularly. Therefore, it is unlikely that I will go back to club jerseys any time soon. However, today is my birthday and for that reason I want to do something special. After all the Austria extravaganza yesterday, I just cannot go back to normal “programming”. For that reason, I went back to my jersey review videos for 2018-19 (links are below) and decided to post here all my favorite shirts of the European Club season. No long description, just the shirts and a short sentence. 🙂
Before we start, I run through the leagues/competitions in the order I covered them on my YouTube channel. To see my quick thoughts on each shirt simply click on it.
Let’s start in England in the Premier League:
AFC Bournemouth Home: Bold design, subtle use of gold and a sponsor the ties nicely to the color scheme
Chelsea FC Home: A fresh new design on the classic blue kit
FC Everton Home: simple, yet very classic look.
FC Liverpool Home: A classic look for a classic team
Manchester City Away: Probably my favorite Premier League jersey this year. I love the alternating pinstripes
Manchester United Third: best example for this Adidas template and a great job aligning the colors of the sponsor with the logos on the jersey
Tottenham Hotspur FC Home: I just love the navy accents on the white shirt. Even the gradient looks great!
For a full description of these and (most of) the other Premier League jerseys, watch my jersey review videos:
Now, next up is the league of the World Cup winners France:
Girondins de Bordeaux Third: wonderfl alternate look.
Caen Home: Nice re-interpretation of PSG 93-94 and Barcelona 17-18
Olympique Marseille Away: great use of light blue accents on a black shirt
OGC Nice Home: If Macron would make a Milan jersey it would look like this. Classic, classy, superb!
Nimes full set: I just love how the dragon from the crest is featured on the bottom of the shirt.
Stade Rennais Away: I love the pattern on the bottom on the jersey and the subtle red/black accents.
AS St. Etienne Away: Super nice look! Making the very best out of this classy template.
Toulouse Away: Even the many sponsors (all in one color) cannot distract from the modern look of this jersey.
Again, you can see full comments on these and all the other Ligue 1 jerseys in this playlist:
By now, you should know that Serie A is my favorite league and there are sooo many great shirts this season:
Atalanta Bergamo Home: Just a classic look!
US Cagliari Home: I love te half/half look and the colors. Also the sponsors tie in with the crest
FC Internazionale Away: Simple at first, but I love the half/half collar and the subtle snake skin pattern all over.
SS Lazio Home: Perfect Lazio look! They should wear this forever!
AC Milan Home: Puma issues a classic Milan shirt and eases my nerves about the supplier switch.
FC Parma Home: Yellow, blue, hoops! How great is that shirt?
AS Roma Home: Did you notice the chainmail pattern on this shirt? Roman legionnaires for sure!
US Sampdoria Away: What a clever way to incorporate the classic pattern on a super classy shirt.
US Sassuolo Away: Alternating pinstripes for the win!
Udinese Calcio Home: Nice way to add a touch of gold that ties in nicely with the crest.
That was just a small sampling. Watch all Serie A shirts in these videos:
Quick, let’s look at a few La Liga jerseys:
Real Betis Balompie Home: Super nice looking shirt!
Atletic Bilbao Home: Interesting reinterpretation of a classic shirt
Celta de Vigo Home: Only very subtle Adidas branding to make a great shirt.
RCD Espanyol Home: All shirts look great, but the home jersey paired with that sponsor is a beauty!
Girona Home: Diagonal striping? Unusual, but very much in tone with the crest!
UD Levante Home: The best Barcelna shirt of the past 5 years?
Real Madrid Home: Happy to have the black accents back and I love the neckline!
Real Sociedad Home: Macron delivers another really nice kit.
Real Valladolid Home: I love how the sponsor is made to fit in the clor scheme.
Even more jerseys right here:
So, here are my favorite Bundesliga jerseys this year:
Bayer 04 Leverkusen Away: Alternating diagonal pinstripes in reference to the 1988 UEFA Cup winning kit.
Borussia Dortmund Home: I love the black sleeves broken up by yello bands.
Mainz 05 Home: Simple, yet effective with two-tone red hoops.
Borussia M’Gladbach Third: Beautiful green shirt with nice texture.
VfB Stuttgart Third: All Stuttgart jerseys this season are great, but this one is probably the best!
SV Werder Bremen Third: Classic Werder look and I love the diamonds radiating from the crest.
Of course, I reviewed also all the Bundesliga jerseys:
Now, let’s go tho the Champions League and look at a few jerseys from teams not in the big 5 leagues.
AEK Third: Simple and classy!
AFC Ajax Home: You cannot mess with greatness and Adidas surely didn’t.
SL Benfica Home: Still this is a very modern yet classy interpretation of a classic strip.
Crvena Zvezda Third: Very smart away jersey using a dark blue base and still showcasing the club’s colors.
Galatasaray SK Away: I love how the half-half look from the home jersey is used here in the accents.
FC Porto Third: a very playful, yet beatiful shirt!
