Portugal (Home & Away 2016-17)

Well, I made a quick computation and realized that if I want to cover all the jerseys of the upcoming World Cup (most of which have not even been commerically released yet) AND at least all of EURO 2016 in addition to the previous versions of the World Cup jerseys, I better not delay any further and get cracking! 🙂 Well that and the fact that it is probably better to combine jerseys in the posts as much as is reasonable. So, for the first time I will look at a complete set of a team. I am not sure how I will proceed with the World Cup teams for which I have already covered the home jersey (mostly Adidas), but I guess looking at full sets for the teams seems like a good idea to continue from here on.

Portugal, the somewhat surprise champions of EURO 2016 is next on our list. Well, them winning was not exactly on the same level as Greece ’04 and Denmark ’92, but still not many would have given them much of chance. But then, any team featuring C. Ronaldo would always be a dangerous one (has he meanwhile let go of the trophy?). And the fact that they still managed to beat France on home soil in the final and for the most time without their talismanic striker speaks volumes for the squad. That and a sound albeit destructive tactical plan. Additionally, their kits were among the better ones issued by Nike in 2016. Let’s see the home jersey first:

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The kit is basically the France kit in red – except that things here make whole lot more sense! The red tones chosen are similar to those on the 2014 World Cup kit, but instead of having them fade in and out of each other, here the darker red features on the raglan sleeves. In fact it is achieved by mixing a very dark red with the red from the torso. As an additional accent, we have the back of the collar outlined in green (A national color! How about that France?). And the same green also runs down the sides broken up by mint green pinstripes (more on that tone in a little). Now, the template is still not the greatest, but here it actually does mae some sense and makes for a nice jersey. Yes, the collar outline could run all around the collar and the sleeves could go down a bit lower on the front, but overall, of the big Nike nations this was the best looking one of them. Now for two more unusual features:

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Pictured above we can make out two particular details: on the left the weird looking chest plate design on the authentic version. Well, given some other performance enhancing features on modern soccer jerseys, this one actually is not as bad as it gives the jersey a slightly more aggressive look without being overbearing. On the left the jersey is pictured in full World Cup qualifying get-up. While the sleeve patches are certainly interesting, the big feature is the EURO-winners patch on the center. Not as shiny as the World Cup winners patch, but still standing out. I just wish the winning federation would have more control over the color used on the outline and the patch itself. While it is not a big drawback, the blue does not quite fit that well and green may have been a better choice there. Maybe something to consider.

I said before, of the big Nike nations, this is probably the best one. I even have it in my collection, although obtained at a bargain.

My rating: 7/10 stars.

On to the away kit, which features a rather unusual color for the first time:

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Well, in many ways this is the same shirt in mint green. Yes, mint green! Very unusual color and off the top of my head, I cannot recall any sports team having ever used this color. After a first “ugh” this color however made some sense to me. Green is a national color and for an alternate jersey you need some contrast: enter mint green as possibly the lightest possible green tone without it looking really odd. Given that the shoulders are in a much darker green tone gives this shirt additional contrast and character – even more so than the home jersey. Now, for the accents, I think it would have been a nice touch to use red around the back of the neck and down the sides, potentially even the swoosh. But then, this is a minor issue and the jersey has a certain cohesiveness to it. I even like the dark green numbers as they are very legible and have good contrast. Overall, a decent choice for an unusual away jersey, but it does work. Still, I do like the home jersey better.

My rating: 6/10 stars.

How do you rate these shirts?

Portugal (Away 2013)

As with most European Nike teams, Portugal also got a slight makeover for 2013 (In all honesty I find it an annoying practice to present a new national team shirt every year). From the white away kit in 2012, we switch to all-black while maintaining the basic design.

So, we have a black jersey with gray accents. The collar is gray as is the bold cross across the entire front side. The bottom left (from the player’s perspective) is in a slightly darker gray tone in order to mirror the color switch on the previous away jersey which had a similar design, but was more colorful. Due to the fact that each arm of the cross is made of two parallel stripes, the entire jersey looks a bit like the sail of a big ship. This was obviously intended, given Portugal’s history as a major seafaring nation. The crest is nicely positioned as is the swoosh. The placing of the number below the swoosh however, is a bit awkward. I understand that breaking the cross is not desired, but it seems the number is squeezed onto the jersey, I am honestly not sure if there was a better option for placing the jersey? Maybe if the swoosh was placed on the arms and the number moved up to match the crest, it would look better, but Nike obviously wouldn’t like it. This is one of the few cases, where a blank jersey (without the number) definitely looks better.

The back is all black with the name applied in white. I also like the font for the number, but in this case, the many holes in the number make it particularly hard to read (especially on the front). Just apply it in all white!

I think that as a standalone this is a great shirt, although the big cross is not everyone’s taste. However, with this shirt being rather monochrome, it is not as much in your face as the previous version. Frankly, this can be good or bad: I think the previous version looked gloriously aggressive, with this one a bit more subdued, but also more on the “classy” side. I wish the number on the front could be just left off. I also question the choice of the black jersey, since the all-red jersey is already kind of dark. It does of course contrast with it, but not as much as the white one. Lastly, the numbers should be a lot more visible. Gray numbers on a black shirt don’t cut it!

My rating: 7/1o stars.

How do you rate this shirt?

FC Porto (Home 2012/13)

Let’s go to yet another country and have a look at Portugal’s power house team FC Porto. As such, Porto has a very recognizable uniform: white-blue striped shirt (I like the version with a white central stripe and two bold blue stripes), blue shorts and socks. The striping changes from season to season, so we always get something new to look at.

It seems for this season, Nike ran out of ideas and tried a somewhat new look. The current home shirt follows the Ajax pattern with a blue shirt that has a bold white center stripe In somewhat of a break with the Ajax style, though, the sleeves are also white. To me this makes the whole shirt a bit unbalanced with the shirt having too little blue. It is also an unusual style for Porto. I also find the dark blue collar and sleeve trims a bit out of place, but they do at least tie in with the sponsor.

Seemingly to make up for the missing blue on the front, the back features an all blue shield for names, numbers and (unfortunately) another sponsor. Given the bold white stripe on the front this seems unnecessary and using another color for the font (in ’87 the numbers were in red) it could easily be accomplished. I don’t mind though that name and numbers are printed in white that much – after all it preserves the club’s colors. On the other side, I totally dislike the font used. It looks too squeezed, with angles where we should see curves and vice versa.

I am sorry, but this is another blunder. I did like the Porto shirts of previous seasons much better than this one. Well, at least we don’t have to see this shirt in the Champions League anymore …

My rating: 4/10 stars.

How do you rate this shirt?