13 teams that need to be reunited with their classic kit makers immediately

Germany, Germany, Germany… What the f*cking hell are you doing?

The word ‘treason’ is thrown around a lot — especially by your dad’s mate from work with the high blood pressure, who doesn’t reckon we should be having any fun with the design of that flag we literally nicked from Genoa. But Germany are playing with fire.

Germany is Adidas, Adidas is Germany. It’s symbiosis. It’s the shark and the remora. It’s Richards & Jagger, Paul & Barry, Magnet & Steel. And yet, Germany and Adidas are going their separate ways.

It’s obviously a travesty, and we look forward to the frenzy over the first new adidas x Deutschland kit in twenty years time but, until then, we’ve picked out 13 teams that need to reconcile with their ex-kit manufacturers and give us all the comeback we need.

Newcastle United & adidas

Germany’s loss is Newcastle’s gain as the Geordies are set to have Adidas manufacturing their kits again as of next season. Those Keegan-era kits were propa f*cken belta, like.

The home one with the grandad collar, the away one with the grandad collar, the denim blue away kit, the keeper kit with the sunset and the silhouette skyline…

All together, howay:
AAAAAADIDAS, YA SHOULDA SEEN US GANNEN
PASSIN’ THE FOLKS ALANG THE ROAD JUST AS THEY WERE STANNIN’
ALL THE LADS AND LASSES THERE, AAAHL WI’ SMILIN’ FACES
GANNEN ALONG THE SCOTSWOOD ROOOOAAAAD
TO SEE THE BLAYDON RACES

David Ginola being gorgeous in a gorgeous Adidas kit.

Borussia Dortmund & Nike

Bring back Nike, bring back Die Continentale (whatever they were) as the sponsor, bring back the day-glo greeny yellow. Bring it all back. Dortmund are the only German team we will permit to have a Nike kit. The rest are banned.

The day-glo heroes of 1997.

Roma & Kappa

The deep red, that pale orange that should technically have been yellow but, f*ck it, the orange looked better. The Kappa branding down the sleeves. Francesco Totti with his Tiempos and his little socks and a big number 10 on his back.

Forgive us, father, for we have sinned, and we’ll sin again.

Francesco Totti in a Kappa Roma kit. We’re drooly.

Blackburn Rovers & Asics

Blackburn won the Premier League in their best-ever kit. Lovely when the planets align like that. Lovely when you get Sutton & Shearer under the tutelage of Kenny Dalglish, to be fair.

A shirt as iconic as Blackburn’s should always be brilliant, but some get it wrong. Give Asics the keys and just let them drive for a bit. See where we end up.

The SAS in that kit got us sending out an SOS. Hall of fame.

Parma & Lotto

There’s something about football teams having kits made by (relatively) local manufacturers. It’s why the Germany/adidas split has upset us so much.

But then, we don’t think it would’ve mattered who’d made this kit, with Buffon, Veron, Crespo, Thuram, Cannavaro, Zola, Sensini, Asprilla, Chiesa et al. peacocking around in it on Channel 4 every Sunday.

Lotto made Parma’s best kits, and we long for those days once more.

Juan Sebastien Veron in that gialloblu jewel from Lotto.

Argentina & Le Coq Sportif

La Albiceleste have had plenty of top kits over the years, so why should we be pining for them to hook back up with Le Coq Sportif? We’re in a good mood, so allow us to demonstrate through the medium of song, in fluent Neapolitan:

Oh mamma, mamma, mamma
Oh mamma, mamma, mamma
Sai perche mi batte il corazon?
Ho visto Maradona
Ho visto Maradona
E, mamma, inamorato son!

Diego Armando Maradona flying through the air in Le Coq Sportif *chef’s kiss*

Wales & Admiral

Not gonna say anything, just going to insert a photograph and admire it for a minute.

Forgot the fella in white, unfocus your eyes, notice the lovely red kits with the yellow stripes. DO NOT LOOK AT THE FELLA IN WHITE.

Chelsea & Umbro

This just feels right. Nike and Adidas have both made valiant efforts but Umbro just suits the blues. Especially when they had the Autoglass sponsor, and even during the early Mourinho era. Something a bit more Barclays about Chelsea in Umbro. Bring it back.

Gianfranco Zola in an Umbro Chelsea kit makes us want to reverse time.

Italy & Diadora

One of the great Italian kit manufacturers made some of the great Italian football kits. From 1987 to 1994, Diadora were bashing out classic after classic for gli azzurri, perfectly coinciding with a golden era for Serie A, the 1990 World Cup on home soil, and Luciano Pavarotti making grown adults cry grown-up tears.

We can dream.

Salvatore Schillaci, here, in some nice Diadora at Italia 90.

Tottenham Hotspur & Hummel

A classic pairing. Just the right amount of detail, just the right amount of stuff going on. Right manufacturer at the right time. A real goldilocks situation for Danes and the Lilywhites. Hummel are making gorgeous kits again in 2024 — time for a rekindling, no?

No need for this image of Chris Waddle from 1985 to be in black & white, but it works.

Fiorentina & Fila

Fiorentina should never be allowed to have a bad kit. Never ever, ever, ever, ever. The perfect kit needs the perfect team with the perfect manufacturer and the perfect sponsor, preferably with an iconic player or two wearing it.

Fiorentina, Fila, Nintendo, Gabriel Batistuta. Name a more iconic quartet.

Batigol x Fila x Nintendo x Fiorentina

Cameroon & Mitre

Literally any to mention the 1994 Cameroon kit. Google it. It’s perfect. A work of genuine art. Any chance of a 30th-anniversary kit…?

Cameroon 1994-95 by Mitre 🇨🇲

The shirt that was available to buy in the shops at the time but was changed ahead of the 1994 World Cup to a much simpler design. pic.twitter.com/HB0yuLCzuh

— Classic Football Shirts (@classicshirts) January 14, 2022

AC Milan & Lotto or Adidas

We’ll let Milan take their pick, but the Puma thing ain’t working. The Rossoneri are back among the big boys, and they deserve a kit to match.

If you’re going for Adidas, make sure you get the trefoil, though. That is of utmost importance to us. Thank you.

Marco van Basten was one smart van bastard in this Adidas gem.

READ NEXT: Every Euro 2024 kit released & leaked so far: England & France looking very smart…

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the sponsors for these 20 memorably Premier League kits?