France 2013/15 Home Kit

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Back view

New retro embroidered crest

'Provoque le destin' campaign to launch the new shirt.

FRANCE NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
-First official match: 1 May 1904
-Honours: 1 FIFA World Cup (France 1998); 2 UEFA European Championship (France 1984, Belgium-Netherlands 2000).
-Highest FIFA Ranking: 1st (May 2001-May 2002)
-Lowest FIFA Ranking: 27th (September 2010)
-Highest Elo Rating: 1st (most recently: July 2007)
-Lowest Elo Rating: 44th (May 1928, February 1930)
-Top scorer: Thierry Henry (1992-present) - 51 goals

Well... six months later (maybe more?) I've beaten the laziness that kept me away from updating the blog. Luckily I've had no laziness to buy new shirts, some of which are really rare and beautiful.
Anyway, sorry to whoever that often read me.
The Three Wise Men have been really generous, I received some presents for my birthday, too; even Santa Claus came to my house this year. This France shirt I got for my birthday has undoubtly become one of my favourites; after the mess FIFA and Adidas are causing with its all-one-colour kits, it seems like Nike won't respect this regulations. Thanks Nike.
On the other hand, I should say that I want to become Nike designer one day. Sticking a new crest and changing the colour of the collar (see France 2011/12) might not be a hard task.

-Season: 2013/15 
-Brand: Nike 
-Special features: replica version features (Dri-FIT fabric, embroidered Swoosh and club crest). 
-Where to buy it: Weston Corporation (replica) Lovell Soccer (player issue) 
-Approximate price: $72 / €53 / £44 (replica) $130 / €100 / £80 (player issue)

Nigeria 2006/07 Home Kit

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Nigeria Football Association's crest.

Teamgeist logo.

Obafemi Martins during a match.

NIGERIA NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM 
-First official match: 28 May 1950 
-Honours: 3 African Cup of Nations (Nigeria 1980, Tunisia 1994 and South Africa 2013). 
-Highest FIFA Ranking: 5th (April 1994) 
-Lowest FIFA Ranking: 82nd (November 1999) 
-Highest Elo Rating: 14th (May 2004) 
-Lowest Elo Rating: 87th (December 1964) 
-Top scorer: Rashidi Yekini (1984-1998) - 37 goals 

I said I was gonna buy the shirt of the ACN champions. I'm a man of his words, and here it is. I was wondering about the streets of Madrid when I found a little sports shop with many rare football shirts (such as Mexico, Nigeria or Spain of the 2006 World Cup). Nigeria was the only one that fitted me, so I took that one for just 15€. But it wasn't until I arrived home when I realised I had kept my promise.
The shirt is no big deal, just a normal template, as Adidas has been doing with Nigeria during the past few years.

China 2008/10 Away Kit

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Chinese flag and Chinese Wall pattern detail.

Chinese words at the back. I don't really know what does it mean.

Chinese player Gào Lín during a match against South Korea.

CHINA NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
-First official match: 4 August 1952
-Honours: 2 East Asian Football Championships (South Korea 2005, Japan 2010).
-Highest FIFA Ranking: 37th (December 1998)
-Lowest FIFA Ranking: 109th (March 2013)
-Highest Elo Rating: 26th (October 2001)
-Lowest Elo Rating: 80th (December 2008)
-Top scorer: Hǎo Hǎidōng (1992-2004) - 53 goals

Well, after some many busy weeks I've found a moment to post new shirts again. This one comes from Brad (whose collection you can view here), who was selling some of his shirts. I could get this one just for £10, quite a good price for a China shirt.
It's a decent one, althought China shirts have been improving in the past few years. Adidas didn't work a lot on this.

I'll try to keep posting my latest purchases: Nigeria (ACN Champions!), Milan and a Santos player issue shirt.

Zanzibar 2008/09 Home Kit

Front & back view

Crest of the Zanzibar FA.

 Text on the back of the left shoulder.

Coolest leopard print in years.

A classic.

Aarhus FC and Hummel on April Fool's Day.

ZANZIBAR NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
-First official match: March 1961
-Honours: 1 CECAFA Cup (Rwanda 2005)
-Highest Elo ranking: 117 (August 2011)
-Lowest Elo ranking: 171 (November 1992)
-Non-FIFA team 
-Read more on Wikipedia and on their official site. 
 
I've been a bit busy with exams so I haven't posted anything in the last few weeks. During this time I've bought a China shirt to Brad, who has been selling part of his collection through eBay.
But I return with this incredible Zanzibar shirt, the coolest one I have in the collection. Not the most beautiful, but the coolest shirt. When I wore it for the first time, my teammates asked me where did I buy that drag queen costume. A shirt from Zanzibar, full of leopard print, made by Hummel and which costs a few pounds on Lovell Soccer. What else can you ask for?

Gibraltar 2010/12 Home Kit

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Gibraltar FA's crest.

The flag of Gibraltar.

 

I found this delicious Danish receipt in the Hummel label.

Typical Hummel 'arrows'.

Gibraltar before a match against Isle of Wight in the 2011 Island Games.

View of the Rock of Gibraltar.

GIBRALTAR NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
-First official match: April 1923
-Honours: 1 Island Games (Rhodes 2007).
-Non-FIFA team
-Top scorer: Lee Casciaro
-Read more on Wikipedia and on their official site. 

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get this Gibraltar shirt (and the Zanzibar one I ordered), as it's the first non-FIFA shirt in my collection (you can still find it in lovellsoccer.co.uk and in their eBay shop)The shirt reminds me of a rugby shirt, but it's quite average. Apart from that, I really appreciate Hummel's commitment with minor national teams, such as Gibraltar, Zanzibar, Afghanistan or the previous Tibet shirt. This is my first Hummel shirt but I hope it's not the last one.

The collection is in a good moment, as I've had a small profit to spend on shirts and that stuff. As I said in Twitter, I will buy the shirt of the ACN Champions and, if I still have enough money, I'll purchase something more special, like a retro shirt or something like that. 

Cameroon 2010/11 Home Kit - Limited Edition

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Now I have two limited edition boxes!

The shirt into the original box.

This time, the box really contains a Cameroon shirt.

Cameroon's badge.

This lion emblem was designed for the 2010 WC.

Ultimate Sport Performance's logo.

The team before the match against Japan in the WC 2010.

CAMEROON NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
-First official match: 13 April 1960
-Honours: 4 Africa Cup of Nations (Ivory Coast 1984, Morocco 1988, Nigeria/Ghana 2000 and Mali 2002).
-Highest FIFA Ranking: 11th (November 2006)
-Lowest FIFA Ranking: 71st (October 2012)
-Highest Elo Rating: 12th (June 2003)
-Lowest Elo Rating:76th (April 2005)
-Top scorer: Samuel Eto'o (1997-present) - 53 goals 

Finally, it has arrived. And the delay was worth it: it was cheap, it's a limited edition, and it fits me perfectly.
This time, the box roars instead of trumpeting (it's a bit annoying anyway). And I think that, by the moment, it's the most beautiful shirt I have in the collection.
Zanzibar and Gibraltar shirts are coming. They were real bargains. Find them on lovellsoccer.co.uk

I've been thinking and I'm going to start focusing my collection on a goal. It think my (first) goal will be related to Asian club shirts, but I'm opened to suggestions :)

Ivory Coast 2010/11 Home Kit - Limited Edition

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Details of the shirt and the box.

This is the main problem. Yes, Cameroon.

There's a guy hidden in there.

IVORY COAST NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM 
-First official match: 13 April 1960 
-Honours: 1 Africa Cup of Nations (Senegal 1992)
-Highest FIFA Ranking: 14th (June 2011, December 2012)
-Lowest FIFA Ranking: 75th (March 2004)
-Highest Elo Rating: 12th (February 2008)
-Lowest Elo Rating: 69th (October 1996) 
-Top scorer: Didier Drogba (2002-present) - 59 goals

You can't say I'm being lucky with the last shirts I ordered. After Zamalek's, I bought a limited edition Cameroon shirt from Classic Football Shirts. I was really looking forward to get the shirt, as it would be my first player issue shirt. But when I opened the wooden box with a plate which said "Cameroon Authentic Home Shirt", I was really surprised to see that Ivory Coast shirt into it (which is very tight-fitted).
I decided to contact them to exchage the shirt. Greg, from CFS, apologized and told me to keep this one as a gift, because he was going to send me the correct one for the same price.
So, thanks to Greg, now I have 2 shirts for the price of 1, both limited edition and player issue :)

Denmark 2010/12 Home Kit

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Back view

Detail of the crest and the Adidas logo.

Inscription at the top of the back: Danish Football Association (DBU).

Denmark's starting eleven in a match during South Africa 2010 WC.

DENMARK NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM
-First official match: 23 April 1906
-Honours: 1 UEFA European Championship (Sweden 1992) 
-Highest FIFA Ranking: 3rd (May 1997, July 1997-August 1997) 
-Lowest FIFA Ranking: 38th (March 2009) 
-Highest Elo Rating: 1st (May 1914-June 1918, October 1918-June 1919) 
-Lowest Elo Rating: 65th (May 1967)
-Top scorer: Poul Nielsen (1910-1925) and Jon Dahl Tomasson (1997-2010) - 52 goals 

The Three Wise men have come, and they have left great presents! Between them, there was this 2010 World Cup Denmark shirt. I've had got my eyes on it for a long time, but I couldn't imagine that my parents were going to find it. It cost 25€, in the same place and with the same template as my Ukraine shirt. One day I hope to have the Denmark shirt they used for the last UEFA Euro, which is also very beautiful.
These have been a good Christmas holidays as regards football shirts. I also want to thank all of you guys who are visiting the blog and encouraging me to continue with the collection!

England 2010/12 Home Kit

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Back view

The Three Lions crest

This is the original pattern located at the top of the back.

Wayne Rooney and Bulgaria's Iliyan Stoyanov battle for the ball.

ENGLAND NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM 
-First official match: 30 November 1872 
-Honours: 1 FIFA World Cup (England 1966)
-Highest FIFA Ranking: 3rd (August 2012)
-Lowest FIFA Ranking: 27th (February 1996)
-Highest Elo Rating: 1st (1872–1876, 1892–1911, 1966–1970, 1987–1988)
-Lowest Elo Rating: 13th (1936)
-Top scorer: Bobby Charlton (1958-1970) - 49 goals 

I bought this shirt two years ago in a Sports Direct in Brighton, England. I still don't know why it cost only £12. I love the tailored by Umbro style (I really regret the imminent Umbro's disappearance) and the classy shirts like this one. It's a shame the contract that England has signed with Nike, which I think won't benefit the Three Lions.
It's late to wish you Merry Christmas, so I'm going to wish you a happy New Year just in case.
Instead of Santa Claus, here in Spain the Three Wise Men or tres Reyes Magos bring presents on the 6th of January, and my birthday is on the 4th of January, so I'm expecting a pair of new shirts for the collection...