We’re back with one of our most topical, and potentially controversial, weekly articles: The Five Best Shirts Uploaded to Showboat This Week.
As with almost everything in football, this is entirely subjective. We’re not here to judge anyone’s collection, only to highlight some of the shirts that caught our eye over the past seven days.
In truth, this could quite easily be a list of 100. There are that many good shirts being uploaded every week. Alas, we don’t have the time to write that list, and we’re fairly sure you don’t have the time to read it.
So, without further ado, here are the five best shirts uploaded to Showboat this week.
Borussia Dortmund - Home - 1995/96
This Borussia Dortmund long-sleeved shirt from 1995/96 is peak mid-90s Nike, loud, slightly unruly and all the better for it. Designed during Drake Ramberg’s time working on Nike football, it takes Dortmund’s fluorescent yellow and pushes it even harder with black sleeves, sharp white flashes and that enormous Die Continentale sponsor across the chest. The long-sleeved version is particularly good, with the striped cuffs giving it a bit more presence than the short-sleeved shirt, and it feels completely tied to the era when Dortmund were emerging as one of Europe’s most exciting sides. We’ve valued this example at around £186, which feels about right for a shirt that has become increasingly collectible without quite reaching silly-money territory.
Parma - Home - 1993/95
This Parma 1993–95 Umbro away shirt is about as clean as mid-90s Serie A gets. White throughout, with the blue-and-yellow collar, subtle tonal pattern through the fabric and that enormous Parmalat sponsor across the chest, it comes from the era when Parma had Zola, Brolin and Asprilla in the side and were establishing themselves as a genuine European force. The shirt was worn across the 1993/94 and 1994/95 seasons, when Parma won the UEFA Super Cup, reached the Cup Winners’ Cup final and later the UEFA Cup final, and the simplicity of the design has aged brilliantly. We’ve valued this example at around £145, which feels in line with the market for an original shirt from one of the most collectible periods in the club’s history.
Germany - Home - 1988/90
This Germany 1988–90 adidas home shirt is one of those designs that barely needs an introduction. The white base is cut through by that sweeping black, red and gold chest graphic, a look first associated with Euro ’88 and then immortalised two years later when West Germany won the 1990 World Cup in Italy. It is the shirt of Matthäus, Klinsmann, Völler and Brehme, and one of the clearest examples of adidas turning national colours into something instantly recognisable without overcomplicating it. Originals from the period remain highly collectible, and we’ve valued this example at around £245, which feels right for a shirt that sits firmly in the canon of all-time great international kits.
Italy - Home - 1990/91
This Italy 1980–81 Le Coq Sportif home shirt is in a completely different category to the others because it is match-worn, and by Pietro Vierchowod. The design itself is classic early-80s Azzurri, royal blue, tricolour trim at the collar and cuffs, and the old FIGC crest sitting cleanly on the chest with no visible manufacturer branding. That simplicity is exactly why shirts from this era have aged so well, but the match-worn provenance is what changes the value entirely. We’ve valued this example at around £2,500, which reflects not just the rarity of an original Italy shirt from the period, but the fact that this one was actually worn rather than simply sold as a replica.
Palermo - Home - 1993/94
This Palermo 1993/94 ABM home shirt is exactly the sort of thing that makes early-90s Italian football so easy to romanticise. Pink body, black sleeves, patterned fabric, oversized Toka sponsor and a collar that feels far more ambitious than it needs to be, it comes from a period when Palermo shirts still had a slightly homemade, regional character compared with the slicker Serie A giants. There were several variations of the home shirt that season, which makes examples like this particularly interesting to collectors, and the long sleeves only add to the appeal. We’ve valued this one at around £160, a fair price for an original ABM-era Palermo shirt with plenty of period detail and a design that feels unmistakably of its time.
Looking to add to your shirt collection? The Showboat marketplace has shirts for sale only from verified sellers. Find it in the Showboat app.
