Kit Nerd Corner : Holiday Guide – Part 3
This could be considered shameless clickbait, but that’s because the seven of you who read this are WEAK (just like me)! If you agree or disagree, please leave a comment down below or bug me on Twitter. Remember though : I probably hate your club.
Santos Laguna Home
Manufacturer: Charly
In a Nutshell: Hoops and stars.
Club shop link to save you the trouble
Santos Laguna has had a very bizarre and unique shade of green on their kids for as long as I’ve been aware of. At times it’s not the most traditional of colors or Shades, but there’s nothing wrong with being unique.
Charly has made some really nice kits in Mexico, very nice, flattering designs that are equal with the elite companies that you see in Europe. But enough of this eurosnobbery. Santos Laguna’s home kit is green and white hoops in the chest, green sleeves, and a white ringer button collar. In each of the green hoops, you will find a star on the left hand side, where the outlines keep growing out, which would give this kit five stars, one in each hoop, which would be similar to the number of stars underneath the badge. All of the sponsors appear in white on the green hoops which just adds to the aesthetic.
Get if : like green and white hoops but don’t care for other green and white hopped teams, love you some Mexiceltic action, like patterns in your striping.
Rayo Vallecano Home
Manufacturer: Kelme
In a Nutshell: The sash goes around to the back as well.
Club shop link to save you the trouble
Admit it, you’re surprised that Kelme is still even a thing in football kits. Spoiler alert, this isn’t even the last Kelme kit in this series.
Rayo vallecano is often regarded as Madrid’s third club, and are identified by their white shirts and red sash. They’ve had some really nice kits over the last few years, both home and away, and, to be honest, this jersey is slightly lesser. The shirt has a grey imprint of the club badge on the right side, and slightly under the sash. The collar is a black v-neck with a single black shoulder stripe, going from collar to one third of the way down the sleeve. The cuffs are black, as is the bottom hem of the shirt.
I realize that I’m talking exclusively about tops, but I need to draw your attention to the best part of the uniform – the socks. The white socks have the manufacturer’s name at the top of the shin above a red sash. The socks are mini versions of the kit! These are amazing.
Get if : you’re getting the socks too, you just want the socks, consider me for a pair (10.5 please) and I’m good for it.
Go Ahead Eagles Away
Manufacturer: Hummel
In a Nutshell: Belgian plad? Sure why not.
Club shop link to save you the trouble
Go Ahead Eagles ran a campaign this season for supporters to vote for their favourite kits over the last 20+ years, and the winners of each vote we get re-created and reissued for this season. While the Deventer club isn’t exactly glamourous by Dutch standards, this kit should make them famous.
The royal blue/green/red/white tartan pattern is striking, blue button collar, white Hummel chevrons flow down from the neck and top of the shoulder to mid-arm. All though the sponsors are in white (really, what other colour could it have been), the badge really pops, and it feels more distracting and busy, rather than simply existing. While Hummel made the original kit that this was based on, they’re identical shirt of the sponsors.
Get if you : love tartans (and who doesn’t), like unconventional looking kits, are mad for Go Ahead Eagles
Real Valladolid Home
Manufacturer: Hummel
In a Nutshell: stripes of a colour you don’t have in your collection.
Club shop link to save you the trouble
Real Valladolid have one of the most unique colours in world football – light purple. Oh, there are purple sides, but light purple sides? As a home kit? I’ll wait.
The shirt is white and light purple vertical stripes with a light purple band across the chest for the sponsor, white sleeves with light purple Hummel chevrons, light purple collar with a faux v-neck. The thing that I like about this kit is the manufacturer name colour, in that it’s red. It doesn’t necessarily go with the light purple, but it does go with the badge. It’s a very small thing, and it could’ve been printed in black, not looking out of place, but choosing the red in the badge means the designer thought about it. A conscious effort to make this look nice rather than simply putting the minimum effort into making a shirt.
Get if you : need to complete the rainbow of colours in your collection, have an affinity to all things lilac, want a football kit that still looks like a kit but is close to not being one.
ADO Den Haag Home
Manufacturer: Errea
In a Nutshell: gradient yellow and green stripes.
Club shop link to save you the trouble
I know, right? Another striped shirt. Well if you read the disclaimer, you’d remember not to be surprised by such a revelation.
Den Haag is a very good looking side this year, as Errea did the business and gave them three very nice modern kits, and the home offering is the superior one of the lot (as it should). It’s a green shirt with yellow stripes fading at the top and bottom, green band across the chest for the sponsor, green sleeves with yellow cuffs, green and yellow v-neck collar, yellow panels along the sides from hip to armpit.
It’s a smashing bit of kit and Errea did wonderfully, but unless there’s a corporate branding reason for it that I don’t understand, but the sponsor appears twice. On the front. One above the other. The top one being smaller.
It’s a little jarring, but not enough to ruin the kit.
Get if : you like when your club sponsor puts their logo on it twice (why should you be), fan of Errea kits (and you should be), like nice striping
