Sport News 24/7
The 15 Coolest World Cup Kits
/
Dan Fitch /
26 May 2010 /
2 Comments
Dan Fitch selects the greatest ever World Cup kits.
Somebody needs to tell modern kit manufacturers that sometimes less is more. Polyester is a bad enough look at the best of times and when you add all sorts of bells and whistles to a football shirt, the result is a gaudy mess.
When it comes to football kits, the seventies and eighties were the glory years and nowhere was this better reflected than in the World Cups of that era.
Here are the 15 coolest World Cup kits.
15. West Germany 1990
The most modern effort to have made it into our selection, West Germany's kit from 1990 featured a black, red and yellow pattern that made it the most stylish German uniform since they stopped wearing jackboots.
14. USA 1950
Only black and white images exist of the USA World Cup side of 1950, but this reproduction suggests that they were looking good when they beat England.
13. Scotland 1986
The shorts might look a bit tight by modern standards, but the blue line across the white and the red socks ensure that this is the greatest Scotland kit.
12. USSR 1982
The modern Russia shirts will never look as good as the old Soviet Union shirts, as they don't feature the famous CCCP across the middle. Is it worth bringing back communism?
11. Brazil 1978
The iconic colours of Brazil tend to work best in a minimalist design, but Adidas' 1978 effort does add a certain something (namely, three very cool stripes).
10. Italy 1982
The familiar azzurro blue of Italy looked at its best when given a collar in 82.
9. East Germany 1974
Proof that even if it was West Germany that had freedom, it was East Germany that had the style.
8. Zaire 1974
This decidedly original kit was worn by the 'Leopards' of Zaire in 1974.
7. Holland 1978
Holland looked the business in 1974 and with the addition of three little black stripes in 78, they looked even better.
6. Argentina 1986
Maradona looked great in the pale blue and white of Le Coq Sportif's Argentina kit of 86.
5. England 1982
The away red shirts of 66 might be the more iconic shirt, but Admiral's 1982 England shirt is the more stylish effort.
4. Mexico 1978
The green, white and red of Mexico never looked better than in 1978, where they stood out in a kit manufactured by Levi.
3. France 1982
The three stripes of Adidas come together with the French tricolor in seamless harmony.
Image Removed
2. Brazil 1970
The Brazil 1970 kit is the definition of the word 'iconic'.
1. Peru 1978
A simple Adidas kit is elevated to epic coolness thanks to the red diagonal sash. Even Paddington Bear would have looked good in this.
Thomas | 28 May 2010
My dear friend,
thank you for the nice selection.
But: EVERY German (I'd say without exception) thinks the 1990 shirt to be the worst and most ugly EVER!!
One can only bear it because it's associated with the cup.
Thomas
from Berlin
PS: My favourite: Zaire '74 - looks like when we kick in the Tiergarten park. I LOVE it! Didn't know it. Thanks again!
Jack | 22 June 2010
Great selection of kits. I think this year's World Cup is a particularly good year for kits. The two England kits are beautiful, as are most of the Adidas kits.
For the record Holland had the stripes in '74 as well as '78. The difference between the two kits is an orange collar in '74 and a black collar in '78.