BRUSSELS – Belgium’s away kit is a tribute to a much-loved and nearly century-old cartoon character, Tintin. Croatia’s shirt will not go unnoticed. Germany’s home jersey is a classic white but the away shirt is a bold pink and purple.
Ahead of the European soccer championships starting June 14 in Germany, The Associated Press takes a look at some of the kits that will surely catch the eyes of soccer fans and fashionistas from across the globe.
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FRANCE GOES RETRO
Led by new Real Madrid signing Kylian Mbappé, France is among the favorites to win the tournament. Its jerseys, both home and away, deserve a place at the top of the charts, too.
The away shirt combines a white base with a royal blue, with pinstripes going from blue to red reflecting the colors of the national flag. The home shirt is simple, featuring a striking bright blue. The only downside, perhaps, is the extra large Gallic rooster — a national symbol of France as a nation. It is stamped on the shirt and might be too big and been more appropriate on a rugby shirt. But because of that XXL badge, the jerseys are reminiscent of the kit the French team wore at the 1984 tournament, when the Tricolores, guided by Michel Platini, won their first major title.
TINTIN TRIBUTE
Belgium’s home kit has the traditional red color worn by the national teams, whose players are nicknamed the Red Devils and Red Flames.
But Belgium is the land of surrealism and likes to do things differently, with humor.
The away kit is a tribute to the late, great Belgian cartoonist Hergé and the character that first made him famous in 1929: Tintin, the intrepid reporter. It is composed of a blue jersey with a white collar, brown shorts, and white socks. The light blue of the jersey will please the Manchester City fans who adore Kevin De Bruyne. The brown shorts, however, might result in an arrest by the fashion police.
CLASSICISM? MODERN THEME? GERMANY HAS BOTH
The new Germany home shirt is a classic and will fit perfectly with the resurgent mullet haircut that so many German players have sported in the past. It is mainly white, with the black, red and gold of the national flag over the shoulders in the shape of an eagle’s wing.
The away kit, with its pink and purple colors, is an unprecedented bold move in the Mannschaft’s history. The German federation says it represents the new generation of German soccer fans, as well as the diversity of the country.
The look is rounded off by purple shorts and socks. It got Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz really excited: “The away shirt is really cool! It’s something different and really stands out.”
NUMBER 44 CONTROVERSY
The German federation, however, made headlines for the wrong reasons after some social media users pointed out that the font of the two fours together on jerseys with the number 44 resembled the stylized S.S. used by the Nazi Party’s Schutzstaffel group. Adidas subsequently stopped offering the personalization of jerseys with names and numbers, and the federation halted the delivery of jerseys with the number 44 from its own online shop.
Commonly known as the S.S., the Schutzstaffel group included police units, combat forces and others who ran the concentration camps that carried out the mass killings of Jewish civilians during World War II.
EXTRA LARGE CHECKS
The French are not the only team taking the oversize trend.
The Croatian home shirt will feature extra large red and white checks. Critics say players now look more like jockeys at a race track rather than soccer players. But the larger squares give it a modern and relaxed look.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
The Portugal home kit should age well. Its designer didn’t take too many risks, opting instead for elegance and a classic look. The shirt is mainly red, with dashes of black and green on the black collar and sleeves. The Dutch home jersey also keep it traditional — bright orange featuring a blue collar.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer