Home kits are integral to the brand. Why do teams ditch them?

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Maradona era Napoli (left) along with early ’90s Sampdoria: Home kits are integral to the club’s brand

As Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri described feeling “hurt” that both teams wore their away kits in his side’s Serie A title clash with Juventus, I believe it’s time teams went back to basics when it comes to change strips.

Imagine the great Serie A clashes of the mid-80s between Maradona’s Napoli and Platini’s Juventus, but not in the Napoli sky blue or the famous bianchoneri stripes of Juventus, rather in unrecognisable grey and yellow ‘change’ shirts. Unthinkable, right?

You’re not alone. Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri hurting, and not just from the 1-0 home defeat, but what these two Italian greats were wearing.

Football Italia reports Sarri as stating: “I am very sad for two reasons today, which is for the Napoli fans, and one for me, because I thought I’d die before I saw a Napoli v Juventus with grey jerseys against yellow…It hurt, as it hurt I imagine for those who grew up with Panini stickers and with attachment to club colours. It made me profoundly sad.”

Napoli did deploy their away shirt last season as the club’s chairman deemed it lucky.

In the Premier League, rules demand “sufficient contrast”. As a watcher of Brighton & Hove Albion and something of a football purist, I found myself perplexed as to why the Seagulls wore yellow at Old Trafford when their blue and white stripes and blue shorts in no way clash with Manchester United’s red. If the socks were the issue then surely they could just change those? This was especially confounded when Liverpool wore red at the Amex a week later.

Home kits are integral to a club’s brand, especially when – as in Brighton’s case – they are gaining global exposure for the first time. Having said that, in England, teams do not wear their change kit as often as one might think – take a look at the stats for season 2016-17.

One of the few cases I can think of where a change kit has usurped the home kit in iconic status is England’s red, mainly because it’s what the team wore in England’s solitary World Cup triumph and has since been immortalised.

But for Napoli versus Juve, their kits are iconic and inseparable to their brand, that’s what fans turn up or tune in to see. I can’t see the justification for wearing the change kit.

What do you think?

5 thoughts on “Home kits are integral to the brand. Why do teams ditch them?

  1. Couldn’t agree more, sadly I think it’s the commercial era we’re now in. I expect more one-off shirts to come in the Premier League soon. Interestingly, whilst the red England shirt is iconic, it’s not commonly known England’s first away shirt was blue.

    • Thanks Russell – I didn’t know about the blue England shirt, they brought that back recently didn’t they?

      • Yes, the most recent away shirt is a dark ‘midnight’ blue, although apparently it’s changing for the WC next year. Although the red away had to be used during last seasons away qualifier against Scotland because of a shirt sleeve clash!!!

  2. Should tell that to Benevento too who wore their black third kit at home to Milan for no reason instead of their red and yellow stripes. Milan wore white, which was correct to do so as the red would have clashed with Benevento’s strip.

    Seems to happen all too often in Serie A unfortunately

    • Interesting, thanks Frank. Great finish to that match, regardless of kits!

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