Manchester United (Away 2013/14)

Well, I was a bit too optimistic about ManU’s prospects when I wrote about their home jersey. Well, at least in the Champions League the team is rather unscathed and has a manageable opponent in Olympiacos. So, while the Premier League crown is well out of reach, the team is still alive in Europe. That should also give us a few more opportunities to see them play in their current away jersey, which also should feature among the more interesting ones this season:

At first, I want to note that United returns to blue/black away jersey which it has done so in past seasons. However, none of the jerseys had such a striking design. It definitely is a continuation of last season’s awful home jersey (you know the one with the gingham pattern), but it may surprise you to say that I like this version a lot better. First of all, the pattern is much wider and second of all, due to the black and blue being rather similar in shade it is not as much in your face. The pattern is seemingly a tartan pattern trying to honor former coach Alex Ferguson. What sets the jersey actually apart are the white application of sponsor, swoosh and crest. Usually, I am not a fan of monochromatic team crests, but in this case it is the better solution.

On the back of the jersey – below the round collar – we can find the now mandatory devil (in white). Names and numbers are applied in white on the same tartan pattern as on the front. In fact the tartan pattern is all over the jersey with the exception of the collar. While I like the Premier League font a lot, the one used in the Champions League is rather odd and angular looking. I think the Premier League does an outstanding job in mandating their font on all jerseys. It really looks simple and great. On the other side, I am tired of manufacturers coming up with ever more odd looking fonts for their latest marquee teams.

Concluding, this is a very interesting and bold jersey. Still, it does not look a lot like a soccer jersey. So while the execution of this one is miles ahead of last years home jersey, I still think this pattern is better kept for “regular” clothing such as flannel shirts.

My rating: 6/10 stars.

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The Netherlands (Away 2013)

Come 2013, Nike decided it is time for a different away jersey. Although, the term away jersey is quite inaccurate since Holland so far has only worn it at home against Italy and Romania (don’t get me started on that choice). It was a return to the white jersey with red and blue accents or in other words trying to incorporate the Dutch flag onto the jersey. This has been very successfully done in 2006 and somewhat less so in 2010. Both times the shirt was worn with blue shorts. This time around we have an all-white outfit.

The 2013 design takes the 2012 home jersey and converts it into white. The top trapezoid is in red, the bottom one in (royal) blue (given the latest French jerseys, I thought Nike has completely forgotten about that color). Given that the Dutch flag is red-white-blue, this is a nice touch. While red gets the better exposure since it houses the crest, blue is a bit more prominent, with the swoosh and the nicely centered number also being blue.

The back is plain white with name and number being applied in blue. The font for the number indeed looks most awkward for 6, 7, and 9 (as shown below).

Colorwise, this is a great jersey, but it is not quite as good as the 2006 away jersey (yes, the one from the Battle of Nuremberg). Actually with the two trapezoids not in any way overlapping it actually looks odd. I understand that consistency with the home shirt was the aim, but it doesn’t lend itself well to this three color design – I am sorry. While it has no effect on my rating, I do wish that we see a return to white with orange accents sometime soon. If you want, you can even throw in a little bit of blue. Having said that, I generally liked the colors of the Dutch flag being displayed on a white jersey.

My rating: 7/10 stars.

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