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2018 World Cup kit-tracker – Groups E and F

21 Thursday Jun 2018

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Costa Rica 0 Serbia 1

2018-World-Cup-Group-E-Costa-Rica-Serbia-01

Group E is the only one not to feature any team with adidas kits. Costa Rica wear New Balance and it’s a tidy design, with narrow tonal stripes across the front representing DNA.

Serbia were a late addition to the Puma stable, meaning they are wearing modified teamwear rather rather than a fully bespoke kit, but it’s still a nice offering, albeit with a mash of different shades of red.

Brazil 1 Switzerland 1

2018-World-Cup-Group-E-Brazil-Switzerland-01

Having worn white shorts so much at the last World Cup, it was good to see Brazil back in their traditional look, with the shorts a slightly lighter shade of blue than recent years. Incidentally, their goalkeeper Alisson Becker had no pattern on his sleeves, while Brazil’s frontal numbers are central, unlike the other Nike countries.

Switzerland’s shirts feature a topographical map of the country. Referee César Arturo Ramos of Mexico opted to wear long sleeves.

Germany 0 Mexico 1

2018-World-Cup-Group-F-Germany-Mexico-01

In contrast to Group E, four the Group F residents wear adidas and this was another game where, mercifully, both teams could wear their first-choice outfits.

Germany’s kit references the victorious 1990 strip, with stripes of three varying widths giving a grey effect. Perhaps fittingly, the champions patches began to peel off the German shirts during this game.

Mexico’s look also harked back to adidas days of old, though to a 1993-94 design they hadn’t themselves worn (they were Umbro at the time).

Sweden 1 Korea Republic 0

2018-World-Cup-Group-F-Sweden-South-Korea-01

Sweden’s smart kit has a very faint pattern featuring the diagonal parallelograms which were ubiquitous on adidas shirts in the 1980s. Their goalkeeper Robin Olsen wore the same colour-scheme as Mexico’s Guillermo Ochoa, though with different colour neck, arm panels, shorts and socks.

According to Nike, Korea Republic’s away kit recognises the country’s global contributions. Preventing a nuclear war between the USA and North Korea until their leaders met is worthy of acknowledgement.

 

2018 World Cup kit-tracker

16 Saturday Jun 2018

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Portugal 3 Spain 3

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The first draw of the tournament was a cracking game, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring a hat-trick for Portugal, the equaliser a free kick late on.

They were in their home kit, which retained the red shorts and green socks from their successful Euro 2016 campaign. Goalkeeper Rui Patricio was in a black kit, but the sleeve pattern looked to be a cut-off long-sleeved version rather than the short-sleeved version which Saudi netminder Abdullah Al-Mayouf had.

Spain’s shirts were described as ‘halo blue’ by adidas but looked like washed-out white in practice. The pattern takes it cues from that used by the Netherlands at Euro 88. Like the rest of the adidas nations, their match inscription was in English whereas Portugal’s was in Portuguese.

Morocco 0 Iran 1

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A late own goal saw Iran take victory. As well as their crest, the Asian side had a small circular cheetah logo beneath the necks of their shirts – previously, this had featured as an imprint but this kit was catalogue teamwear.

In fact, their white adidas Tabela template was an reverse of Morocco’s – the north African country’s kit release had been delayed so as not to give much time to counterfeiters to produce their versions.

It was the third game in a row for the blue Adipro goalkeeper shirt to feel, accompanied by its orange colleague.

Egypt 0 Uruguay 1

2018-World-Cup-Group-A-Egypt-Uruguay-01

You are Fifa, and you have a black-sock clash to deal with. Do you tell Egypt to change to red-white-white or red-white-red, or get Uruguay to wear sky blue-black-sky blue? Do you fuck.

You summon the spirit of 1990 and make Uruguay wear white against red opponents, but that creates a shorts-clash so Egypt have to don their away set.

Oh, and the white text under the World Cup logo doesn’t show up great on a yellow referee’s shirt.

Russia 5 Saudi Arabia 0

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The hosts began on a great note, recording the biggest win in an opening game.

Like so many other adidas teams, they have been given retro stylings, though oddly the design it references was only used by the USSR at the 1988 Olympics. Blue doesn’t feature on the shirt or shorts but is relatively prominent on the socks, helping to create a Russian flag effect. The team’s shirts also featured a small inscription with game details between the adidas logo and crest.

Saudi Arabia’s home kit is all-white so there was a shorts-clash to solve but, rather than wearing white-green-white, they wore their entire change kit, despite the fact that Fifa have been reluctant to allow red shirts v green shirts in the past.

