Well, all I’m doing is sitting on the coach watching the World Cup these days. So, why not another soccer post?
So, how do you define a “classic” soccer kit? Well, how about one that hasn’t changed in 50 years?
I’m listing these in reverse order of how long they’ve been around. I’m showing two kits – from the first year & the current year.
BTW, I’m not sweating the small stuff like trim or even socks. Also, if there are a few years here and there with some differences, that’s okay too. Finally, home kits only – away and alternate kits are just way too crazy.
Poland – 1974
Nice job reflecting the flag
Iran – 1970
Boring? Yes. Consistent? Pretty much. There were a few years where they repped the flag (1986, 1990) and one where they channeled Italy/Japan (1971). I say, go with the flag!
New Zealand – 1960s
Hey, is there some copying going on here? Interestingly, NZ’s colors are traditionally all black (their rugby team is called the All Blacks). Because, however, soccer refs typically wore that, they had to go with something different. 1981 was the sole anomaly, with the team wearing black shorts.
Iraq – 1964
Definitely some copying. Iraq had a number of years where they sported some green (1993, 2020-24), and one where they were all baby blue (1986). Neither of those colors really make sense here. How about something with the flag colors?
Denmark – 1964
Classic representation of the national colors. There have been a couple of years (4 times since 2000) where they went with all red. That’s not bad, but I do prefer the red-white-red.
Australia – 1960
Wait, what do green and yellow have to do with Australia? Supposedly, they’re drawn from nature. The yellow represents sunshine, beaches, grain, the golden fleece (of wool), and the wattle (the “national floral emblem”). The green stands for forest, pastures, and the bush. Supposedly, the colors date back to the late 1800s. For a few years (1999-2001), the Socceroos went with all green.
Egypt – 1957
Good reflection of the flag. There were a handful of outliers, including baby blue shirts (?!?!) & all red.
Chile – 1950
Classic play on the colors of the flag. They did have black shorts for 2000-10, though I have no idea why.
Serbia – 1930
The colors reflect the flag well, though I don’t really care for the sunburst design on the current version
Brazil – 1954
The colors are from the flag, but are lacking its background color, green. Interestingly, there was one year, 1988, where they did rock green shorts.
Peru – 1936
Pretty unique, as far as I can tell. I wonder why no one else has gone with a stripe?
Sweden – 1934
Good job with the national colors. From 2020-25, though, the team wore black shorts – not totally sure why.
Germany – 1934
Going to get into some more anomalies here, with uniforms not necessarily sharing the colors of the flag. At the same time, though, black and white are the traditional colors of Prussia, were used historically, and so do have some connection.
France – 1930
I would be very disappointed if the tricolor wasn’t reflected here. That said, there was one year, 2003, when they went with blue shorts).
Spain – 1922
Red’s definitely on the Spanish flag. Blue is not. And what happened to yellow? There have been a few years where they tried something different – blue and white (1941-47), blue & light blue (1937) and all red (2014-15).
Italy – 1911
Hey, I thought Italy’s colors were red, green, and white. The blue actually goes all the way back to when Italy was a kingdom and ruled by the house of Savoy, whose color is indeed blue. There have been a few variations over the years, with the team opting for different color shorts – blue and black. The team’s nickname, Gli Azzuri, simply means “the blues” in Italian.
NOTE: This is the current kit. The database I've been using was all screwed up, Italy-wise.
Uruguay – 1910
I find it kind of interesting that South American teams have kits that go back over a hundred years. That said, soccer was introduced early on by British residing and working in the country. Uruguay, in fact, won the first World Cup, in 1930, and another one in 1950.
The light blue does reflect the flag, though I’m not sure where the black comes from. Over 120 years, there have been only slight variations – white shorts in 1974 and dark blue ones from 1992-96.
Argentina – 1908
The same story goes for Argentina as well. Brits introduced the beautiful game to them in the late 1800s. In fact, the fifth-oldest league in the world was Argentinian, dating back to 1891.
Argentina’s kit is a bit odd, as the country’s flag does not have stripes (though Uruguay’s does!). It does, though, include the light blue. Once again, not totally sure where the black came from. Like Uruguay, they’ve also mixed it up a little with the shorts – grey from 1930-36, and white in 2013-15 and 2023-25.
Hungary – 1902
You may not think of Hungary as a soccer powerhouse, but they do in fact have a long and honored history. They won gold medals in 3 Olympics and were runners-up in the World Cup twice. The kit represents the national colors superbly, with no changes in almost 125 years.
England – 1879
Hey, where are the redcoats? The colors have several explanations. Before 1879, the team wore all white, modelling themselves after cricketeers. (the only other organized team sport at the time). The blue shorts were added to reflect the Football Association’s colors, which are also reflected in the famous three lions crest. Do note, though, that they have gone with all white for 4 of their almost 150 years, including this year.
