When my dad told me he was going to Miami for a couple of days, to write some articles about portuguese companies that were establishing there, I obviously said it'd be awesome if he could get me a shirt from yet another american club. Once again, that was not an easy mission for him. He said he didn't see any MLS club shirt for sale, but he did find a Nike Store that had a couple of mexican club shirts (maybe because of the large hispanic community living in Miami), and he picked this Club America one. Nice choice indeed.
I'm not really into mexican football, and I must say I don't know much about the clubs. I know Club America is one of the most populars in Mexico, so that's probably why Nike was selling their shirt in the States. I actually own a Cruz Azul shirt (bought it in Spain), and I'll post that one later. Mexican club shirts are always at least a bit original: colourful, with plenty of sponsors and interesting designs. This one is no exception. I like the dark-blue/yellow combination, and the overall effort is quite nice. This shirt also rocks because it has "Corona" printed on the back.
Bread and Powerade. A friend of mine says that's the best breakfast after heavy drinking nights.
As a beer enthusiast, I obviously must say I tasted some amazing beers. Corona isn't brilliant, but I like to drink it in hot summer days with my mates. It just feels good. A Corona sponsorship in a shirt is a nice bonus indeed.
Now let's learn a bit about Club America.
Funny fact #1: Cameroon legend Omam-Biyik played there for 3 seasons, and was not less than a massive goal-machine, scoring 49 goals just from 75 matches. I mostly remember him because of his partner Roger Milla.
90's shirt. Classic.
Funny fact #2: a few weeks ago, they transfer-listed the whole squad. Yep, that's right, they want to get rid of every single player, after losing 9 of their last 17 matches. Maybe that's just a motivational move, but hey, sounds like a great idea.
And that's it. Hugo Sanchez played there but that's not very funny, it's just kind of interesting to know. Ivan Zamorano, legendary chilean striker, also spent some time with the Mexican giants.
Nike has been printing inspiring messages on the back of the club's badge, and no exception on the Club America shirt.
Front
Back. That means "Defend it with your life", something like that.
Quite inspiring, but I still think it's a bit pointless. It'd be better if it was written under the club badge or something. Anyway, good job, Nike!
Ok, I know some of you were waiting for this one. Let me introduce you my FC Vaduz, the pride of Liechtenstein, shirt. It's one of my favourites, of course (I think I always say this anyway). Liechtenstein national team is among my football passions - I always check their results, and if available, I try to watch their matches online. That made me like Vaduz too: the dominant force in local football, a club that spent most of last seasons in Switzerland's 2nd Division, with a one-year-spell in the Premier League (much for Europe's surprise and my excitement).
During a summer-trip around Central Europe, I managed to spend a day in Liechtenstein. Yeah, it is really small. I guess you could easily go across it without even noticing you were in a different country. Anyway, I liked it: great landscape, nice people, everything seems so organized and in its place, you know?
Finding this one wasn't easy, even in a sunny Vaduz, full of people excited with the recent good results of its lovely football side. The story behind this one is actually kind of funny.
I started looking for it in the city center. There were some sports shops around, so I gave them a try. Nothing there. Nothing from Vaduz, nor Liechtenstein. They were actually surprised there was a young portuguese tourist asking for some local football merchandise. A nice lady said "hey, we don't have the official Liechtenstein shirt, but we do have this Adidas shirt that looks a lot like it.". It was basicly Liechtenstein's blur shirt, without the crown printed and stuff. "Er, thanks, but not really!", I answered.
After some sightseeing, I stopped to buy some pizza. Then I noticed the pizza-seller was actually from Brazil! Back then, my german wasn't great, so a little portuguese-speaking help was nice. "Hey pal, I'm looking for a Vaduz shirt, any idea where they're selling those?", I asked. "Oh, Vaduz! Not easy mate. They're selling it for the same price as a Barcelona or Man Utd one! Can you imagine that? Such a shitty team! Why anybody would even like to buy their shirt for such an expensive price?", he replied. "Expensive? Well ok. But where can I find one?". "Uh, I guess if you go blah blah blah there's one shop that might have some left, but it's a lot of money!". "Ok, thanks a lot!".
Money wasn't much of a problem, as my dad was paying for it (I was like 15 back then, ok?). We went to the place he mentioned, and there was this shop that had one scarf left. A scarf wasn't brilliant, but giving the club's dimension, it was better than nothing. The lads in the store said Vaduz had done well in some European UEFA Cup match a few days before, so there was a massive interest in their merchandise. Which, I imagine, wasn't available in enormous quantities. "But I believe there's one place where you can find some shirts!".
The Post Office. Yeah, I actually bought this shirt in a Post Office. Never seen a Post Office selling football merchandising, but in Liechtenstein that's how things go. I remember there weren't many shirts available, so I had to pick a XL. It's not that big though, so I can still use it from time to time. It was expensive indeed: around 70€. Have in mind that back then, official shirts for most clubs would cost around 60€. But I was pretty glad with my purchase. It's one of my first shirts, and is still one of the rarest in my collection. I still like Vaduz a lot, and I was specially happy when they were playing Premier League football in Switzerland. Their success also helped the national team to improve.
