THIS WEEK IN KITS

With the World Cup hangover in full effect, this week’s excitement from the world of kits may just be what the doctor ordered. With so much going on though, it might be too easy to lose track of all that was this week in kits. Luckily, KTTP is here to provide some clarity on exactly what kits we should prescribe ourselves as well as those we might survive without.

Without further ado, let the recap begin.

JUVENTUS

On top of their mega signing, Juventus held on to the headlines this week with their solid third kit option for the upcoming season. Though adidas is taking a page from Nike this year by essentially using the same template for all third kits, this template is stylish and modern enough for me to get over this fact. Add to it Juventus’ now all too common Scudetto and Coppa Italia badge, as well as Ronaldo’s number 7 and you, might easily have one the best selling jerseys to come out of this summer.

MANCHESTER UNITED

Next in the recap is Manchester United. Though not the best United kit I have ever laid eyes on, I like the fact that adidas designers are at least trying out something new in light of the fairly safe and conservative designs we’ve seen since the adidas takeover. This number pays homage to United’s railway heritage with a clever train track graphic that runs from the bottom to the top of the jersey. The overall design might not be new when it comes to the world of soccer as a whole, but that might just be where the appeal of this jersey is as it offers something new yet still familiar.

BAYERN MUNICH 

From not trying to reinvent the wheel, we move on to a team that is really going in a whole new direction. The new Bayern Munich away kit is what I like to call the mint chocolate chip look. I don’t use this description as a wholly derogatory term as I really do appreciate the color Bayern has brought on. I simply just think this kit is just far too simple and just needs a little something more to be truly icy, fresh, or whatever other word you want to use.

BLACKBURN ROVERS

Championship side Blackburn Rovers has also decided to switch up the color palette. In this case, the team does it for its home kit and the decision proves to be absolutely brilliant. The new touch of sky blue which now stands in place of the typical royal blue offering adds a greater touch of class that complements the club’s badge and retro Umbro diamond sleeves to perfection. This is one kit I call H2T good. Props to anyone who gets that reference.

HULL CITY

As we move on, the English Championship keeps my attention as Hull City is another club doing great things. In contrast to Blackburn, Hull sticks with a familiar away look with this black jersey with orange accents. Surely, it is a simple design, however, that collar and the way this color palette accentuates the club badge is enough for me to be wooed by this kit.

CHELSEA

Speaking of simple, it might not get any more simple than Chelsea’s new away jersey for this season. This, however, is not necessarily a bad thing because as much as I wanted to hate Chelsea’s jersey, I find myself really loving this design. Its definitely just another template look, however, the jersey’s yellow color with hints of blue are just too damn sharp and classic to overlook.

PUMAS

Even though this was a recap rather than a countdown of this week’s kits, I can’t help but end on the highest of notes. For that reason, I end this recap with Mexico’s Pumas who are the only team to lend not one, but two solid kit options. The range demonstrated in these kits is what really wins me over. On one hand, I have the home shirt which is everything I want and expect with that giant Puma logo, and on the other is the away shirt which relegates the Puma to your typical club badge with a classic pinstripe soccer look to go with it.

Though I am not making any decisions for now on which ones to buy, some of the kits I have covered this week have certainly made a compelling argument. Share your thoughts in the comments below on which kits you think will hold up to be some of this summer’s most memorable.

The Moment CR7 Knew Juve Was Next

England and Croatia both just had the world stop for over 90 minutes as they duked it out for a place in the World Cup 2018 Finals. Before that, Belgium and France, the third and seventh-ranked teams in the world, squared off in an equally intense semi-final to quite possibly the most exciting World Cup to date. Yet, headlining the world tabloids still was not that Samuel Umtiti header or the World Cup at all, but rather, again on Cristiano Ronaldo. The star Portuguese forward who just won his third consecutive Champions League final with Real Madrid, has personally opted to be traded to an unlikely spot… the Italian champions Juventus.

What may come as a surprise to many, is, in fact, a divorce that has been years in the making. Ronaldo’s decision to leave the club he dreamt of as a child quite simply comes down to his treatment by the man who brought that dream to life: Real Madrid President Florentino Perez. To start, Perez has a reputation for ruthlessly instating his Galacticos policy of bringing world-class talent in every summer transfer period. Amongst the elite footballers, we’ve seen the likes of Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo Lima to Luka Modrić, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo; all of which brought the spotlight and silverware back to the Santiago Bernabéu. However, in doing so, Perez notably has gained a reputation of avoiding defensive-minded talent, budding into in-game managerial decisions and focusing the club’s interests more on its marketing rather than the longevity of its playing success.