When the away shirt was launched, the ‘KSA’ below the crest was in white, but now it’s dark green. The plainness and the simple number font give it something of an ‘unlicensed team from Pro Evo‘ look.

Both goalkeepers wore their respective kit-makers’ primary templates.

1990 World Cup – all of the kits worn

12 Tuesday Jun 2018

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  • You’ll notice we have the word ‘worn’ in the title – change kits which didn’t get game-time aren’t included. That’s preferable to including some and then missing others we mightn’t be aware of
  • The labelling we’ve used is ‘Primary’ for the country’s first-choice kit and ‘Change’ for the second shirt; ‘Alternative’ is a kit which has different shorts or socks to the accepted make-up of a kit
  • For more information about each kit and when it was worn, see the following: Group A, Group B, Group C, Group D, Group E, Group F, Knockout Stages
  • Oh, and we did something similar for the 1970 World Cup

Austria

Argentina

Belgium

Brazil

Cameroon

Colombia

Costa Rica

Czechoslovakia

Egypt

England

Italy

Netherlands

Republic of Ireland

Romania

Scotland

South Korea

Spain

Sweden

USSR

UAE

USA

Primary
Alternative
Goalkeeper

Uruguay

West Germany

Yugoslavia

Match Officials

1990 World Cup kit-tracker – knockout stage

11 Monday Jun 2018

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Second round

Cameroon 2 Colombia 1 (aet)

1990-World-Cup-second-round-Cameroon-Colombia-01

A game remembered for Roger Milla’s goal as he dispossessed René Higuita, who had gone on an ill-advised dribble up the field. Higuita had clearly been impressed by the blue jersey Bodo Illgner wore against Colombia, as he was in a grey version.

His team-mates wore their yellow away shirts (Colobmbia wouldn’t change their home colours from red until 1992), which had different blue shorts to the home kit.

Their yellow socks meant Cameroon changed to green sets – even though there hadn’t been a problem with the Indomitable Lions against yellow-blue-red when they met Romania. Nor was the amount of green on Thomas N’Kono’s shirt considered a problem.

Costa Rica 1 Czechoslovakia 4

1990-World-Cup-second-round-Costa-Rica-Czechoslovakia-01

Tomáš Skuhravý scored a hat-trick for the Czechs, who wore their home socks with their change shirts.

Costa Rica wore a different red shirt to that of the group stages, with a red collar and a Lotto logo watermark. Having contravened the rules on logoless socks earlier, they wore the plain white away set here.

Meanwhile, having been there, done that and worn the three shirts, goalkeeper Luis Gabelo Conejo got injured, meaning that Hermido Barrantes took his place.

He wore a yellow version of the purple and green tops Conejo had worn, as well as having his number on his shorts.

Brazil 0 Argentina 1

1990-World-Cup-second-round-Brazil-Argentina-01

Brazil changed socks with Argentina wearing the white shorts from their away kit, the darker blue jarring with the rest.

Goycochea wore a ‘space invaders’ shirt for the first time, with the pattern the same way up as Egypt’s Ahmed Shoubeir rather than like Higuita, but arranged differently.

West Germany 2 Netherlands 1

1990-World-Cup-second-round-West-Germany-Netherlands-01

Both sides in their home strips and first-choice goalkeeper shirts.

  • Republic of Ireland 0 Romania 0 (aet, 5-4 on penalties)

1990-World-Cup-second-round-Ireland-Romania-01

Unlike 1987 against Brazil, Packie Bonner was given a proper grey adidas jersey and it was his penalty save from Daniel Timofte which allowed David O’Leary to score the penalty which sent Ireland into the quarter-finals.

The shirt differed from the yellow in that the stripes only ran to the shoulders.

Italy 2 Uruguay 0

1990-World-Cup-second-round-Italy-Uruguay-01

Uruguay wore their home shorts – with larger numbers. Given how strict Fifa are nowadays, it would be difficult to imagine a game with one team in white shirts and either goalkeeper in a grey/silver so light.

Spain 1 Yugoslavia 2 (aet)

1990-World-Cup-second-round-Spain-Yugoslavia-01

Yugoslavia changed to their away kit, with goalkeeper Tomislav Ivković wearing a proper adidas shirt instead of a rebadged Uhlsport. His top – officially named Montevideo rather than ‘scribbles’ –  differed from Jan Stejskal’s and Tony Meola’s in that the pattern was entirely grey.

England 1 Belgium 0 (aet)

1990-World-Cup-second-round-England-Belgium-01

David Platt scored a winner in injury time at the end of extra time, both sides in first-choice kits.