Boavista actually had a player from Liechtenstein: Peter Jehle. A great goalie, now with FC Vaduz. The fans loved him, and he had an impressive year with us, with amazing performances against Sporting and Porto. He quickly became a fan-favourite, and I know he's a nice lad. Having to keep Liechtenstein's nets safe is a tough mission, so he deserves our recognition.
Another video that really deserves your attention:
It's a documentary about Liechtenstein's football team, and it seems a lot of fun. Never managed to watch more than the trailer, though. But you can find it in Amazon, and even with free shipping if you live in the UK. Just look for "The Mouse That Scored".
Back to the shirt.
As you can see, it's a basic Adidas template: red with white stripes on the sleeves. It looks fine though. It still has the old Vaduz logo, I believe this is the last shirt that still has this crest in it.
And here's the new one:
They both look nice. Now, another funny thing about this shirt is that it has a kind of net inside. Maybe to keep the players warm or something. It's like it has two layers, and that makes it a bit heavy. But warm indeed.
Never seen such a thing. Didn't know it was that cold over there. And from this pictures, I'd say the players would sweat to death.
It doesn't look that hot. And yep, that's my shirt.
See? Well done, Adidas. Take that thing off next time.
And that's it. I don't own a Liechtenstein shirt yet, but that can change soon. You can buy their shirts directly from Liechtenstein's FA website, a nice thing indeed. But San Marino comes first on my list! And as you may know, Classic Football Shirts has a lot of San Marino shirts for sale. Nice one, guys.
This Guangzhou shirt was, as you know if you keep reading my blog everyday (and I know you do!), one of my latest buys. Its design, the chinese characters on the front, and its rarity makes it obviously one of my favorite ones. Guangzhou Evergrande is the current champion of the Chinese SuperLeague, but this lovely away shirt was used during their spell in China League One, the 2nd division in chinese football, after a match-fixing scandal.
Usually, relegations are not really atractive in terms of football investment, but the Evergrande Real Estate Group didn't share this thoughts, and bought the club in 2010. Evergrande's millions turned the club into the main force in Chinese football, mostly thanks to some big-name signings. First, they started with some local talent, and then they brought Muriqui in from Atletico Mineiro, for 3,5 M€, the highest fee ever paid in China.
Muriqui modeling my shirt
After promotion, their ambitions grew even bigger, and they had no problem signing Fluminense star Dario Conca, a talented argentinian attacking midfielder named twice as the Campeonato Brasileiro best player. Taking Conca to an Asian league wasn't cheap, though: he earns more than $10 million a year, not bad for a player with just 9 U21 caps for Argentina.
This shirts looks cool too. Nike did well with Guangzhou.
Muriqui, Conca and brazilian striker Cléo obviously had an immediate impact, and Guangzhou won the Chinese League quite easily. Let's see how they'll do in the Asian Champions League.
The Chinese SuperLeague has actually some portuguese guys around. And some of them are true Boavista legends. Manager Jaime Pacheco, that lead Boavista to the only league title in our history, is now Beijing Guoan's boss. He finished 2nd, and he recently extended his contract, so I guess they love him there. He's not quite popular in Portugal, but no doubts he was amazing during his first spell at Boavista.
"Hit that! More tackles!", shouts Pacheco.
Pacheco won the award for Best Manager this season, but he's not the only Boavista symbol with fans over there. Manuel Barbosa, a former Youth Football Director in Boavista, and the player with most appearences ever in the chequered shirt, managed to get into the Cup Final. Nelo Vingado also coaches some mid-table club. So, as you can see, portuguese lads are doing well in China. Maybe I should go there too.
Now, back to the shirt.
The chinese characters add an exotic look to the shirt, and the design is generally good. I like the blue/light-blue combination, and the golden lines also make the shirt look... asian. Don't know how to explain this, though, but it certainly does.
Their badge is also quite original. Modern, I'd say.
It'd be quite cool to buy more stuff from Asian clubs, but shirts are usually way too expensive. I was happy to get this one for around 35€ on eBay, but it was definitly one of the cheapest I've seen. I wouldn't say it's hard to find shirts from Chinese, Japanese or Korean clubs now (specially on eBay), but the price tag is always a bit frightening. For example, a quick look on eBay for a Beijing Guoan shirt returns items ranging between $52 and $142. That makes me sad: asian club shirts are always quite distinctive and original, and would fit just perfectly in my collection.
With these instructions, I bet my shirt would end up really tiny and pink.
I never thought I'd own an Armenia shirt, and I actually didn't know much about their team. But when I was ordering my North Korea shirt from Subside Sports, back in late 2009 or early 2010, I decided to pick up another shirt, so the shipping costs would seem a little bit cheaper (8£ for two shirts, instead of 8£ just for one shirt). They had this really interesting Armenia shirt for quite a bargain (maybe 30£ or something), so it was an instant decision.
The shirt itself looks pretty cool (Hummel again!), with a nice unsymmetrical design. Despite having a nice shirt, Armenia don't usually do really well in official matches - and I'm talking about Euro or World Cup Qualifiers, of course. They used to be part of the Soviet Union, so another shirt from a former CCCP country.