In comes Ronaldo, a player who in his nine-year tenure at the club has won fifteen trophies — which include two Copa Del Rey’s, two La Liga titles along with four Champions League titles and four Ballon D’or’s to cement his place at the top of the totem pole. Despite these unbelievable achievements, Ronaldo has felt unappreciated by Los Blancos, apparent in his contract quarrels with Perez and the lack of support he received from the club following his five-match suspension back in the 2017-2018 season.

Perhaps Perez is a genius in allowing Ronaldo, who turns 34 in February, to walk and in doing so receive a healthy return ($100 million and free up $55 million in wages). However, logic leads us to believe otherwise, for the question mark still surround Madrid who many believe isn’t managed properly, and is entirely attack-minded and won much of its Champions League and La Liga success on the heels of Ronaldo’s 450 goals and 138 assists.

So why Juve? Why not Paris-Saint Germain or rather his other home, Old Trafford? I believe the Portuguese international made that decision back in April, upon getting up from one of the greatest bicycle kicks to date against the very club he’s decided to join. Instead of boos and jeers from a group of supporters who’ve seen Real Madrid end their Champions League dreams twice in the past three season, Ronaldo was shocked to witness a round of applause by the Bianconeri faithful. It’s in that moment that he felt the appreciation he’s longed for in the Spanish capital and is what has led him to add black stripes to the iconic white kit he has donned over the years.

Time will be the ultimate decider on whether Perez is indeed a genius by instead reeling in a Harry Kane, Eden Hazard, or Neymar. Or rather, perhaps it’s Ronaldo that takes a page out of Tom Brady’s book and fights back father time by proving he is the G.O.A.T., and in doing so bring Juventus its first Champions League title since 1996.

SCOUTING REPORT: ZLATAN THE TAEKWONDO MASTER

We’re all used to it by now. We’ve seen it a countless number of times from the Swedish giant Zlatan Ibrahimovic dominating the soccer pitch week in, week out. What makes him so great is not solely because of the number of goals he’s scored, nor because he’s won league titles in every league he has played in with the exception of the EPL. He is recognized as a one of a kind because of the manner in which he has done everything from day one of his career. He is probably one of the few players – minus Messi, Ronaldo, and Neymar – to have so many goals that are just jaw-dropping. He’s done it so many times that you expect nothing less from him, but still, when they happen again, it never ceases to amaze you. With all that said, did you know that behind his worldly talent in soccer, Zlatan earned a black-belt in taekwondo as a 17-year-old in his hometown of Malmö? And to further his credibility, he’s even received an honorary black-belt from the Italian national taekwondo team in 2010. Putting the two pieces together, I think it’s safe to assume that his outrageous acrobatic goals can be credited to his background in the ancient Korean martial art.

This week’s Scouting Report will cover the latest “Taekwondo FC” tee collection by Nivelcrack, one of our favorite soccer streetwear brands from Korea, recognizing the taekwondo-soccer master himself: Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Overall Design: This isn’t the first time Nivelcrack has released a “Taekwondo FC” tee. Their first release was based on the time when Diego Maradona faced Korea at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, and the Koreans used their taekwondo skills to stop him from his domination. This new collection takes the same approach and illustrates Zlatan doing a jumping taekwondo kick on the soccer field during his time at Manchester. The collection comes in two colorways of blue and red. The meat of the design is on the back of the shirt, while the front of the shirt simply reads “Taekwondo Futbol Club.” Overall I think the design is cool and the colorways are dope.

Score: 4/5

Functionality: I own these myself and can safely say that they’re of great quality. You don’t have to worry about them fading away like some of the 100% cotton tees out there.

Score: 4/5

Wearability: It was a perfect time for Nivelcrack to release this collection as for the past couple weeks Zlatan has been grabbing all headlines in soccer through his move to the MLS with LA Galaxy. His debut goals to snatch a comeback win in their first ever LA derby against LAFC brought more spotlight his way, and he’s also been making some appearances on very popular shows like Jimmy Kimmel Live. Summer is upon us here in LA, and it’s only going to get hotter. It’s perfect to match the heat with this refreshing design of a T-shirt. The pieces will definitely turn heads if you wear it to an LA Galaxy home match or anywhere in LA where Zlatan has been the focus of the city for that matter!

Score: 4/5

Details: Without the number of details on the design, it would be difficult to tell which player the T-shirt is recognizing as the main drawing can easily be seen as just an outline of a person. However, Nivelcrack has done a good job of maintaining some key features of Zlatan so that any true fan will be able to immediately point out that it’s the lion himself.

Score: 4/5

Technology and Innovation: Not much innovation here in terms of design as it is a traced sketch of an actual photo, and also the fact that its a continuous release of the “Taekwondo FC” tee collection, but the overall concept of these are great and fresh.