Quarter-finals

Argentina 0 Yugoslavia 0 (aet, 3-2 on penalties)

1990-World-Cup-quarter-final-Argentina-Yugoslavia-01

A first outing for Argentina’s change shirts, worn with the home shorts and socks while Yugoslavia wore their red socks.

One difference among the Argentina team was that Diego Maradona opted to wear a pair of Napoli away socks, featuring the Ennerre logo. They didn’t help him to score his penalty in the shootout, but Goycochea’s heroics saw them through.

Argentina-1990-adidas-away-kit-Yugoslavia-Maradona-Napoli-socks-01Italy 1 Republic of Ireland 0

1990-World-Cup-quarter-final-Italy-Ireland-01

Magic socks couldn’t help Maradona and meeting Pope John Paul II wasn’t enough to save Ireland as Toto Schillaci scored again.

West Germany 1 Czechoslovakia 0

1990-World-Cup-quarter-final-West-Germany-Czechoslovakia-01

Another straightforward home kit v home kit game for Germany.

England 3 Cameroon 2 (aet)

1990-World-Cup-quarter-final-England-Cameroon-01

Two Cameroon goals in five second-half minutes had them on course for victory but a pair of Gary Lineker penalties sent England through.

Semi-finals

Italy 1 Argentina 1 (aet, 3-4 on penalties)

1990-World-Cup-semi-final-Italy-Argentina-01

Schillaci netted again, but Claudio Caniggia equalised for Argentina and Goycochea came up trumps in the shootout again.

Having considered Argentina’s stripes to clash with blue shirts and white shorts in the previous round, Fifa allowed both home strips here.

England 1 West Germany 1 (aet, 3-4 on penalties)

1990-World-Cup-semi-final-England-West-Germany-01

Both sides had worn their home kits up until now, with England winning the toss for colours.

As with their home strip, Germany had had the same basic change kit since 1988, but originally it had a collar. Penalty misses by Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle meant that Germany advanced.

Third-place play-off

Italy 2 England 1

1990-World-Cup-third-place-play-off-Italy-England-01

The purpose of this fixture was actually to reward the two teams who had gone through the tournament wearing only one kit (and not having to change goalkeeper shirts), it just so happened that they were the two beaten semi-finalists.

Final

West Germany 1 Argentina 0

1990-World-Cup-final-West-Germany-Argentina-01

It was the same final pairing as four years previously, when Argentina had won in their home kit.

This time, they were in the darker blue, with Goycochea wearing the same socks as the rest of the team.

A penalty decided it for Germany – having scored from the spot against Czechoslovakia, captain Lothar Matthäus declined to take the kick when they were awarded it as he was wearing a new pair of boots.

Instead, his Inter Milan clubmate Andreas Brehme, normally left-footed, scored with his right foot to give them glory.

 

Arsenal’s socksy football recalls a 20-year-old mystery

12 Thursday Apr 2018

Posted by in Rarities and Oddities

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On Thursday night, Arsenal made it through to the Europa League semi-finals as a 2-2 draw away to CSKA Moscow earned them a 6-3 aggregate victory.

In that game, Arsenal wore their third different set of socks with the home shirts and shorts, as noted by Kitman Ramsey (who wrote this piece and will have a guest blog appearing here again very soon):

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The default socks, as mentioned feature red tops and red stripes which grow narrower, flowing into the white. Presumably these weren’t allowed against the red socks of CSKA while the plain red set, used away to Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, were obviously out too.

As far as we can recall, it’s nearly 20 years since Arsenal last wore three different sets of socks with their home shirts and shorts – again, it involved European fixtures but it’s far harder to explain.

The normal socks, used in almost all of the games featured a white panel outlined in navy:

Arsenal-1998-1999-Nike-home-shirt-01

However, for the Gunners’ first Champions League game, away to Lens, a set of red socks with white tops – like the previous alternative set but without the ornate ‘A’ from the crest – were worn.

Arsenal-1998-1999-Nike-home-kit-Lens-01

The normal socks returned for the next two league games, at home to Manchester United and away to Sheffield Wednesday, but in the Champions League against Panathinaikos at Wembley, another red set was used, this time featuring two white hoops.

Arsenal-1998-1999-Nike-home-kit-Panathinaikos-01The natural assumption at this stage would be to think that the first-choice socks contravened some UEFA rule, but they were worn for the next European tie, against Dynamo Kiev, and the return in Ukraine and away to Panathinaikos in the final game, with a reversed style used in the Wembley defeat to Lens, when a one-off third shirt was worn.

