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Settling on the best football shirts of all time was never going to be an easy task (although it did prove to be a lot of fun).
To make things a little less arduous, we decided to keep it within the parameters of outfield jerseys only (goalkeeper tops can come later).
We ended up with a good mix of clubs and countries – and we just know you can’t wait to see our final ranking, so we’ll get straight to it…
33. England away 1966
The simplest shirt on this list – it’s just plain red (with three great big lions on the chest, of course) – is nonetheless one of the most iconic in World Cup history.
Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, Bobby Charlton et al became England’s first world champions in this shirt, famously triumphing 4-2 over West Germany at Wembley.
32. USA away 1994
As the World Cup came to their country, the USA went all out to mark the occasion – and that included dropping this unashamedly American away strip.
Notably donned by ginger-bearded legend Alexi Lalas, among others, original versions of this Adidas effort cost a fortune these days.
31. Boca Juniors home 1985/86
Boca Juniors’ instantly recognisable blue and yellow home kit hasn’t changed much over the years – but it looked especially splendid in the mid-80s.
The Argentine giants’ last shirt before adopting a sponsor, the chunky yellow stripe, Adidas Trefoil logo and collar combine to stunning effect here.
30. Tottenham Hotspur home 1985-1987
There were few more enjoyable sights in English football during the 80s than that of Glenn Hoddle elegantly dribbling through midfield – and the Tottenham great did it in this shirt.
This was Hummel’s first home strip of a six-year association with Spurs – and they never bettered it. We’re drooling at those extended chevrons all over the chest.
29. Peru home 1978
Peru impressed by reaching the quarter-finals of the 1978 World Cup in Argentina – and they looked seriously smart in doing so, helped in no small part by their iconic sash design.
Somehow, the collar on this jersey – worn by the South American nation’s greatest ever player, Teofilo Cubillas, makes that diagonal red stripe all the easier on the eye.
28. Fiorentina third 1998/99
Much of this kit’s legend lies in the fact it was worn only once – in a game away to Parma, which Fiorentina didn’t even win (Gabriel Batistuta and co. lost 2-0 to a Hernan Crespo brace).
There’s also the fact that it’s the same colour as one of the best sponsors of the 90s: Japanese gaming titans Nintendo.
27. Club America home 1990/91
Mexican outfit Club America’s mid-90s home shirts usually get all the attention (and fair enough – look at this), but this jersey from the beginning of the decade – when they were crowned CONCACAF champions – is an overlooked classic.
Behold: the power of a single red-bordered blue chevron on yellow – and get a load of the oversized badge slap-bang in the middle.
27. Ajax home 1993/94
Some would say that a colour scheme as iconic as Ajax’s looks best without the embellishment of a sponsor’s logo – and we get that, we do, but we also really like this shirt.
Umbro did a magnificent job here, continuing the fat red stripe all the way up to and including the collar, and finishing the sleeves off with even more stripes!
26. Belgium home 1984
It looks a bit like something your nan would knit you for Christmas – and for that, we really rate Belgium’s Euro 1984 home shirt.
Unfortunately for football fashionistas, they didn’t get to see that much of it as the Belgians went out in the group stage (although the country did pay homage to the design at the 2018 World Cup).
24. Barcelona home 1995-1997
Barcelona’s Kappa era from 1992 to 1998 produced something of a mixed bag, but that included some of the Catalan giants’ best kits of all time.
Worn by Luis Figo in his first season at the club, this was the jersey in which Barca lifted the 1996/97 Cup Winners’ Cup and Copa del Rey under Bobby Robson.
23. Borussia Monchengladbach home 1974/75
Borussia Monchengladbach were a real force during the 70s, winning five Bundesliga titles and reaching the 1977 European Cup final (which they lost to Liverpool).
And they were crowned West German champions in style in 1974/75, rocking this slick striped number as they finished six points clear of Hertha Berlin. Oh, and they won that season’s UEFA Cup too.
22. Brazil home 1970
Designed by 19-year-old Aldyr Schee after a competition was launched to find Brazil a more patriotic kit (they used to play in blue and white), yellow and blue have become synonymous with the most successful World Cup nation.
And they combined to particularly striking effect at the 1970 tournament, where Pele got his hands on the Jules Rimet trophy for the third and final time.
21. Borussia Dortmund home 1996/97
Borussia Dortmund have played in black and yellow for well over 100 years – but there was really no missing them during their Champions League-winning campaign of 1996/97.
Matthias Sammer, Paul Lambert, Karl-Heinz Riedle et al were resplendent in Day-Glo en route to beating Juventus in the final at Munich’s Olympiastadion.
20. Barcelona away 1995-1997
We’ve already included Barcelona’s 1995-1997 home shirt on this list – and the jade-green/turquoise away effort from the same period was even better.
A certain Ronaldo scored a fair few goals in this strip – which feels befitting of the city’s artistic and architectural heritage – during his one and only season with Barca.
19. England home 1982
Until 1974, replica kits just weren’t a thing; then Admiral came along and changed all that, kickstarting a revolution by landing a deal to produce the first commercially available England shirt.
Within eight years, the had designed one of the finest international strips of all time, jazzing up the Three Lions’ white base colour with those blue and red shoulder stripes.
18. Arsenal away 1995/96
Arsenal had a couple of cracking away kits during the 90s, one of them being their final change strip of the pre-Arsene Wenger era.
It wasn’t a memorable season for the Gunners – who, under Bruce Rioch, finished fifth in the Premier League and exited the FA Cup at the third-round stage – but this shirt was really… striking (geddit?).
17. Ajax third 2021/22
‘Three Little Birds’: it’s arguably Bob Marley and the Wailers’ most famous song – and it became something of a club anthem among Ajax fans.