Score: 3/5

You can now purchase the Taekwondo FC tee collection by Nivelcrack from RBC.

THIS WEEKS INSTAGRAM BEST 11

Madrid v Juve, Galaxy v LAFC, Roma v Barca, LAFC v Montreal, NYCFC V Atlanta, Juve v Napoli, the past few weeks on the pitch have been beyond lit. Off pitch we have the launch of the brand new influencer league in LA, the Nike ID 20yr anniversary heritage collection, custom kits from Mauro Icardi and much more. Oh by the way, we’re less than 2 months out from the World Cup. What a time to be a live! It’s time for another look into our Instagram Best 11.

La pasión tiene Sueño. #wip #sketch #andaalabura

A post shared by Martín. ⚽️🇦🇷 (@gordopelota) on

‪Koulibaly's winning header! #napoli #16bitfootball‬

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#Springfield Sunday League project ⚽️👕 #TheSimpsons #Soccer

A post shared by Emilio Sansolini (@emiliosansolini) on

Stunning cover from @guardian_sport today. Class 👏🏼

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Merci Arsène. #INVINCIBLES

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New screensave👌👑⚽📷 @k8olo / @cacahuetessluts

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EA SPORTS X ADIDAS DIGITAL 4TH KITS

Ever the progressive entity, adidas has really proven a pioneer via it’s partnership with the all mighty EA Sports FIFA. Having already sponsored it’s first digital athlete, Alex Hunter on the revolutionary “Journey” mode of the game, the three stripes are set to expand on their digital arsenal.

In a stroke of genius adidas has designed, digital 4th kits for Manchester United, Juventus, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. The shirts are available exclusively online through Ultimate Team packs, the FUT transfer market as well as the FUT web & Companion app.


 

 

PSG VS JUVENTUS IN CROSS COUNTRY EA SPORTS FIFA

We’ve been all over the place this summer, from Miami to LA and Boston. With all of the European big dawgs in our backyard for the ICC we’ve taken full advantage and put on some stellar activation. Recently during downtime between exhibitions, we teamed up with EA Sports for a cross country Fifa match between two giants of the game. Paulo Dybala and Giorgio of  Chiellini Juventus took on a Javier Pastore and Angel DiMaria of Paris St. Germain for an epic Fifa session while slinging banter through face time.  

#TBT CLASSIC KITS: JUVENTUS 95/96

Another Thursday, another #TBT. This time we take a look at “The Old Lady.” Though synonymous with no-nonsense black and white strips, their away kits often flex a brash panache fitting of the clubs jaw-dropping stables. For this feature we take a look at the away kit dawned by one of Juve’s greatest sides ever, class of 95/96.

The kit: Juventus 95/96

Brand: Kappa

Sponsor: Sony

Worn by: Antonio Conte, Didier Deschamps, Fabrizio Ravanelli, Alasandro Del Piero and Gianluca Vialli

The Story: A team full of legends in their prime, the “Bianconeri” narrowly lost the Scudetto that year to a legendary Milan side. The eighties and early to mid nineties belonged to Italian soccer. Juventus would claw through a tough group, then go on to beat Spanish giants, Madrid in the quarters, then Nantes in the semis. Both times losing a game in each tie. In the final they’d claim the club’s 2nd Champions League title on penalty kicks to an Ajax side that boasted the likes of Edwin Van der Sar, Edgar Davids, both De Boer brothers and the mighty Patrick Kluivert. Juve’s royal blue strips were accented with giant yellow stars and that Sony branding which would remain synonymous with the club for years. A classic kit for a classic team and one that has stood the test of time.

Where to cop: Fresh, iconic and hard to come by, we recommend Vintagefootballshirts.com

PALACE SKATEBOARDS S/S 17 LOOKBOOK

Last week Palace Skateboards teased us via Instagram with a retro inspired Juventus kit that read ‘Palazzo 17’ across the back. Today, we have the full blown lookbook of the British brand’s spring/summer 17 collection.

Palace has long been a brand near and dear to us as they always brilliantly inject the beautiful game into their ever progressively expanding repertoire. Their latest line is no different as give us a robust selection steeped in versatility, from a cowboy shirt, to a  knitted sweater, to a track-jacket, a letterman and even a racing jacket with cheeky branding. But for us, the stand out pieces are two Juve and Inter inspired long-sleeve retro soccer kits. Thick stripes, a bold Palace sponsor branding across the chest and a big collar, an homage to the classic footy shirt done proper.

The Palace Skateboards spring/summer 17 collection will be available Friday February 24th at the Palace shop and online Friday March 3rd 8 am PST for now check out the rest of the lookbook at Palaceskateboards.com