Panama Papers? Panama shirts!

Panama is of course pretty much in the spotlight because of the Panama Papers stuff. If you live in a bubble and didn't hear of it, you can check the fantastic The Guardian coverage of it.

It'll also rock the football world, because FIFA (no shit!) guys are obviously involved, and so is Platini and Messi. Oh well, this Panama thing is brilliant but it's pretty much just the confirmation of what everyone always knew: rich people finding ways to avoid taxes. Well done, capitalism.

Anyway, that sounds like a good reason to have a look at a few Panama shirts, because some of them look actually really nice.


This is their latest shirt, by american company New Balance. Definitly a nice effort, and actually quite better than usual for NB's stuff.



NB also went with some neat away and 3rd shirts:

Away

Third kit


I would definitly go for the away kit. You can find it at the World Soccer Shop, and the home one is available on the same online store or directly at New Balance's online store.

Now for some older shirts.

Lotto sponsored the Panama FA for quite a long time, so it's easier to find cheaper shirts from those days. Some are really uninspired (Lotto templates over and over), but other are indeed superb. Like this one:

2012/2014
It kinda reminds me of Costa Rica, exactly the same colours and similar designs. The 2014 are pretty close too:



And a few classic ones that are not too difficult to find around on eBay or other sites:

2006 I think

Lotto used this template in so many shirts, damn
Quick guide to some Panama shirts, the new ones look great, the old ones not so great, but if you're into football shirts, maybe there are the days to purchase a Panama one - for obvious reasons.
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#43 Zimbabwe (Home, 2006/2008)


Usually, shirts from african teams are great. Good designs, plenty of colours, some crazy and out of the box ideas. Clearly not the case with this Zimbabwe shirt, which seems it travelled all the way from the 90's (the bad part of the decade, I mean) to 2006.

The design is pretty terrible, the material is a disgrace, and overall it looks like a really really cheap shirt. But hey, at least it fits nice in any collection! Zimbabwe also sounds cool, and their flag looks neat, so I think things don't get that terrible.


A lot of people will recognize this shirt, it was a regular appearence on eBay and other shirt sites (they had it for a reasonable price at Classic Football Shirts). It was a smart and much appreciated birthday present from my football mates, I threw (as usual) a good barbeque with beer and other alcoholic drinks at my place, and they gave me this Zimbabwe shirt. Thanks, guys.



As you can see, it's pretty much a yellow and green template from italian brand Legea. They have some crazy measures too, the sleeves are huge and overall it feels a bit baggy, but of course it's an exotic item.

Time to learn a bit about football in the country.

See the sleeves? Oh, this is Peter Ndlovu.

Not much to say, really. They usually never qualify for the African Cup of Nations, never managed to qualify for a World Cup, and actually were thrown out the Qualification Stages for WC2018. Terrible. They seem to enjoy some success at the COSAFA Cup, a competition for Southern African countries. Current members include decent squads like Angola, South Africa and Zambia, but something tells me those FAs don't send their best players to a minor cup.

Best current players include Costa Nhamoinesu, who plays for Sparta Prague, and Musona, who had spells in Germany and is now playing in Belgium. Ndlovu is probably their best known player of all time, after many years in the Premier League. Oh, and crazy keeper Bruce Grobelaar, a Liverpool legend, who earned around 30 caps for Zimbabwe (previously Rhodesia), where he grew up.

Grobelaar and an unkown player

Ok, now to the best part. Let's have a look at the Zimbabwe Premier League.

Current champions - Chicken Inn FC. It's literally a football team created by a fast-food chain. The KFC of Zimbabwe, let's say.

Contact me if you know how to get their shirt.

Triangle United did well last season. Yeah, Triangle United. The Sugar Sugar Boys. Their crest is actually a triangle.



And of course, let's not forget bloody dictator Robert Mugabe.

Zimbabwe 2026 CONFIRMED!
Finally, a last picture of my shirt being worn:


And some pictures of some of their more recent shirts, which are actually quite good.

Umbro
Their current kit by Joma
I specially like the Umbro one, but I'd have a go at this Joma green one. Looks classic stuff.
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#42 Belarus (Home, 2014/2016)



For some reason I stopped updating the blog, but hey, some people complained and here we are again. I didn't stop buying new stuff (today I bought a Myanmar shirt, hopefully it'll get from Thailand all the way to Porto), and the last count is around the 150 mark. A nice number, I guess.

