Top 100 Football Shirts of 2020/21 - (Part Four: 70-61)
This is Part 4 of 10. Explore the rest of the countdown:
100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
70. Loch Ness FC - Home
I mean, when you’ve got a gold Loch Ness Monster on the front of your shirt, it’s fair to say you’re probably onto a winner. This fantastic black and gold number is undoubtedly the pick of the bunch, but the full Nessie-themed collection went viral a little earlier in the year. We can thank Match of the Day for that.
This is just straight-up fun. It’s not every day you see Nessie swimming across a golden stripe pattern, so let’s all hope the club will enjoy a few more bespoke designs in the future. I vote for a Nessie sash next year, if anyone’s taking notes.
- Ben Hyde, FOOTY.COM.
69. Middlesbrough - Away
Since their return to Middlesbrough in 2018, hummel have not put a foot wrong at the Riverside in terms of design and their latest change outfit for Neil Warnock's side continues their exemplary kit portfolio at the Riverside. The shirt bucks the trend for seemingly random away colours and brings back the iconic Inter Milan-inspired blue and black stripes first worn by the club way back in the early 70s.
It's a look that has since entered Boro folklore as a favoured change colourway as evident by the fact that the 2001-02 incarnation of the colourway was recently voted as the club's best-ever away kit by supporters. It was also the basic look of the club's change strip in their first season at the Riverside 25 years ago, so plenty of good reasons for hummel to resurrect the design I think and it's great to see a company giving supporters want they actually want.
The shirt is constructed using hummel's world-leading ZeroH20 'dry-dye' technique ensuring an environmentally responsible garment.
- John Devlin, True Colours Kits.
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68. AS Roma - Third
What is it with Roma 3rd kits recently? They’re just exceptional every single time. This year's is a sleek, classy design and I love the Orange shoulders, I think they work incredibly well with the black primary colour on the shirt too. It’s not one that I imagine that I’d be able to pull off and wear out on the street, but it’s a stunning shirt nonetheless and one that deserves its place on this top 100 for sure.
- Ellis Platten, Away Days.
67. Boca Juniors - Home
Now this is a proper Boca Juniors shirt. They’ve been reunited with adidas for the first time since 1993, and I’ve got to say the three stripes just look… right. This is a simple, traditional Boca shirt, but the introduction of adidas detailing just presses all the right nostalgia buttons.
It also happens to be downright delicious. The central yellow band, cuffs and detailing all look good enough to eat or, if you aren’t hungry, make you picture a very young Diego Maradona instead. This is a welcome blast from the past, and just as clean and simple as every great Boca shirt should be.
- Ben Hyde, FOOTY.COM.
Nike are out, adidas are back. The Azul y Oro’s colours are instantly recognisable and the yellow chest band is a football world icon. This is another sharp release for the 2020/21 season, and Boca’s faithful are certainly going to look the part bouncing in La Bombonera (when they’re allowed back in, that is).
- Kevan Thorpe, FOOTY.COM.
66. Ajax - Third
Everyone (who isn’t a PSV fan) loves Ajax and this also correlates to their shirt releases too! The black and gold third kit from this season is a genuine masterpiece of a shirt. The away shirt from this season is taking a lot of the attention, but for me the third is the pick of this season's shirts for Ajax and it’s already incredibly hard to find too. It’s in this top 100 and could arguably be in the top 100 all-time for third kits from teams too. Basically… I love it!
- Ellis Platten, Away Days.
65. Bournemouth - Away
Lovely colour. Not dissimilar to Liverpool’s away in that both are turquoise – or cyan, is it? – though the Anfield club’s kit does not, thankfully, feature an image of the Bournemouth Pier.
Darker shorts would surely have been better, but at least this season’s sponsor is cleaner than the Mansion 88 previously plastered across the club’s kits.
- Kit Crimes.
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64. Paris Saint-Germain - Home
To celebrate their 50th birthday, PSG have gone back to year one for inspiration and have released a fantastic shirt in keeping with some of PSG’s finest.
The shirt is based on the Hechter shirt, first worn 3 years after being founded in 1973. It was designed by Daniel Hechter, a fashion designer who became PSG’s president and someone who loved Mustangs and Johan Cruyff. He loved them so much that he combined the design of Mustangs and the colours of the Ajax shirt for the PSG kit. The colour blue was added so the shirt had the colours of the French flag.
This modern version has all the hallmarks of the classic Hechter design, and certainly reminds me of some of the great PSG players who wore similar shirts. However, the shirt isn’t just a carbon copy. The collar and cuffs look smart and what I particularly like is how they don’t match but still complement the shirt. Overall, this is a smart-looking shirt.
I think pretty much all of my favourite PSG shirts feature the Hechter stripe, so it’s great to see Nike bringing it back to celebrate their 50th anniversary. It actually feels like the club has got some of its identity back here, so it’s a shame that the sponsor breaks it all up and the logos are a bit close together. A tasty, but cross-eyed, football shirt.
- Ben Hyde, FOOTY.COM.
63. Port Vale - Away
To me, it feels like every football club in the world has entered into the same pact. A ‘who’s releasing this year’s blackout kit?’ treaty, if you will. This year it seems to be the mighty Valiants turn, and they’ve managed to create something special with aplomb.
The button and fold-down collar keeps it well within retro boundaries, the only colours used being the subtle glints of silver from the sponsor, Errea logo and club badge. In all honesty, I don't think Stoke has ever seen such stylish garms.
- Kevan Thorpe, FOOTY.COM.
62. Fluminense - Goalkeeper
Just when I thought I was getting a bit bored of the retro wave, Umbro came along to set me straight.
The brand’s Brazilian club goalkeeper shirts are the showstoppers amongst the brand’s 2020 portfolio. We’ve got a faithful retelling of one of their most famous 90s creations, but with a completely free choice of colours. This freedom gives the look another edge; like we’re seeing something new alongside the familiar.
Just look at this for Fluminense. If you want a retro trip of a kit, look no further than the double diamond.
- Phil Delves.
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61. Coventry City - Home
Coventry City and hummel again showing they are a match made in heaven, following up their hugely successful 2019/20 home shirt with another beauty. This shirt being a bespoke design for the club and taking inspiration from the Ribero shirt worn between 1992/94, I always think of this as the Mick Quinn kit, after his hat-trick at Arsenal on the opening day of the 1993/94 season.
The shirt uses that classic Coventry look at the bottom of the shirt fading into sky blue at the top, another example of not just recreating an old look but giving it a modern adaptation. The navy blue used for the trim and hummel chevrons both work well, while the shirt and sponsor logo also being in navy blue also gives a great overall look to the shirt.
One detail to call out is the elephant detail on the back of the shirt, the elephant appears on the Coventry Coat of Arms and has appeared in the club's logos in several variations throughout their history, so this nod is one of those little details that I like within shirt design. Some things are just meant to work well together, hummel and Coventry City definitely fall into this bracket!
- Gavin Hope, Football Kit Geek.
Call me sentimental, but anything that harks back to the first Premier League season is a guaranteed winner in my opinion. Inspired by Coventry’s early top-flight heights, hummel have somehow come up with a retro/modern hybrid which looks fantastic. Even if it’s only being worn in the Championship this time.
- Kevan Thorpe, FOOTY.COM.
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This is Part 4 of 10. Explore the rest of the countdown:
100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1