They seem to be improving, though. It's not really easy to beat them in Yerevan, and in the Euro 2012 Qualifying Stage, they finished 3rd, just behind Ireland and local rivals Russia. They actually were the top-scoring team in their group, specially thanks to surprising 3-1 (home) and 0-4 (away) wins against Slovakia. They also managed to draw against Russia.
One of their first decent results was actually a goalless draw against Portugal in 1996. Looking back, that poor result made the portuguese fail to qualify to the World Cup 98. In 2007, they did it again, drawing 1-1 against us in Yerevan, but that time we recovered later and qualified to Euro 2008.
Ever heard of an Armenian football player? Not really, probably. I remember Edgar Manchuryan, that used to play for Ajax, but he didn't have much impact in the Eredivisie. Their best players usually don't make it to the top-leagues, but some are good enough to play in East-European giants, such as Shakthar Donetsk, and some mid-table russian clubs.
They actually have both a nice flag and a nice FA badge. Check them out:
Didn't post for quite a while, as I was spending some lovely days in London. The trip was fantastic, but quite a disappointment when it comes to football-shirt-collecting. Soccer Scene let me down, so I bought two shirts in Lilywhite's (located in iconic Picadilly Circus, definitly worth a visit): Croatia (Home, 2008/2010) and Bahrain (Home, 2010/2011).
I always loved Croatia, I remember supporting them back in the 1998 World Cup. The shirt was a real bargain - 15£, so it was a nice chance to add it to my collection. The chequered pattern is an absolute classic, I'm glad I've got this one now.
I don't know much about Bahrain and their team, except they've been improving in recent years. They failed to play in the 2006 World Cup because they (maybe surprisingly?) lost to Trinidad and Tobago in the playoff. In 2010, same story, this time losing to defensive outfit New Zealand. Maybe they'll make it in 2014! The shirt looks nice, and it just cost 25£, so I'm also happy with this one.
Other things I've learned from my trip (and I'm just talking about football shirts here):
The new Puma Shirts for African teams look great, as always. Specially Ghana.Puma is doing an amazing job down there. They were all designed by local artists.
Ghana
Egypt
Ivory Coast
Senegal
Togo
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Great shirts, uh? I'm pretty sure I'll put my hands on the Ghana and Cameroon ones as soon as they're a little bit cheaper. The teams will be wearing the shirts soon, in the African Cup of Nations. Also a great competition to follow closely. It has everything: some good players, some rising stars, and some ridiculous goalkeepers and defenders from weaker teams. It's exciting and sometimes a good laugh!
I also headed to Wembley to see England playing against Sweden. The match was ok, the new stadium is brilliant, and the new Sweden's away shirt is incredible.
I'll be watching online shops closely to find this one at a reasonable price, even though I already own a Sweden shirt.
Also, my East-Timor shirt arrived last thursday. I'm over the moon with that one. Will post photos soon!
This shirt is obviously one of my favourites, for several reasons. First of all, it's a really rare shirt, that fits perfectly in my collection. It also looks amazing, with a lot of beautiful details and a retro-look that makes it even more interesting. Third, it's from a quite remote location. Last but not least, it is made by Hummel, and Hummel rocks.My housemaid said this one is her favourite. I really can't pick a favourite one, but this one is certainly in the top 10.
Tibet, as you might now, isn't a country. It is an Autonomous Region in China, and independence movements have been fighting for years, demanding political separation from China, and of course, the independence of the lands where Tibetan people live. Tibet makes the headlines every now and then for political reasons, but never because their sucess in football.
Actually, as they're not an independent country, they can't play in official competitions. I believe their FA (formed by exiled Tibetans) is trying to gain official status, and hey, if the Faroe Islands can play, why can't Tibet?
Love the retro style!
I don't think they have any professional players, so their national team is composed mostly by amateur players, most of them political activists too. No surprise they always suffer heavy defeats. They played in a couple of unofficial tournaments, such as the FIFI Wild Cup in 2006, and the ELF Cup. Tibet faced other teams that don't have FIFA status, like Greenland, Northern Cyprus and Gibraltar. They used this shirt in FIFI Wild Cup:
Cool things about the shirt: as I said, the retro look is great, and I love the flag on the sleeve. It also has some words in Tibetan on the collar. And, of course, those iconic Hummel arrows. Brilliant job, guys.
Love the flag, love the FA badge that looks like a Picasso painting
Maybe it says "Free Tibet", but I have no clue
Tibet recently changed sponsors from Hummel to Copa, and the good thing is that their shirt still looks awesome.
Dalai Lama will be their defensive midfielder in the next few years.
It's really amazing and beautiful to see how football can unite these people, and also how it can boost their independence thoughts. It's certainly not a huge boost, but it's a way of spreading the word, and making a statement: we're here, and we want to have our own country. After that, we want to play football together, under our magnificent flag with our amazing kits.
There's a documentary called The Forbidden Team about their first international match, against Greenland. I couldn't find the whole thing, but there's a trailer on Youtube. "It's not just playing football, it's more than that. It's playing for the country that is longing for freedom.".
(their kits always looks incredible, in the video you can see their old Hummel one).
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