The Top Five Jerseys in European Club Football

I received my latest Eurosport catalog earlier this week, one of the highlights of my mail for nearly two decades. How smart are the Eurosport folks? They locked down the URL soccer.com before anyone else. Flipping through the catalog and looking at the jerseys, I was inspired to post my take on the top five jerseys in European club football.

A note before I start the list: all the jerseys listed below are the team's home kits. For reasons I don't understand, European home jerseys are rich with tradition, but for the road versions, anything goes. Squads change looks on an annual basis, and some traveling selections leave you questioning the tastes of team management.

#5: Valencia: The shirts themselves are fairly standard- white with orange trim, the latter no doubt inspired by the local fruit export. What puts these jerseys among the best is the crest. How many other teams have something as cool as a bat perched on their kits? Not many. Inspired by the city's coat of arms, the presence of the bat gives "Los Che" an intimidating look.

#4: Liverpool and Chelsea: Separately neither of these two jerseys are standouts. But when they come together, as they have so often in recent Champions League matches, the contrast is perfect. Liverpool in all red; Chelsea in all blue. Nothing looks better on a European night.




#3: Barcelona: The FC Barcelona crest squeezes a lot of symbolism into a stylish design. According to the team web site, the crest "honours the sporting dimension of the club as well as its connection to its city and country." With the crest set on bold blue and burgundy shirts, the reigning European Champs have an umistakable look. Barca also deserve credit for forgoing corporate sponsors on their shirts and instead promoting UNICEF across the front.

#2: Inter Milan: My love of Inter Milan's kits dates back to an Absolut vodka ad that cleverly pitted Inter and AC Milan on a foosball table. (I was a fan of the ad campaign long before I could legally drink the vodka.) The black and blue in the Nerazzurri's jerseys represent the night and the sky. These colors work so well together, I'm surprised more teams don't go this route.

#1: Celtic: The best jerseys in sports are simple yet distinct; they're immediately recognizable like the New York Yankees pinstripes, the red, white and blue of the Montreal Canadiens, or the Los Angeles Lakers' regal purple and gold combo. Glasgow Celtic, with their classic green and white hoop shirts join that list. The Bhoys' shirts stand out around the world. Little has changed with Celtic's kits since their 1967 European Cup triumph, but the addition of the team crest with a four-leaf clover fits perfectly. As long as there's a Celtic Football Club, these jerseys will top my list.

Stuff I Read in World Soccer This Month: June 2008

When I first became interested in the European game in the mid-90's, I was delighted to discover the wealth of information each month in World Soccer magazine. Now with everything you need available on the Word Wide Netweb, WS is no longer the essential reading it once was, but I still enjoy picking up the preview and wrap-up issues for reference and posterity.

With that as your background, I'm adding a new occasional feature: "Stuff I Read in World Soccer This Month," a collection of interesting tidbits.

*Arsenal's newest source of revenue stinks. The North London side have invested in shares of a rare North Sea cod, with plans to sell the stock once the price escalates. I've been looking for more details on this online, but haven't found any. I have this comical image of Arsene Wenger and Cesc Fabregas heading out in a Norwegian fishing boat to catch some cod.

*Nice war of words between outgoing Valencia coach Ronald Koeman his least favorite player, Joaquin. Koeman: "Joaquin cost 30 million pounds, but his displays were worth about 30." Joaquin's response: "What Koeman should be worrying about is the five or six glasses of wine he has with his evening meal."

Glasgow Derby

Another great chapter today in one of Europe's fiercest rivalries- the Old Firm derby between Glasgow rivals Celtic and Rangers. Celtic grabbed a much needed 2-1 home win, with two of the goals coming from some of the greatest names in European soccer. Rangers drew level on a 55th minute goal from Nacho Novo, but Celtic netted a 90th minute winner courtesy of Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink.

The win breathes some life into Celtic's bid for a third-straight Scottish Premier League title, but Gordon Strachan's men will undoubtedly need another win when the teams meet again at Celtic Park on April 27. That match is sandwiched between Rangers' UEFA Cup semifinal fixtures against Fiorentina, a schedule that should provide Celtic an advantage. For now, Rangers maintain a one point lead over their rivals, but have two games at hand.

Elsewhere today, Valencia salvaged an otherwise disappointing campaign by capturing the Copa del Rey with a 3-1 win over Getafe.

Cup Craziness

It's time to start handing out the domestic cup hardware starting Wednesday as Spain's Copa del Rey final gets the cup final season into full swing. Spain is one of many countries where this year's cup competitions were full of surprises. Wednesday's final will see Getafe take on Valencia in Madrid. Valencia are in the midst of a miserable campaign. After finishing in the top four of La Liga in three of the last four seasons, including a title in 2004, Los Che have dropped to 16th and are fighting to avoid relegation. Getafe, currently in 12th, will look to shake off the disappointment of last week's UEFA Cup loss to Bayern Munich as they seek their first Copa Del Rey for the second straight year.

Saturday's German Cup final in Berlin will pit a pair of traditional powers, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. Bayern will be seeking their record 14th German Cup and are in line for a Bundesliga, German Cup, UEFA Cup treble. Dortmund will be seeking their third German Cup and their first since 1989.

In other cup action:
Italy: The two-legged Coppa Italia semifinals kickoff Wednesday with Roma facing Serie B side Catania and Inter meeting Lazio. The final is May 24 in Rome.
England: Portsmouth and Cardiff City meet May 17 for the FA Cup, although the story of the tournament has been Barnsley, which knocked off Liverpool and Chelsea before falling to Cardiff in the semifinals.
Holland: Feyenoord will be at home to face Roda JC in the April 27 final.
Scotland: Division One side Queen of the South stunned Aberdeen 4-3 last Saturday to advance to their first Scottish Cup final. Queen of the South will face the winner of Sunday's semifinal between Glasgow Rangers (eyeing a European record eighth domestic treble) and St. Johnstone on May 24.