Marseille 3rd 2014-15

This is the new Marseille 3rd shirt for the coming season. I don't usually buy new shirts, mainly because they are so expensive but as I had a 30% off voucher from adidas.com and can fit into the youth XL size (IE don't have to pay VAT) it only worked out at around £25.
The shirt features the horizontal curve on the shoulder, which is something to do with the World Cup in Brazil but I cant find the article I read about it to reference. I'm sure it was very interesting ;) As Marseille shirts go this is quite plain but I'm a sucker for black shirts and the electric blue. The blue cross on the front of the shirt is the city of Marseille badge, this has featured on various shirts down the years. My only criticism of the shirt is that the stripes down the side are blacked out, the blue would look much nicer, like we saw in the world cup.

USA Away World Cup 1998

Special shirt here, possibly my all time favorite in my current collection. This shirt is infamous in US soccer history as it was worn during France 98 where they lost every group game and didn't even score a goal! 
I actually have two of these shirts, this is in medium which features France 98 signage and Eric Wynalda printing.  The other shirt I have is in size small but is plain. I purchased this shirt from eBay, randomly coming from Spain. Its in excellent condition and would say its my most valuable shirt too with the printing, have never seen anything like this listed on eBay before so its very rare.

Espanyol Away 2013-14

Since watching Espanyol last season on a trip to Barcelona I have a bit of a soft spot for them so on my most recent trip I made it my top priority to pick up a shirt from the current season...

I found this in a shop called Sport Zone where it was 10 Euros cheaper (30) than the club shop. The plan was to get it printed but as I brought it after visiting the Espanyol club shop the only other shop that would print didn't have the official names and numbers....and also wanted to charge an extra 10 euros to print it, I politely declined!

The shirt uses the standard Puma template from last season but does have a few unique twists to it. The black sash behind the club badge has the parrot which is a symbol of the club but haven't actually found out what the significance is. Another extra to this template is the light blue stripes to the shoulders, usually the template is plain. Also the main body of the shirt is made to look like a cotton t-shirt, this is very similar to the new Marseille shirt (which I will be adding to the blog soon).
Inside the shirt the club slogan of "La forca d'un sentiment" is written behind the yellow and red Catalan stripes, the slogan roughly translates to "the strength of feeling".

Bronby Away 2012-13

Spontaneous purchase here from Sports Direct.  I hadn't seen this Adidas template before so thought I'd add it to the collection.  I have no idea what the insignia is inside or at the bottom of the shirt is but it does have the word slag!
The pictures didn't come out very well, the stripes are aluminous yellow and the shirt is dark grey, or electricity and dark shale as Adidas call it.  Either way it matches perfectly with my running shorts and trainers.

USA Centenary Home 2012

Next up in my World Cup series is the USA centenary home shirt from 2012, player version. This shirt was purchased on eBay, the idea was to take it on holiday with me to Washington DC and get it printed over in the states, but unfortunately it wasn't posted in time so didn't receive it 'till after the holiday! However I was able to find an official sporting ID nameset on eBay which I took down to my local DW sports and they kindly printed the shirt for me, for free.
As you can see from the picture the shirt is the official player version with rubber "t-strips" on the shoulders and lazer cut holes on the sides. The fit of the shirt is a little more tailored to the body, although thankfully for me the Nike shirts aren't as tight fitting as the Adidas player versions.
I have to say this is one of my favorite shirts in my collections, and the fact it cost about £40 in total compared to the usual price of over £100 makes it more satisfying.
The shirt was used in qualifying for the 2014 World Cup and notably featured in a friendly match against Germany where the states won 4-3.  I found it a little ironic that match was played in Washington DC at the JFK stadium, where I watched my first MLS match and should have had the shirt with me if it had arrived on time in the post!

Pescara Away 2012-13

The first ERREA shirt in my collection is the Pescara away shirt from last season. I believe Pescara were in Seria A the season this shirt was out but subsequently got relegated. I noticed the shirt a while back while playing FIIFA, loved the colour scheme and the Dolphin woven into the material. The material of the shirt feels very thin, similar to a Lycra style base layer or one of the old Kappa shirts. This was another purchase from the clearance section on classicfootballshirts.co.uk

Russia Home World Cup 2014

First up from my collection of World Cup shirts is the Russia home by Adidas. This has to be one of my best eBay bargains, long sleeved shirt for £25. I was sceptical it might be a fake given these usually go for £50 (in short sleeves) but on very close inspection I'm convinced it's authentic. It came with all original tags and in a sealed Adidas bag, perhaps it was off the back of a lorry as they say, but needless to say I'm pretty chuffed with it!

The shirt is inspired by Russia's history in the space race with the blocks down the front. The colour is very nice and is the usual departure from the traditional red or blue that's been used in the past. All the Adidas World Cup shirts feature a solid block across the back, just above where the players name would be, this apparently creates a solid line when the players are in a huddle but have yet to notice it. The Russia flag just below the three stripes on the arm is a very nice touch, haven't noticed this on any of the other World Cup shirts. 

I would like to get the shirt printed, hoping the Adidas store on Oxford street will oblige on my next trip to London.