Top 100 Football Shirts of 2020/21 - (Part Ten: 10-1)

This is Part 10 of 10. Explore the rest of the countdown:

100-91 | 90-81 | 80-71 | 70-61 | 60-51 | 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 | 10-1

10. Portland Thorns - Home

Portland Thorns have been a force to be reckoned with since their inaugural season just 8 years ago. The club from the National Women’s Soccer League has a huge fan base, and I’m fairly sure that every single one of those supporters will love this Nike number. The Rose City is represented beautifully by subtle grey detailing amongst the striking red and black hues.

I’m glad they’ve stuck the sponsor on the back, as ‘Jersey Mike’s Subs’ looks and sounds like something created to sell merch from Stranger Things. Alas, this is a special creation which had me thinking: why haven't Man Utd or Leeds tried to incorporate the rose more?

- Kevan Thorpe, FOOTY.COM.

9. Slavia Prague - Away

I absolutely love this shirt! I mean, what’s not to love about a shirt that not only looks great on a football pitch, but also wouldn’t look completely out of place at a heavy metal concert?

This is another Puma shirt inspired by a city and,was like Puma’s other ‘city’ efforts this season, it looks amazing. The first thing that struck me was the colours. The two halves of the shirt work well in different tones of black and the red logos really stand out. However, when taking a closer look at one half of the shirt and it’s opposing sleeve, we can see an intricate graphic inspired by Prague’s coat of arms and the zodiac signs found on Prague’s astronomical clock.

Like other Puma shirts, the design really stands out without being garish. Simply superb.

- Pedro Almeida.

8. Southend United - Away

After 17 years sporting Nike teamwear, Southend United have switched to hummel this year in a three-year deal. And what a shrewd move it's proven to be, as hummel are quite frankly smashing it kit-wise at the moment. 

The Blues' away strip this season takes inspiration from the club's 1995–96 outfits, produced at the time by Beaver (oh come on, no sniggering now, we're better than that!) The shirt features a close, though not identical, reproduction of the shiny diamond pattern from the 90s kit and crafts it into a fine-looking sky blue ensemble. 

The kit has been promoted in photos by Leo Roget, a Blues favourite who first broke into the side in the 1995–96 season. Personally, I'm not normally a fan of clubs who produce away kits in the same colour, albeit a different shade, as their home shirts but I have to concede that this, with its considered trim of white and navy, is a truly sublime outfit and one that I hope will bring Southend a bit of good fortune this season - and boy, do they need it.

- John Devlin, True Colours Kits.

7. Ajax - Away

Get your notepads at the ready, kids, because this is how you pull off a template design. The same striking graphic has been used by teams like Scotland, but adidas’ incredible use of colour ensures Ajax completely steal the spotlight. Give a standard template some unique colours, and special things can happen. Here’s the proof. 

The use of icy blues and greys would be impressive enough, but it’s the beautiful way they fade into each other which really has me hyperventilating. The grainy texture to this gradient gives the whole shirt an irresistible retro feel, a style which dovetails perfectly with the modern pops of red and white on the trim. It’s magnificent. 

And yes - the fantastic pattern continues on the back, too, so you’ll still look just as good from behind. Not every club can have bespoke, tailor-made shirts, but this should give hope to anyone getting fed up with generic templates.  

- Ben Hyde, FOOTY.COM.

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6. Forward Madison - Third

Forward Madison continue to go from strength to strength.

They entered the scene with one of the best visual identities I'd ever seen from a professional sports team. They made quite the impression with a debut set of kits for the ages, and now they've somehow managed to eclipse that stunning arrival with a shirt from another dimension.

Team designer Cassidy Sepnieski, who experimented with a technique called hydro dipping during the design process, deserves the kit equivalent of an Oscar for the part she played in creating this amazing shirt. And Forward Madison deserve your attention full-stop.

- Phil Delves.

A quick note from me to say this is hands-down my favourite shirt of the year. Also, if anyone from Forward Madison happens to be reading this, I also shamelessly accept freebies. 

- Ben Hyde, FOOTY.COM.

5. AS Roma - Away

Ah, Roma. Following up last year’s Top 100 winner was always going to be a tough ask, but using the Lupetto is a damn good place to start. This is, without doubt, the most awesome crest in world football, so it’s a good job Nike have delivered a beautiful shirt to do it justice. It’s pure Roman class.

After taking our breath away with 2019’s lightning-sash, a gorgeous retro throwback definitely feels like the right way to go here. The Lupetto sits alongside a classic two-button collar, featuring the traditional Roma colours and matching the cuffs beautifully, while whoever chose ivory over normal white definitely deserves some kind of pay rise. 

I think it’s fair to say Roma just don’t do bad football shirts. It’s a massive shame that this is the end of their Nike relationship, but at least they’ve given us a strong mic-drop moment before exiting the building. I need this in my life. 

