Readers of this column will now be aware that away shirts have been dominating proceedings recently. The old adage was that designers had a lot more freedom to work on away shirts, as clubs had fewer restrictions in place and fewer traditions to adhere to. That was according to Drake Ramberg, so we’ll take it as gospel.
This week, there’s another theme emerging too. Adidas have lobbed the trefoil onto a significant number of their new shirts and, despite wanting to go against the grain, we just can’t. They look undeniably good.
So, without further ado, here are the five best shirts released this week, according to Showboat.
5. Singapore - Away - Adidas
Now, this has the potential to split our audience right down the middle, judging by the reactions. Some love it, some hate it. Some think it looks like a five-a-side template; others think that’s no bad thing.
Us? We love a bit of five-a-side. We’re having this one. Yes, it doesn’t quite have the premium feel of other Adidas releases this summer. But it looks every inch a shirt we’d actually like to wear to play football in.
Sometimes, shockingly, that’s what shirts are meant to be made for.
4. FC Köln - Away - Adidas
Away? Check. Adidas? Check. After four forgettable years with Hummel, and four more forgettable ones with Uhlsport before that, Köln have started their Adidas partnership with a bang. Once again, it’s the away shirt that has caught our eye.
The Rewe sponsorship, now in its 19th year, is front and centre and seems to pop in a way it never has before. The whole shirt has a timeless quality, largely thanks to the thin white vertical pinstripes and classic Adidas trefoil.
You can imagine Köln supporters buying this in their droves. The only thing stopping it from being picked up by a much wider audience is the £85 price tag.
3. FC Copenhagen - Away - Adidas
You’ll be sensing a theme by now and, to be honest, we could just as easily have picked the home shirt here. But this deep royal blue is seriously eye-catching. The collar, the cuffs and even the Carlsberg sponsor on the sleeve are all lovely additions.
The only thing arguably stopping this from being a ten-out-of-ten shirt is the Unibet sponsor which, from a design perspective, can’t really be helped. It’s another blinding effort from a football club that consistently gets its shirts right. It's easily one of the five best football shirts released this week.
2. Hannover 96 - Third - Macron
We did not expect Macron to be the brand that broke the away-shirt and Adidas monopoly this week, but here we are. This is a gorgeously subtle number, and subtle is not a word we often associate with third shirts.
The shirt pays tribute to Hannover’s iconic cultural landmark, the Neues Rathaus, and symbolises the club’s bond with the city. Honestly, we don’t know too much about that. What we do know is that the classic knitted polo collar, sleeve cuffs and thin teal stripes are exactly the kind of details that tend to last.
We could very easily see this shirt being worth more than you paid for it in a few years’ time.
1. RC Strasbourg Alsace - Away - Adidas
This is a shirt with serious ‘shirt of the season’ potential. It screams retro rather than reissue.
Inspired by the signature 1990s diamond graphics and the club’s very first crest, which was used from 1920 to 1945, it creates something that feels new and familiar at the same time.
What takes it to the next level is the Adidas trefoil and the sponsor. Having WINAMAX on your shirt might not be every fan’s choice, but here it fits perfectly and seems to nod to the kind of sponsors football clubs actually had in the 1990s.
It’s a shirt where everything complements the next detail and is fully worthy of our number one slot this week.
As always, if you kits a little more of the vintage than modern variety, you can browse thousands of shirts on the Showboat marketplace in-app and on our website from handpicked, authentic sellers.