Cold War Classic no. 6 – Italy v Yugoslavia, 1980

11 Wednesday Apr 2018

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Thanks to world renowned kit expert Simon ‘Shakey’ Shakeshaft for help with some of the information below.

Back in CWC3, we touched on the fact that literally every team representing a communist state in eastern Europe was wearing adidas kits by the 1980s.

The dominating presence of this most capitalist of western brands (and still we love it) must surely have been somewhat of an embarrassment to any staunch communists, since at least retrospectively it seems like an outward indicator of the eventual collapse of the system. The last side in the eastern bloc to make the switch to adidas was East Germany in 1982, and even then they had previously been wearing (unmarked) Erima kits, another West German brand which had been bought by adidas in 1976.

Many of these adidas kits were in fact produced in local eastern European factories under licence from adidas, whose own apparel production was limited at the time and often outsourced. One such instance was our highlighted country for today, Yugoslavia –  but, in a sudden swerve, I can reveal that we are not focusing on their beautiful and historic adidas kits that they wore like the rest (that day will come, I’m sure). Instead, we are looking at a little-known period where they were one exception to the Pax Adi Dassler.

In political terms, the Balkan Superstate (I capitalise that since I imagine it as a WWE-like official nickname) was also an exception as the one country in eastern Europe not to be part of the Warsaw Pact (Albania also withdrew in 1968 but were originally a founding member). This was reflected in football as more than one eastern player would use away games in Yugoslavia as an opportunity to defect to the west, such as Hungary’s Lajos Kü in 1977 and East Germany’s youth coach Jörg Berger in 1979.

On the pitch, Yugoslavia were one of the earliest to adopt the three stripes with their 1974 World Cup kits manufactured under license by the company of Raymond Kopa, who we also came across in CWC3 as French kit shorts manufacturer in 1969. The adidas association would continue until the dissolution of the state in the 1990s. That is, apart from a brief interlude in 1979/80 when the kit contract would be taken over by the company of Rudi Dassler, Adi’s older brother – Puma.

Puma also had a factory in Yugoslavia at the time, with production there including basketball shoes like the Puma Clyde (which advertised the fact they were “Made in Yugoslavia”) and Puma Baskets. With such a presence in the country already, the jump to kit manufacturer maybe wasn’t too much of a leap. Adidas’s apparent oversight in losing the contract for these years is more of a mystery.

Whatever the case, Yugoslavia debuted their new gear at a June 1979 friendly at home to Italy. A sleek, minimalist shirt was used featuring a ‘wrong-facing’ Puma logo (compared with Austria from the same period, though they would also feature it later), with shorts incorporating the trademark Puma formstripe and player number.

Yugoslavia-1979-Puma-home-shirt-01.png

The following year, the kit would evolve, as seen in the September 1980 World Cup qualifier against Denmark.

The shirt was now in the Austrian style, featuring a white ‘insert-V’ wing collar and white bars on the sleeves, widening nearer the neck. The shorts were similar to before, but with the number removed and a switch of leg side for the Puma logo, which was now also facing the opposite direction to the one on the shirt.

Yugoslavia-1980-Puma-home-shirt-01.png

The subsequent qualifier and last game of the year away to Italy in October 1980 would see Yugoslavia’s last outing in Puma. For the Italians; part, it is hardly worth mentioning that the Azzurri were in their classic, timeless, minimalist strip of the period – made by Le Coq Sportif but, as per the conditions laid down by the Italian federation, no markings on the shirt other than the crest.

On the other hand, considering its classic timelessness, it is 100 percent worth mentioning it.

Italy-shirt-maglia-1980-01.png

Forced to wear a change strip for the first and only time in this era, Yugoslavia returned to what was clearly the alternate shirt of the original Puma kit: white apart from the crest and Puma.

Yet another distinct pair of white shorts were also used, making that three, with the Puma now again reversed in side and direction, and nothing else.

Yugoslavia-1980-Puma-away-shirt-white-01

By the following spring’s World Cup qualifier against Greece, the Yugoslavs were back in adidas, closing this obscure, but definitely noteworthy, chapter of their kit history.

Next time, we shall return to the late 1970s and again look at a side wearing a kit that has largely been forgotten, but with a feature, later made famous, that definitely has not.

Midweek Mashup – Cardiff City, 2014

11 Wednesday Apr 2018

Posted by in Clashes, Midweek Mashup

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In 2012, the Cardiff City ownership moved away from 104 years of blue home shirts to switch to red.

The decision has since been reversed, it meant that the club’s sole season in the Premier League – their first in the top flight in 51 years – was spent looking very familiar, in red shirts, black shorts and red socks.

