International Football
POLL: BBC RANKS SUPER EAGLES’ 2018 ATTIRE AMONG WORLD ALL-TIME ICONIC FOOTBALL SHIRTS
Nigeria Super Eagles’ home shirt for the 2018 World Cup in Russia is still receiving global attention as BBC has shortlisted it among the 20 all-time iconic football shirts.
Voting opened on Wednesday for visitors to the BBC sports website to choose the best of the 20 shirts.
Among the shortlisted are those for 12 national teams with England listed thrice – the 1966 red strip, the 1990 attire and the England’s 2019 women’s strip.
Only Nigeria’s 2018 shirt and the 2002 sleeveless attire of Cameroon are the African jerseys that made the list. However, FIFA later outlawed the Cameroonian attire, claiming it was mere vest and failed the equipment regulations of football.
Cameroon hastily sewed black sleeves to the vests before they were allowed to be worn at the World Cup.
BBC embarked on the survey to coincide with the time of the year that clubs start preparing to reveal their kit designs for next season.
The shortlists are:
England 1966
We start with the long-sleeved red Umbro shirt in which England beat West Germany 4-2 to win the World Cup in 1966. Sir Alf Ramsey’s side only wore red at Wembley that day because the Germans won the toss to wear white. It’s still a shirt loved by Three Lions fans and worn regularly more than 50 years later.
Celtic 1967
This famous shirt was worn by Celtic’s ‘Lisbon Lions’ when they wrote their name into the history books with a 2-1 win over Inter Milan in Portugal to become the first British team to win the European Cup.
Brazil 1970
Very similar to most other Brazil kits, but this one is a retro classic. Worn by the great 1970 World Cup-winning side and the last shirt Pele sported before retiring from international duty.
Chelsea 1970
To avoid a clash with Leeds in the 1970 FA Cup final, Chelsea swapped their usual white socks, shirt piping and club badge to yellow. They went on to win 2-1, lifting the famous trophy for the first time in the club’s history. To celebrate the 50-year anniversary, the Blues wore a one-off modernised commemorative replica kit for their third-round home tie with Nottingham Forest in 2020.
Ajax 1971
Simple but an absolute beauty. It was in this kit that Ajax beat Panathinaikos 2-0 at Wembley as they won the first of three consecutive European Cup finals.
Mexico 1978
One for the history books. After missing the 1974 World Cup, Mexico arrived at Argentina 1978 in style. Their kits were designed and made by American denim giants Levi’s.
Boca Juniors 1981
This shirt screams Diego Maradona. It was the first shirt to feature Boca’s four-star crest alongside their famous blue and gold colours. Adidas pulled it out of the bag with this one by producing a shirt that is still sought after almost four decades later.
Belgium 1984
Although the 1984 European Championships were forgettable for the Belgians, who didn’t make it out of the group, this shirt lives long in the memory. The national team brought back the diamond design to inspire their 2018 World Cup kit.
Liverpool 1984
Liverpool wore a near-identical home shirt from 1983-1985, but this sponsorless edition worn for the 1984 European Cup final in Rome stands out. Joe Fagan’s side beat Roma on penalties that night, and the famous shirt was used to inspire the Reds’ 2019-20 kit.
Denmark 1986
Denmark made their World Cup debut in style. Much like the shirt’s split panels, the design divided opinion back in the day. But it was the first of its kind – Coventry and Southampton were among the clubs who later wore similar designs.
Netherlands 1988
One of the most sought-after shirts of all time. It’s safe to say the Netherlands looked the part as they won the European Championship for the first time.
Colombia 1990
Colombia always have great kits and they arrived at the 1990 World Cup after a 28-year hiatus from the competition with this absolute belter. The iconic design was used to inspire Los Cafeteros’ shirt for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
England 1990
Bobby Robson’s side reached the semi-finals at Italia 90 in the World Cup that had it all. From Paul Gascoigne’s tears in Turin and THAT Chris Waddle penalty miss, to Gary Lineker’s vital goals, there are so many memories attached to this England shirt.
