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The market for retro football shirts has soared in recent years
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Some kits earn iconic status through what is achieved when they are worn
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We’ve compiled a list of the best classic soccer kits, featuring the best from the international and domestic games
Some retro football kits have stood the test of time. Some are relevant and adored long after they are past football odds relevance.
It can be sentimentality, it can be a particularly striking design, and sometimes it’s just a reflection of what was achieved when the kit was worn.
Just as sports betting has grown, so has the retro football shirt market. The best classic soccer kits sell for princely sums. Many mentioned in this article are almost impossible to get hold of, leaving fans settling for vastly cheaper remakes.
The best Premier League kits cannot rival some of these masterpieces.
From a variety of manufacturers, with a wide range of design, colour and history, these are the best football kits of all-time, many of which feature on the bucket list of shirt collectors around the world.
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Netherlands, Euro 88
Worn by the Netherlands in their triumphant Euro 88 campaign, this cracker from Adidas was a lock for our list. This shirt is one of the most sought after among collectors, and with good reason.
The pattern is garish. The Netherlands and Adidas logos stand out. It was not universally loved at the time.
Worn by Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and other iconic Dutch players in the ’88 final, though, this shirt has a firm place in football history.
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Arsenal away kit, 1991-93
Most will know this one as the ‘banana kit’. Arsenal have since gone back to a similar kit, although that one was a more healthy-looking banana than its peer from the early 1990s.
The original was worn by Ian Wright and countless other Gunners legends. It wasn’t the most successful period in the club’s history, with just a couple of domestic trophies, but it’s a kit that has stood the test of time.
Landing an original ‘bruised banana’ will set you back several hundred pounds.
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Barcelona change strips, early-mid 1990s
This is a bit of a cheat on our part. It is impossible to pick just one of Barcelona’s iconic away kits. The orange offering from their first Champions League win in 1992 is a beauty, which goes for extortionate prices now.
While less well-remembered, they also had a stunner of a turquoise, tealy away shirt. This was again worn for some of the club’s best years between 1992 and 1995. Johan Cruyff’s team were all-conquering, and their kits lived up to their standards on the field.
Kappa rarely disappoints when it comes to football kits. Featuring the trademark logos down the sleeves with red and blue patches, Barcelona’s change strips in the early to mid 1990s are some of the best kits in the history of football.
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Fiorentina home kit, 1998-99
Fiorentina are one of those clubs who have a rich history of expensive football shirts. Their purple works well, and they are flexible with their designs, but their own Hall of Fame of kits would rival most clubs on the planet.
The 1998-99 shirt is best known for the awesome Nintendo sponsorship. It just sits so perfectly across the middle of the jersey. Add a sharp collar and the white markings down the shoulders, and you’ve got an all-timer.
An honourable mention goes to their 7UP shirts from earlier in the decade.
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Milan home kit, 1989-90
Featuring many of the same stars as the Dutch gem from earlier, the Milan home kit itself isn’t eye-catching or controversial. It was, though, a beauty of a shirt, and the team lived up to the quality of its kit.
Led by van Basten, Rijkaard and Gullit, this Milan side was one of the greatest club teams ever. It’s a simple, yet effective, design.
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Tampa Bay Rowdies, 1978-81
It’s fair to say the NASL wasn’t a massive success. The kits, though, were a bucket load of fun.
Made by Admiral, the Tampa Bay Rowdies’ shirt had a white body with green and gold hoops on the sleeves and a classic green collar.
The font for ‘Rowdies’ across the chest is what really makes it, though.
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Liverpool away kit, 1989-90
Collecting trophies on their way to becoming the most successful club in England, Liverpool have had some shocking kits.
Their partnership with Candy produced a few iconic jerseys, however, and none more so than their grey away kit.
The pattern isn’t too wild, but it definitely works. It’s one of those invaluable instances of the sponsor enhancing the shirt.
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Marseille home kit, 1991-93
The early 1990s was a golden age for football kits. Manufacturers were starting to experiment. Designs were bold, and when it worked, there were masterpieces.
The Marseille home jersey falls into that category. Adidas went all-out, with a V-shaped collar with red and blue lines and a white base.
It doesn’t sound too over-the-top, and it wasn’t, but the three blue stripes across the shoulder made this into one of the best classic kits.
It, of course, helped that Marseille won the 1993 Champions League in this kit.
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Club America home kit, 1994-96
Every shirt collector should have a Club America kit. The mix of the base yellow, blue, red and black have provided some of the greatest pieces of football design ever.
It was hard to pick just one Club America offering. The 1994-96 home kit gets the nod with its feather-like colourful style across the shoulders and chest.
The Coca-Cola sponsorship is the cherry on top, and a long-running theme of Club America kits.
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Borussia Dortmund kits, 1996-97
Once again, it’s impossible to narrow down the Borussia Dortmund kits from the 1990s. The Die Continentale sponsor is up there with Nintendo, Teka and Candy as the most memorable of all-time.
It was a different yellow from what we’re used to in the 2020s with Dortmund.
Home to many of the best young football players now, Dortmund were a force to be reckoned with in the 1990s, winning back-to-back Bundesliga titles and lifting their only Champions League in 1997.
Dortmund kits rarely miss the mark. This period was particularly special, however, given the team success and just how iconic the kits have become.
*Credit for the main photo belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 26th July 2021
