#10 Sunderland (Home, 2004/2005)

19:14 football shirt collection , john o'shea , kevin philips , sunderland , sunderland shirt , wes brown 0 Comments

I always loved kits with stripes. In England, shirts look pretty classic for some reason, and this Sunderland shirt is no exception. I believe my dad brought it from a trip to England back in 2005 or something, I was actually surprised he didn't forget about it. He also did as told, and went to Lillywhite's in Picadilly Circus, where a few months earlier me, my mom and my brother found some interesting bargains (will post those later). Since then my dad has been a good source of great shirts, and more important, they're gifts, so I don't spend a cent on them. Great.

So, this Sunderland shirt is heavy. Yeah, heavy. It feels heavy. The sponsor is not printed, and that makes it not so light. The material is not very light, too, but the design is quite good. Love the white stripe on the collar.


So, the shirt looks beautiful, but to be honest, I'm not really into Sunderland. It's not that I don't like them or something, I just don't care. I don't know much about them, except they're one of the oldest english clubs (founded in 1879, according to Wikipedia!), and that they have a really nice crest.


As you can see, their motto is Consectatio Excellentiae, which means In Pursuit of Excellence. That's quite appropriated, as recently they've been signing some players that used to be talented youngsters and potential stars (but they failed to make it). Wesley Brown, for example.

Boots? Why? It looks cool though.

Brown was, according to Sir Alex Ferguson, the best natural defender Man Utd has had for years. Ok, I must admit I always liked him. But come on, Alex. He was not that good, was he? Anyway, he was pretty unlucky with injuries. He still managed to play 232 matches for Man Utd, some of those playing as a right-back, not his best position. I just realised he's 32. Not a surprise that he retired from international football, then. John O'Shea didn't want to see his mate leaving, so he got on the same train and also signed for Sunderland.

Brown was (or is) way better than him.

O'Shea is one of those guys that seem quite clumsy, but always do well in Man Utd. O'Shea played pretty much everywhere, but he was not brilliant anywhere. He did well, though: 256 matches with the Red Devils. Not bad at all. But there's actually a diamond playing for Sunderland: Sessegnon.

Love the scarf.

I first saw this lad playing for Benin in the African Cup of Nations, and I'm not really sure why PSG sold him. He wasn't very expensive (6M€). Good job, Sunderland, you got a nice player there.

I also remember Kevin Philips scoring tons of goals for them.

Philips, legend. Now with Blackpool, aged 38.

Maybe I can still put his name on the back of my shirt.



I'll fly to London in a few weeks, hopefully I'll find some more bargains. This time I'll have to pay for them, though.