Designs through the decades

Looking back on 5 of the best kits from the past 5 decades. Prepare yourself for the minimal, the mastery and the musical.

Through the decades as a football fan, I have seen some classic examples of both the best and worst kit designs. As a fan of a retro shirt, having the opportunity to explore kits through the decades has been a pleasure. From the classic sleek kit to the utterly bizarre, we have seen many different kit designs through the years. In this article we will look at one of the best kits from 5 decades from the 1970s to now.

1970s – Brazil National Team 1970

Iconic. One simple word to describe this kit. Worn by arguably the greatest footballing side of all time, the sleek design of the 1970 Brazil Home Kit is one that lives in the memory of those who saw it and has been passed down and admired by generations since.

Worn at the Mexico World Cup in 1970, this kit was actually manufactured by 2 different kit makers, Athleta and Umbro. The 2 kits were generally indistinguishable except for the design of the numbers on the back of the shirt. The 2 different kits were often worn by different players at the same time due to many players changing their shirts at half time.

Brazil during this world cup was a full team of world class players, led by Carlos Alberto, including players such as Gerson, Jairzinho and Pele. Managed by Mario Zagallo, a 2-time world cup winner himself, the team were unstoppable. Zagallo later went on to win the World Cup with Brazil again in 1994, this time as an assistant coach.

1980s – Leicester City Home 83/84

Following on from success in the 1970s, the 1980s was the era of the classic Admiral shirt. In 1982, England debuted an Admiral kit at the World Cup, arguably one of the best the England Team has had. After this world cup, the Admiral club base grew to include clubs such as Hull City, Notts County, Derby County, Bradford City, Stoke City, Charlton Athletic, plus more.

The right way to honour an Admiral kit is to choose one of their designs worn by hometown side, Leicester City. Admiral were a kit maker developed out of Wigston Leicestershire, as so, Leicester City were one of the first league clubs, besides Leeds United, to take on an Admiral kit.

This kit was particularly memorable for Leicester fans as it was worn by hometown hero, Gary Lineker. During this season, Lineker scored 22 goals in 39 appearances. Most notably, forming a deadly upfront partnership with Alan Smith. Between them, Lineker and Smith scored 38 goals in division 1.

Featuring the classic Leicester City blue with a stylish white pinstripe, this kit became well loved by Leicester City fans of the time. The shirt has also recently been reborn within the club’s ‘retro shirt’ collection available to purchase directly.

1990s – Verdy Kawasaki Home 93/94

The 90s really was the decade of the patterned kit. Several kits could’ve made the cut here. With a special mention to Arsenal’s bruised banana away kit, the denim style ‘stars & stripes’ USA away kit and David Seaman’s unforgettable ’96 Goalkeeper kit.

The 1993/94 season was the inaugural season of the J-League and Verdy Kawasaki went out of their way to deliver an infamous kit to open with. Some may say the kit brought Verdy some luck during that season, the team having both claimed the first ever J-league title and also the Japanese Cup.

Both the home and away shirts from this season feature the same natural design and green colour palette that stands out amongst other, more minimalist Japanese league kits. Not only have these kits been popular within Japan, also around the world. These kits both so popular, they’re now extremely rare and almost impossible to get hold of. If you do manage to get hold of one, they may set you back upwards of £200.

2000s – Stand Up Speak Up 2005

The Stand Up Speak Up campaign, created by Nike, was a campaign that turned unprovoked abuse into a stand against racism by the football world. After Spain coach, Luis Aragones, directed racist comments towards French national, Thierry Henry. The main symbol of the campai

gn was 2 interlocking wristbands, one black, one white. As of the campaign ending in 2009, $6.5 million had been distributed to 238 anti-racism projects across Europe.

During 2005, several teams who’s kits were manufactured by Nike, including the Netherlands & Portugal national teams, wore a specially designed strip. The kit was based on Nike’s Total 90 Kit, featuring a half black, half white design.

These kits were available for purchase but only in small numbers due to their ‘limited edition’ nature. The kit was a minimalist design which allowed for reflection on the subject matter, that unfortunately is still an issue we see and hear about today. The kit also featured the campaign title on the sleeve, one of very few additions, other than the club/nations badge.

2010/20s – Ajax Third 21/22

In 2021 Ajax debuted one of the finest designed kits of the 2010s or 2020s. In a world whereby minimalist shirt designs have come back into fashion, Ajax seemed to hit all the right notes with their ‘Three Little Birds’ shirt design.

Although this was not Ajax’s home kit or even their away kit, the Third shirt was loved by many across the globe, making it all the more in demand. Part of the reasoning for the love of this kit, was the affiliation to Bob Marley. However, it is often wondered by outsiders what the link is between Marley and the Eredivisie side. The story began in Cardiff, in 2008 when Ajax fans were ask to remain in the stadium post-match. To keep the fans entertained, the DJ played ‘Three Little Birds’ and it was almost instantaneously adopted by the Ajax fans, becoming something of a club anthem.

"I am beyond touched that Ajax has taken Three Little Birds and made it their anthem,” explained Cedella Marley. “Stories like this warm my heart and show how impactful songs like Three Little Birds can be. Soccer was everything to my father...and to use his words ‘football is freedom’.” – Cedella Marley told Ajax’s official website

The shirt design is classic black but includes several smaller details that make the shirt all the more unique. The more you look into this shirt, the more intriguing and the more beautiful it becomes. Featuring the 3 striped design around the sleeve caps and across the shoulders. The shirt also had the three little birds perched on the back neck of the shirt, an intricate detail that finished the shirt off perfectly.