Man Utd 1990
Man Utd have had some great shirts over the years but this one is truly unique. The Aztec-style graphic on the away shirt was a fans’ favourite and remains popular today.
West Germany 1990
The shirt worn by the Germans as they beat Argentina to win the 1990 World Cup. The slick design has become a retro classic and is still as popular today as it was 30 years ago.
Arsenal 1991
Arsenal’s ‘bruised banana’ has to be one of the most legendary top-flight kits of the 1990s – if not ever. So popular, the Gunners used it as inspiration for their 2019-20 away shirt.
Barcelona 1997
It’s hard to find a bad Barca shirt from over the years but this away kit is a gem, and synonymous with Ronaldo, as this was the only season he spent with the Catalan giants. Worn in the 1997 Cup Winners’ Cup final where the Brazilian’s penalty was enough to beat Paris St-Germain in Rotterdam.
Cameroon 2002
One-of-a-kind, but Cameroon’s controversial sleeveless shirt didn’t go down well with everyone. It was banned by Fifa for the 2002 World Cup in Japan because ‘they’re not shirts… they’re vests’.
Nigeria 2018
Nigeria took the world by storm with this release for the 2018 World Cup. Fans queued for hours outside Nike’s flagship store in London to get their hands on one, and with three million pre-orders of the replica shirts, they sold out almost immediately after they were released.
England women 2019
There was a lot of hype around this release before the 2019 Women’s World Cup. It was the first time the Lionesses had their own exclusive kit, and the rose detail on the crimson shirts made it truly unique.
International Football
German Thomas Tuchel becomes 3rd foreign manager for England
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been named the new head coach of the England national team, the country’s Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, will be assisted by Englishman Anthony Barry, the statement added.
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Tuchel replaces Lee Carsley, England’s under-21 manager, who has been in temporary charge since the resignation of Gareth Southgate after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.
-Reuters
International Football
Factbox on England head coach Thomas Tuchel
German Thomas Tuchel has been appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
Born: Aug. 29, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany.
PLAYING CAREER
* Tuchel played for his local club TSV Krumbach, before moving to FC Augsburg’s academy at the age of 15.
* He never played for Augsburg’s senior side and joined German second division team Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
* After eight league appearances for Kickers, Tuchel moved to fourth-tier SSV Ulm.
* Tuchel made 69 league appearances for Ulm as a central defender before he was forced to retire in 1998 at the age of 25 due to a knee injury.
COACHING CAREER
* Tuchel began his coaching career with a youth team role at VfB Stuttgart in 2000, working with future Germany internationals Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber.
* He returned to Augsburg and took charge of their reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
* Tuchel was appointed Mainz 05 manager in 2009, replacing compatriot Juergen Klopp.
* He guided Mainz to Bundesliga stability during his five-year stint at the club, gaining plaudits for his team’s high energy, attacking style of play.
* Tuchel took over from Klopp as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2015.
* He led Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2017 German Cup final. He was sacked by Dortmund three days later.
* Tuchel joined Paris St Germain in 2018 on a two-year contract, replacing Unai Emery.
* He won two Ligue 1 titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to their first Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
* Tuchel was sacked by PSG on Christmas Eve in 2020, despite the club finishing top of their Champions League group and sitting third in the Ligue 1 table.
* He was named Chelsea manager in January 2021 on an initial 18-month contract following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
* Tuchel revived the team’s Premier League season and guided the London club to the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester City. Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
* Chelsea sacked Tuchel in September 2022 following a shock 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League group game.
* Bayern Munich appointed Tuchel to succeed Julian Nagelsmann in March last year.
* Bayern decided to let Tuchel go at the end of the 2023-24 season despite a contract until 2025. Tuchel steered Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but they finished the last campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
* Tuchel will become England’s third foreign manager after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
* Tuchel will take over the team in January ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
-Reuters
International Football
Portugal call up same player named in England Under-18 squad
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
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