So, let's have a look at this awesome Belarus shirt. I got it on a work trip to Minsk (to cover the match between BATE Borisov and FC Porto), and it wasn't too easy to get. As you can see, the Belarus FA is sponsored by Adidas. I came across a few Adidas shops, but found nothing of their national team. I did buy a really cool ushanka, though, that was really useful in recent trips to Switzerland and Russia.

In Saint Petersburg with my Adidas ushanka from Minsk

The guys at the shops told me that maybe there was this small chance they had a few Belarus shirts in a shopping mall just outside the city center, but hey, I was working and didn't have time for that. I was starting thinking all I could get would be a BATE shirt, which was cool anyway, but it'd be a wasted chance to get a nice Belarus one. It's not that they don't pop up sometimes on eBay or other shirt shops, but they're usually quite expensive - it's a rare item.

But luck protected me, and in the new BATE stadium, in Borisov, they had BATE shirts and Belarus ones! For a reasonable price also, I think I paid around 35eur for this one. Not bad at all, because it's quite classy.


It's not a big deal, of course, but it could be worse (like a total white Adidas template). It has this nice red and green details, and the badge is a beauty - straight outta CCCP times.


I absolutely loved my trip to Minsk, it's definitly a great city. A must if you're into Eastern Europe, it's probably the most USSR-like capital still around. Don't forget they have their own dictator - Lukashenko. In 2016, Belarus is probably the last real dictatorship in Europe. I even worked on a report about the opposition movements, and how they always get in trouble. It felt like a massive thing to do, specially having in mind I work for a sports channel. It was great, I'll never forget those days.

Minsk is really cool, they even have a huge Lenin statue in the main square.

That's Lenin and the Parliament. A photo I took in Minsk.

BATE is surely their biggest and most successful side at the moment. I also bought their shirt, even though I was disappointed to get only a XL, which is a bit too large for me. Will post it later.

Belarus is not exactly a superpower when it comes to football, and never qualified for a major tournament. I was expecting they'd have a chance now that the European Championship has 24 teams, but they weren't even close. Maybe in the near future they can do a little better and push for a playoff place.

You probably heard of Hleb, who played for Arsenal and Barcelona (among others), who is probably their best player in recent times. Putsila or Kornilenko also worth a mention.

A few last pictures of the shirt in action:




Man, that badge is so fucking awesome.

PS - as you maybe noticed, I changed the layout of the blog a little bit. Hope you guys like it.
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#41 Chivas USA (Home, 2008/2009)



Chivas USA is probably one of the best examples when it comes to the differences between soccer in the States and football pretty much elsewhere. Imagine you own one of the most successful clubs in Mexico... Next step? To put it also in the Major League Soccer! No promotion needed, you're straight into the main league. Nice move, I guess.

So that's what happenned. Jorge Madrigal, Chivas Guadalajara owner, thought it'd be a great idea to invest in the growing american league, so he started Chivas USA, based in Los Angeles. The team never got brilliant results (yet), but one can say they're a decent side in the MLS.


Funny thing is that Chivas USA actually do not have a single mexican player this season. It'd be predictable they'd not only look for some mexican talent to send there, but also would loan some younger players from Guadalajara to the USA outfit. They never did, and actually there never seems to be a connection between both clubs apart from the name, the colours and the owners. They do have (and had) some talented players with them: Juan Pablo Angel, Francisco Palencia, Bornstein or Claudio Suarez. And they once were coached by Bob Bradley, surely a good manager.

They were also blessed with the talent of Zach Thornton, a huge goalkeeper that spent a few months with Benfica but failed to make any appearence. Crazy times.


CD Chivas USA obviously shares the crest of Chivas Guadalajara.



They use this cool red-and-white striped kit, which is the same as the mexican and original Chivas:


The USA one actually has a cool design, nice job by Adidas. I think they still sponsor every single team in the MLS, and actually sometimes you do find some quite cool kits in american soccer. Mine was a nice eBay finding, it was used but in almost mint condition, and also great price. I've been trying to get more american clubs kits, but they're either quite expensive or the shipping is absurdly overpriced. Unfortunetly quite normal these days on eBay.



They are not doing really well this season, but eh, who cares? They won't be relegated anyway. That's a really unfair systeam over there if you ask me. I guess it makes sense in the USA, but it's hard to imagine a league where your failure has no consequences at all.