And in 2020, the legendary Dutch club did something amazing: they collaborated with Marley’s family to design this reggae-inspired top – complete with three little birds on the back.
16. Newcastle United home 1995-1997
These days, it’s rare that a sponsor’s logo actually enhances a kit – but Newcastle Brown Ale’s branding did that and then some for its local club in the 90s.
Donned by Kevin Keegan’s brilliant Entertainers team – Alan Shearer, Peter Beardsley and co – this might just be the best home shirt in the history of the Premier League.
15. Netherlands home 1974
Worn by the legendary Netherlands side which agonisingly lost the 1974 World Cup final to West Germany, this shirt came in two different formats. Let us explain…
Not wanting to disrespect his boot supplier, Puma, Dutch captain Johan Cruyff had one of the three Adidas stripes removed from his sleeves, resulting in a truly one-of-a-kind jersey.
14. Scotland home 1996
Need we provide any more justification for this shirt’s ranking than the fact that it’s TARTAN?! (‘No, we don’t’ is the answer).
Unfortunately for the Scots, it’s possibly best remembered as what they wore while losing 2-0 to England at Wembley in the group stage of Euro 96 (but these are still some mighty fine threads).
13. Liverpool home 1989-1991
It’s hard to mix it up that much when your home kit is typically all red, but Adidas managed that to magnificent effect with Liverpool’s penultimate strip of the pre-Premier League era.
That pattern woven into the fabric is giving outdated wallpaper vibes – and we’re all here for it. And that’s before we even get onto the sponsor (Candy are an Italian washing machine manufacturer, FYI).
12. Manchester United away 1990-1992
Another glorious patterned design from the early 90s, Manchester United may never top this away shirt from the relatively early days of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign.
Ok, it does start to hurt your eyes a little if you stare at it too hard – so don’t do that – but it’s further proof that Adidas really knew how to fit a team out around this time.
11. AC Milan home 1992/93
You’d struggle to find a more inherently Italian club kit if you tried: the Scudetto badge denoting the previous season’s Serie A title win… The barista equipment sponsor… AC Milan’s unmistakable red and black stripes.
Those stripes carried right on up the collar – and Milan carried on asserting themselves as the best team in Italy, claiming their second of three consecutive league crowns.
10. Mexico home 1998
Mexican brand ABA Sport were not a big name – but they made their mark in 1998 by unveiling this gem for the national team’s 1998 World Cup campaign.
Sought after by collectors all over the world, the design was drawn from the Aztec sun stone sculpture – and the home shirt’s white and black alternate equivalents weren’t bad either!
9. England third 1990
Worn just once – in a Euro 92 qualifier away to Turkey, which finished 1-0 to England through a Dennis Wise debut goal – this shirt has remained so popular that even the modern-day imitations have been known to sell out around major tournaments.
Perhaps Umbro’s finest ever design, its legend was enhanced as New Order frontman Bernard Sumner wore it in the video for Italia 90 anthem ‘World in Motion’.
8. Arsenal away 1991-1993
Generally, if you said someone’s outfit made them look like a bruised banana, it wouldn’t be taken as a compliment. Arsenal’s 1993-1995 away shirt managed to avoid that, though.
So popular was this absolute stunner that Adidas and the Gunners revived it with an homage for the 2019/20 season.
7. Argentina home 1986
Some shirts become markedly more iconic because of one player – and that’s the case with Argentina’s 1986 World Cup home jersey, manufactured by French cult favourites Le Coq Sportif.
The player in question? Diego Maradona, of course, who inspirationally captained his country to glory in Mexico (although Argentina wore their away kit for a certain quarter-final clash with England).
6. West Germany 1988-1990
Shirts incorporating the country’s flag can go quite wrong – or they can go the other way entirely. Thankfully for West Germany on their final kit before German reunification, it was the latter.
Donned by legends such as Rudi Voller, skipper Lothar Matthaus and 1990 World Cup-winning goal scorer Andreas Brehme, it’s yet another Adidas masterpiece.
5. France home 1984
In 1984, France won their first ever major trophy, defeating Spain to be crowned champions of Europe – and they did it kitted out in this veritable beaut of a shirt.
Stripes were the order of the day here – in a variety of forms, most eye-catchingly the colours of the French tricolour incorporated into Adidas’ customary three sleeve stripes.
4. Nigeria home 2018
For the 2018 World Cup, Nike threw it back to the 80s with Nigeria’s 2018 World Cup home shirt – and it proved to be a global sensation, selling out far beyond Africa’s most populous nation.
The Super Eagles only got to wear it once at the tournament in Russia, but thousands (millions?) around the world – whether football fans or not – were desperate to cop one of these.
3. Ajax away 1989/90
It takes something special for your away shirt to outdo your home shirt when your colours are as iconic as those of Ajax – but Umbro managed just that for the 1989/90 campaign.
Busy? Most certainly so. But it’s absolutely brilliant and, if you ask us, it’s a travesty that it was only worn for one season!
2. Denmark home 1986
Plain and patterned all at once, enduringly popular Danish brand Hummel designed an all-timer for their home country’s national team to wear on their World Cup debut in 1986.
It’s been imitated many times over since, but there will never be another shirt like the one legends like Michael Laudrup, Jan Molby and Preben Elkjaer were so blessed to turn out in.
1. Netherlands home 1988
In 1988, the Netherlands finally fulfilled their potential by winning a major tournament – the 1988 European Championship – and it was fitting that they did so in the greatest kit of all time.
That breathtaking geometric pattern actually served as the template for a number of Adidas shirts around then – but it took dipping it in Oranje for it to become this damn irresistible.