The full set of Champions League jerseys are critiqued in these videos:
And finally, let’s get a tad more exotic with the jerseys from the Europa League. Here are my favorites:
Celtic FC Away: tartan pattern and celtic cross, what’s not to like!
SK Slavia Home: iconic and beautiful
Fenerbahce SK Home: A nice Adidas version of a great kit.
Sporting CP Home: Macron delivers again.
Apollon Limassol Away: I love the texture on the shirt and the choice of colors! I look at it and imagine the sea!
Dynamo Kiev Away: Simple and wonderful like a classic jersey should be.
PAOK Home: Everything in black and white making for a very unified and solid look. Also, I love the collar!
And here I tried critique all Europa League jerseys:
Well, I hope you enjoyed this slightly different post. Let me know what are your favorite club jerseys this season and how you would rate the jerseys above.
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.
Back to Germany and to the BayArena. With two rather dark “regular” jerseys (well both have served as the home shirts over the past two seasons) it is no wonder that Leverkusen is also in need for a light jersey. So, a white jersey was also issued, which was actually used in the Champions League away to Shakhtar Donetsk.
This jersey is white with yellow pinstripes, a dark green V-neck collar and shoulder stripes in the same color. The same color is also used for the Adidas logo and a monochromatic club crest. Or should I say the green is only used as an outline. While seemingly a classic design, the colors are an enigma to me. If red and black were used, I could see it, but neither yellow or green have anything to do with the Werkself. Well, these colors can be found on Bayer’s Aspirin pills, but … really? To make things worse, the sponsor adds to color palette: black and pink. However, I like the charity version (worn in the Bundesliga) better: Ein Herz für Kinder (a heart for children). This makes at least for some heart-warming message.
I have no good picture of the back, but it very much looks like the front with names and numbers applied in dark green in the same style as the other Bayer Leverkusen jerseys. At least the jersey stays within its own color scheme.
All charity aside, the jersey is awful. It may win some points in Wisconsin, but not anywhere else.
This is quite an odd two-for-one post and in a way a radical idea. The current Bayer Leverkusen away jersey was last season’s home jersey! *head scratch* While we already have seen that away jerseys get demoted to third jerseys this is a new trend. It is surprising in the sense, that a home jersey generally embodies a club’s colors, while the away jersey should just be a (often non-standard) contrast to that jersey. In any case, Leverkusen has been toying with red and black jerseys over the past few years, so it is maybe not that surprising, after all. Let’s have a look:
To the left, we have the 2012/13 home jersey, to the left the current away jersey. They are the same except for the sponsor. The jersey is probably one of the best Leverkusen jersey in years. It is a red jersey with black pinstripes, a black V-neck collar and the three shoulder stripes also in black. The sleeves do not have pinstripes (slightly regrettable), but there is a thin black stripe towards the end. Adidas logo on the right and the club’s crest are well placed as is the sponsor. I generally don’t like if a sponsor is applied in a box like in the 12/13 home jersey, but not only does it in this case fit with the color scheme, the box also extends from pinstripe to pinstripe and therefore does not look awkward. The current sponsor is a bit more in your face, but also fits well on the jersey.
The back is like the front with white names and numbers in a very legible and nice font. Just below the collar is also a small “Werkself” imprint.
The jersey, is quite nice looking although for some reason it does not give me the same excitement as other red/black jerseys. It is probably due to the fact that Leverkusen – despite being a quite successful team of late – does leave me somewhat emotionless.
For more than two decades Bayer Leverkusen is one of Germany’s most consistent clubs thanks to the financial muscle that pharma giant Bayer provides. This is much to the dismay of rivals 1.FC Köln who do have a much larger fan-base in the area and Germany in general (given that Cologne is the fourth largest city in Germany). But the club also has the dubious honors of being a strong team that cannot clinch the title. And despite one German Cup and one UEFA Cup win, the team has been invariably called Vizekusen or Neverkusen. The highlight in that regard was surely the 2001/02 season when the team finished as runner-up in the Bundesliga, the German Cup and the Champions League (in addition many players from that squad also came in second at the 2002 World Cup).
While the Werkself has traditionally played in red jerseys with black accents, this has been reversed lately and this season the team plays in all-black. Although there is a red round collar and red piping around the arms (looks strange to say the least) it seems that white is at least as prominent since the three Adidas stripes as well as the Adidas logo are all applied in white. Also, while logo and sponsors are well placed, the pink color of the main sponsor provides maybe too much additional color.
On the back the shirt remains plain with names and numbers applied in white. The font used is a typical bold sans-serif Adidas font – very legible and no frills.
To me this shirt displays too little red to be an appropriate Leverkusen jersey. While the all-black jersey is not a bad idea in itself, I wish that the three stripes were also red to give the team more identity instead of fiddling with the club’s colors. Frankly, the red piping on the front is weird and otherwise the jersey feels like the Werkself does to many fans – ambivalent. For that reason, no high score here.
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