Axel Torres once said football has to be democratic, and stated:

In football it has to be possible that if a team wins every single game in the next 6 or 7 years, they'll be crowned as champions in the top league.

Makes sense indeed. Something that does not happen in the MLS or the A-League, for example. Hope that changes soon.
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#40 Farense (Home, 1998/1999)


I do not own many shirts from Portuguese clubs, but I had to buy this Farense shirt. It does not look great I guess, but it's definitly a rare item, and I do like Farense a lot.

A part of my family comes from Faro, a sunny city down in Algarve. When I was younger I used to spend a few weeks there with my cousins and aunts. My grandmother and my great-aunt were both born there, and moved to Porto when they were adults already. I still have a lot of cousins in Algarve, and another great-aunt and a great-uncle still live there.

When I was only 2 or 3, I was already into football. As I was too young to pick a club, I'd usually say my club was Farense, because I had a close relationship with my grandma and she supported them. It made sense back then, even though Faro is around 600km or 700km away from here. Not that later I started supporting my local club, Boavista.

But I always had this connection with Farense. I actually went to see at least one match in Faro, late in August. I was really young, but I remember being there.


Like many other portuguese clubs, after a period of great success in the 90's, Farense had to face years of financial problems. The situation was so severe that the club decided to start from scratch, from the lowest league in portuguese football, the 6th tier. They were quickly promoted to III Division (4th tier), where they remained for a couple of years. Farense was then promoted to II Division (3rd tier), but was relegated after only one season, only to be promoted right after. That means they're playing in the 3rd tier this season, actually with a pretty decent squad.

Before this lower-league-nightmare, Farense was definitly an interesting club for the Portuguese League. They'd usually fight to avoid relegation, but it was always a tough mission to beat them in their ground. They also had a quite loyal fan-base, and the atmosphere was pretty decent. They were a yo-yo club for quite a few decades, winning the 2nd League quite often, but in the 90's they finally established themselves as a 1st league club. In 1989, they reached the Portuguese Cup Final, but lost to Estrela da Amadora (another club that is now competing in the lower leagues).

"Faro Lions"
Farense played in Europe once, in 95, losing to Lyon in the 1st Round. Back then, they really had a good squad, and were managed by former Barcelona player Paco Fortes, an iconic coach with an iconic moustache.

FC Moustache
Some of their key players will definitly bring back some memories to portuguese football fans. Some stars we'll never forget:

Hassan Nader!


Moroccan striker, league top-scorer in 1994/1995. Top class strike, he moved to Benfica but failed to have much impact, and was then signed by Farense once again.

Peter Rufai anyone?


A typical african goalie, was either brilliant or a total disaster, spent 3 seasons in Faro before moving to Spain (Hercules and Deportivo Coruna). Was the number one choice for Nigeria in the 98 World Cup, still remember him playing against Spain - when Nigeria won 3-2. Good day that was.

Hajry, another african pearl.


I actually don't remember much of him playing. He was with Farense for many years, and he was the Ace in the card collection, so he was definitly very good.

Carlos Costa


He spent most of his career in Faro, had a brilliant haircut and kept with them even in the lower leagues. Retired in 2005.

So, even though Farense was never a brilliant team, they had some decent players that most football fans in Portugal still remember.



There's actually not much to say about the shirt. It's still in mint condition, despite being more than 10 years old, and is pretty much a plain white shirt with black Lotto logos on the sleeves. Not much of a gem here, but it's classic Farense stuff. Their away kit used to be green. Pingo Doce, their sponsor back then, is still one of the biggest portuguese supermarket operators. They have shops all over Portugal, and also in some countries (with different names). In Poland, they own Biedronka, for example. Polish people will now Biedronka.

The shirt tag says L, but it is more like a XL. I used it once, when playing with my mates, and it was raining a lot, so it was definitly a poor choice, as I felt heavier than usual. I'm sure I scored a few goals anyway though.



