With Wrexham AFC (my hometown team) having featured in both FIFA 22 and FIFA 23, and an FX documentary already receiving rave reviews, it is no surprise the Dragons have gone global. And yet, despite having their home and away strips featured in the last two FIFA games, the third strip, introduced part way through the 2021/22 campaign, still hasn’t made into a FIFA game. The third strip, introduced primarily for use in the FA Trophy, was in one of Macron’s templates that was also used for a third strip for Greek side PAOK. Basically an all-white strip, the collar is a two-tone red and green v ..read more

Having disappointed four years earlier in Japan/Korea, and then on the receiving end of a shock defeat in the Euro 2004 final on home turf, Portugal were seen as a dark horse for success in the 2006 World Cup. Nike, having gone with templates for their 2002 and 2004 kits, decided on a different track, going with a more retro theme for a number of their international sides. For Portugal they instead decided on a return to the wine red colour worn between 1997-2003. The shirt featured raglan sleeves, with a gold “chain” running down the outline of each sleeve, with a green v-neck collar. The cr ..read more

Schalke had finished just four points above the relegation zone in 2000 after a disappointing campaign. The Königsblauen, thus, were not expected to push for a first ever Bundesliga title the following year, but Dutch coach Huub Stevens was building a side to challenge for honours. 2001 would see Schalke plan to vacate the Parkstadion for the new ArenaAufSchalke stadium, built for the forthcoming 2006 World Cup. Schalke remained with adidas and introduced a new strip loosely based on the design worn by France at Euro 2000, with a blue shirt with blue collar, connecting to a white horizonal ba ..read more

In 1969, Feijenoord – as they were then known before the spelling change in 1973 – won a league and cup double. They would go all the way to the final of the European Cup the following season, where they would face Scottish champions Celtic, the 1967 winners, at the San Siro stadium in Milan. Feijenoord wore a simple red and white halved jersey made by Le Coq Sportif, who were going through a minor identity change at the time – their logo appeared on the “wrong side” of the shirt and featured a stylised cockerel logo rather than the more familiar silhouette within a triangle. Black shorts and ..read more

Crystal Palace had suffered a second relegation in two years, as they faced Third Division football for the first time in over a decade, but the 1975/76 season would be a memorable one. In the League, Palace would finish fifth and miss out on promotion, but it was the FA Cup that got people talking. As a third tier club, Palace had to start in the first round, but after knocking out Leeds, they travelled to Chelsea wearing their away strip of white with a blue and red sash, with white shorts and the blue socks from the home strip (to avert a sock clash). Manager Malcolm Allison, wearing his l ..read more

CSKA Moscow were riding high at the start of the 1990’s, having finished in second place in the Soviet Top League in 1990. A year later whilst challenging for the title once more, they would also go on another cup run, reaching the final in the summer, to face city rivals Torpedo Moscow. CSKA wore a strip made by Umbro, which was a template used by UK teams a few years earlier, with the English company attempting to break into the USSR market. The shirt was red with repeated narrow white hoops and a blue outlined band on the front that had “ЦСКА” rendered in a blocky Cyrillic font. The shorts ..read more

In 1970, Dinamo Moscow came very close to a league and cup double, missing out on winning the Soviet Top League title by a single goal to city rivals CSKA, but a 2-1 win over Dinamo Tbilisi secured a place in the 1971/72 Cup Winners’ Cup. Dynamo would beat Olympiakos, Eskişehirspor, Red Star Belgrade and Dynamo Berlin (on penalties) to set up a final against Rangers in the Nou Camp, Barcelona. With Rangers wearing their usual blue in the final, Dinamo wore white, though it was not quite clear whether Dinamo wore white or blue as their first choice strip normally. For the final Dinamo wore a w ..read more

Chelsea had a relatively poor season in 1993/94, finishing in the bottom half of the table, and despite being the only team to register a double over Manchester United in the league, they would be humbled 4-0 by the same opponents in the FA Cup final. As with a number of Umbro contracts, both the home and away kit releases were staggered, so Chelsea would retain the previous home strip whilst releasing a new change kit. For 1994/95 the Blues would introduce a granite grey pattern jersey, with orange panels and navy collar and trim. However it would be the orange shorts and socks that would at ..read more

For just over a decade, Norway had worn Hummel strips but they didn’t bring them any success in trying to qualify for a major tournament for the first time in nearly 60 years. Could a switch to adidas, who last supplied their kits back in the 1970’s, break that cycle? The new home strip was remarkably similar to the Arsenal strip unveiled that summer. However, not just did the shirt also feature adidas shoulder stripes, but a trefoil logo was used even though adidas had since switched to the Equipment logo. Standard issue white shorts and navy socks completed the kit. The classic three stripe ..read more

Paraguay switched to Reebok to supply their kits for the 1995 Copa América, which featured narrower red and white stripes than had been worn throughout the 1980’s and early 1990’s. Come the 1997 tournament, the Albirroja would update their home strip slightly. The shirt still featured the narrower stripes and contrasting white sleeves, but Reebok now opted to put their logo in a white patch on the shirt, as well as feature the numbers on the back in a white patch. Blue shorts and socks, in a plain design, would still be worn. José Luis Chilavert had taken to wearing his own signature all-bla ..read more