For the game away to Fulham in August, white change shorts were used and they were also called into action for the third round of the FA Cup away to Newcastle United.

This was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first game in charge of the club and perhaps it was his decision to go with white socks at St James’ Park too, given the success he enjoyed in such an outfit.

Cardiff-City-2013-2014-home-shirt-white-shorts-socks-Newcastle-Solskjaer-01.png

Maybe the decision had nothing to do with the new boss, but the kit combination worked a charm as second-half goals from Craig Noone and Fraizer Campbell earned Cardiff a 2-1 win after Papiss Demba Cissé had put Newcastle in front.

While they would go on to beat Bolton Wanderers in the fourth round, they exited the cup to holders Wigan Athletic in the fifth, and the win proved to be a high point for Solskjaer’s tenure, with Cardiff winning just three games in the league from then until the end of the season, finishing bottom of the table.

Against Bolton and away to Tottenham in March and Newcastle in May in the league, the white shorts were again worn but the white socks were like a butterfly – seen for just one day, but oh, what a day.

Midweek Mashup – Arsenal, 2015

29 Wednesday Nov 2017

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Most mashups are rooted in logic, and help to alleviate any confusion which may exist. Arsenal’s combination away to Sheffield Wednesday in the 2015-16 Capital One Cup did not tick that box.

While the Gunners have a history of wearing away shirts – usually yellow – against teams who don’t have red shirts, these changes were rooted in the need to avoid sleeve clashes or shorts clashes.

In recent times, the policy has been to wear a change kit in practically every away game, certainly in cups – though fixtures against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are notable exceptions.

So it was that Arsenal decided the game at Hillsborough was a good opportunity to wear their third kit – described as anthracite with white, victory gold and capri breeze blue as trim colours.

As if it wasn’t bad enough that their kit had blue and white stripes on it against Wednesday’s blue and white stripes, the hosts’ black shorts and socks meant that Arsenal had to change those elements.

Arsenal-2015-2016-Puma-third-kit-blue-shorts-socks-Sheffield-Wednesday-01

Had Arsenal had gold alternative shorts and socks, it mightn’t have been too bad, but the blue made for a terrible overall clash. The 3-0 defeat the Gunners suffered was exactly what they deserved.

Season’s Meetings, no. 1 – Sheffield Wednesday and Wimbledon, 1993-94

07 Saturday Oct 2017

Posted by in Change kits, Clashes, Football kits, Kit history, Season's Meetings

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I know – there is a possibility that there are too many series running on this site – Fantasy Kit Friday, Midweek Mashup and Cold War Classics, to name just three, but there’s always room for another.

This one is focused on when sides met each other on three or more occasions in the one season, with one or both wearing three different kits. The first instance is one of the rare examples when both had three, the meetings of Sheffield Wednesday and Wimbledon in 1993-94.

What makes it somewhat ironic is that the sides’ home kits would probably have functioned well enough against each other – after all, Wednesday’s own away kit this season was all-black with yellow pinstripes.

The sides met at Hillsborough in October 1993, with Wednesday in their home kit and Wimbledon in their all-red change kit – it’s hard to know which was their second strip and which was their third, but in any case the white couldn’t have been used here. The game finished 2-2.

The clubs’ next two clashes came within a few days of each other in January 1994. The Coca-Cola Cup fifth-round draw paired the sides, with Wimbledon at home on January 11 (I’ve kept Wednesday on the left here for comparison purposes).

Having changed from Admiral to Ribero in the summer of 1993, Wimbledon also switched colour, going from royal blue to navy. However, while officials in the new Premier League wore green shirts rather than the traditional black, they remained in black in the domestic cup competitions and clubs were not allowed to clash with them.

In February of 1994, Wimbledon would opt for the red at home to Manchester United in the FA Cup, possibly just to force United to change, but in this game they decided to go with their white kit.

That meant Wednesday couldn’t wear their home, and obviously the black away was out too. In September, they had worn white with black pinstripes at Newcastle in the league – meaning Newcastle had to wear blue at home – but that wasn’t an option either. Yellow shirts and shorts were worn with the away socks, as they had been at Bolton Wanderers in an earlier round. The Owls won 2-1.

Just four days later, the sides met again at Selhurst in the Premiership, but visually it was a totally different match-up.

Wimbledon were in their customary navy, which would have clashed with the Wednesday away. Instead of the yellow though, they wore the white and black – which would seem to make that the third shirt, with the yellow classed as the fourth-choice.

The away shorts and socks were used, despite clashing with the Wimbledon elements, as the Dons got revenge, winning 2-1.

The following season, Wednesday just went for the easier option of having a yellow away shirt.