- Ben Hyde, FOOTY.COM.

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4. Nigeria - Home

This is just an incredible shirt. In my opinion, it trumps the 2018 Nigeria shirt on every front. The triangular pattern down the sides with the primary white colour on the shirt itself makes for a stunning design and I just adore everything about it. 

I’m also a huge fan of the centralised Nike swoosh & badge combo. The whole shirt is a concoction of design done right and the end meal is a delicious looking treat which will be talked about by kit collectors/enthusiasts for decades to come.

- Ellis Platten, Away Days.

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3. Inter Milan - Third

The influence is not understated, but why should it have to be? The 1997-98 third is remembered fondly because it was such a great look – even if not necessarily a great alternative to blue and black stripes – while the Uefa Cup win added to that and it’s a pity Inter couldn’t have launched this as the reigning Europa League holders.

The original did have a crest motif on the chest but its absence here isn’t a huge loss, while the use of the fresh shade of blue and yellow gives the shirt a pop. It’s the kind of kit that makes you sorry that shirts have one-season cycles nowadays.

- Museum of Jerseys.

This shirt brings back a ton of great memories for me, it’s like my eyes are once more pinned to ‘90s Football Italia. It’s no surprise that those memories mainly consist of R9 tearing defences apart left, right and centre. I’m glad Inter and Nike have decided to revive this one but grab it now, because they’re going to fly off the shelves!

- Kevan Thorpe, FOOTY.COM.

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2. Red Star FC - Away

For our number two shirt, let’s go to the French third tier of football, where the second oldest club in France has received the adidas Convido 20 template for their away kit…however this is no template in terms of design!! 

Designed by Acid FC, this white shirt featuring a “Toile de Jouy” print which uses different vignettes across the shirt in vibrant pink, these images retrace the club's history. There are ten different sketches made up of famous players, symbols, fans and future generations. The Red Star of yesterday, today and tomorrow, captured in their shirts. 

What a truly wonderful and unique design, and something not seen in football kits to this level of detail before. This Red Star FC shirt absolutely deserves to be in the discussion of one the best shirts of the year and a worthy runner-up in this Top 100!

- Gavin Hope, Football Kit Geek.

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1. Bristol City - Goalkeeper Home

Oh dear, I seem to have come down with a serious case of Saturday Night Fever. This shirt is full-throttle disco, a hummel-branded boogie inspired by Peter Schmeichel and one of the best goalkeeper kits of all-time. But this is a lot more than your usual lazy throwback, and Bristol City fully-deserve their place at the top of the table. 

You’ve just got to admire the way hummel have committed to this. A lot of “throwback shirts” end up looking a little half-baked, with brands afraid to go the whole hog and delivering something a little more subdued. Well, hummel seemingly have no such concerns, because this is every bit as bold and beautiful as the original. 

From the insane colours to the iconic chain-link pattern, this design is still as loud as it’s ever been. Yes, I’m surprised to see a goalkeeper shirt come out on top and, yes, I could do without MansionBet, but this masterpiece is special enough to break the norm. The world needs insane goalkeeper kits.

- Ben Hyde, FOOTY.COM.

Designers are producing a stream of 1990s-style shirts, though this one is less influenced by said decade and is more of an exact copy. And why not?

Peter Schmeichel, plus a raft of goalkeepers in Scotland, made this design famous in the 1990s, with its multi-coloured honeycomb design.

It was warmly welcomed when revealed this summer, and the pink away option is outstanding too. Good work, hummel.

- Kit Crimes.

Talk about nostalgia! We’ve got ourselves a worthy winner here. The purest possible hummel love-letter, in ode to a combination of one of the greatest goalkeepers and kits to grace the game: Peter Schmeichel’s 1992 European Championship-winning Denmark shirt. 

The Championship club has pipped some huge names to the top spot, but this multi-coloured feast is simply too good to ignore. If they hadn’t have added the chain effect, it would have been a wreck. It’s so finely balanced between madness and genius, therein lies its true beauty. Revel in The Robins’ rascality.

- Kevan Thorpe, FOOTY.COM.

A beautiful blast of rainbow colours, taking design from the famous hummel shirt of the 90s. A shirt that will stop you right in your tracks with pure admiration. If I were an opposing striker through on goal, I’d probably just tap the ball away and applaud this epic design instead. 

- The Kitsman.

Compare prices on all 2020/21 shirts

The 100 Best Football Shirts of 2020

Here you go: the class of 2020 in full. 

I apologise unreservedly to bank accounts all over the world, because this is now essentially one long shopping list. Well, at least FOOTY.COM tries to save you a few extra pennies, so we can’t be completely blamed if you now need to remortgage the house.