This week, a friend sent me a Campomaiorense shirt - a great gift indeed. Campomaiorense is a small team from Alentejo (near Algarve), that reached the portuguese main league in the 90's, but then quickly dropped and stopped playing professional football. They're still in the regional leagues now. Like Campomaiorense and Farense, many other portuguese clubs who spent some time in the Primeira Liga back in the 80's and 90's, some with actually a bit of success, are now facing severe problems. Some examples:

Salgueiros: once quite popular in Porto, managed to play once in the UEFA Cup. Went bankrupt, and now are playing in the 4th Division with a differente name, Salgueiros 08.
Estrela da Amadora: won the Portuguese Cup once in 1989, but aren't playing anymore. They used to have decent squads, but lacked supporters. They were supposed to come back this season in the lowest division, but I think they didn't.
Leça: played in the top league a few seasons, and are now playing 4th tier football, with few chances of ever coming back.
Famalicão: won the 2nd league twice, and are now on the 3rd level after many seasons in the regional divisions.
Felgueiras: relegated in 1996, and now playing in the 4th Division under a new name after difficult seasons.
Chaves: usually a regular in the 1st or 2nd level, now in the 3rd tier.
Tirsense: had a few successful years in the 90's, but were quickly playing in the 4th tier.
Fafe: had a brief spell in the top level, but are now lost in the 3rd division, after even going down to the 4th level.

And probably a few more I can't remember now. Wicked.
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#39 FC Gütersloh (Home, 2010/2011)


Around one year ago, I had the chance to spend 15 days in Germany covering FC Porto's summer training camp in Marienfeld, a really small town near Bielefeld. It meant a lot of work, with daily reports and stuff, but it also meant a lot of fun.

I knew Porto had two friendly matches against local teams scheduled, so it was pretty much a golden oportunity to get some rare shirts (possibly for free).

As I wrote on the SC Verl entry, I was lucky enough to be helped by a portuguese emmigrant living in Germany. A great lad.


He was at the match, and as soon as I told him I was looking forward to get a FCG shirt, he was kind enough to tell someone at the club a portuguese journalist wanted one. An old man then came to me - I believe it was the kit room guy - with this green shirt on his hands, and gave it to me. Nice one! A really rare shirt for free is the kind of thing all of us usually look for.

On a side note, I ended up having lunch at this portuguese emmigrant house a few months later.


Porto easily defeated Gütersloh for 1-10, pretty much a beach football score, but something quite natural having in mind that the german outfit played in the 6th tier of deutsch football. But before being stuck in the local Verbandsliga Westfalen, Gütersloh had a brief period of success in the 90's. Despite the small fan base (only 96.000 people live in the area), it has two major german companies working there: media group Bertelsmann employs around 11.300 workers, and Miele employs 5000. No surprise these two companies started to invest in the local club, that was rapidly promoted from the 4th division to the Bundesliga 2.

According to locals, FCG was actually on the brink of promotion, finishing 4th. But, in 1999, after only 3 seasons playing 2nd tier football, Miele and Bertelsmann and other companies were quite tired of funding a club that kept spending not so wisely. With something like €10 Million in debts, the club went bankrupt and had to start all over again. Without financial support from local companies, Gütersloh 2000 struggled and is now still in Oberliga Westfalen, 5th level in the pyramid. Not brilliant.



I got the number 19, but I really don't know which player used the number. I'm not 100% about the exact season when FCG used this Jako shirt, but I did find a picture of a 2010/2011 season with some player wearing it, so I'm guessing 2010/2011.


The club seemed quite organized for 6th division standards. It's impressive how amateur clubs in Germany really have a better structure than most 2nd division sides in Portugal. Their stadium was also quite good.


The press area was a bit too small though, but I suspect there are not many journalists around at 6th Division games.

I actually enjoyed my stay in the city. I guess they're used to portuguese pressmen, as Portugal and FC Porto stayed in Marienfeld (the Training Center near Gütersloh) in the past. The city is quite small, but everything looks nice and clean. I was specially impressed with the Theatre building. My hotel was also only a few seconds away from the Lutheran Church, an impressive building too.  So here are some pictures of Gütersloh:

Theatre
Theatre again
Martin Luther Church
The local economy is also helped by the massive presence of british soldiers who live and work at a Military Base near the city. You could easily spot many soldiers around, and we'd pass the barracks everyday on our way between the hotel and Porto's training facilities. It's a pretty big base I think, built by the germans before World War II, but then captured by the americans and the english. I think RAF heavily used in the past, but people told me they were planning to shut it down in a few years, and therefore many soldiers are already moving to other bases. It's still a bit weird to see a British Army base in Germany, reminds us of how different things were just a few decades ago.

Have a look at the Princess Royal Barracks:

Ver mapa maior


And some final pictures:
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