Men in Blazers x Classic Football Shirts: Week 6, Wonderkids
Not since Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Tom Davies took New York Fashion Week has there been a fashion duo quite as dreamy as this one. In a move that’s sure to make Son Heung-min stop dead in his Calvins, Men in Blazers has proudly teamed up with celebrated curators of football fashion, Classic Football Shirts, to stock the MiB Shop with some of the greatest football shirts to ever hit the football pitch.
Every week we’ll provide a breakdown of our Top XI Shirts of the Week, with each collection hand-picked by Rog, Davo, and the great minds at Classic Football Shirts. This week’s selection pays homage to some of the biggest names in European football, and the shirts they wore when they were on the brink of superstardom. From potent Scouse strikers, to Norwegian meat shields, welcome to MiB x CFS’s “Week 6, Wonderkids” list.
SHOP THE WEEK 6 COLLECTION
Shirt No. 1 of 11: Personalized Kylian Mbappe shirt. Eyangjitu
Number: 7
Club, manufacturer, and season: PSG home shirt, made by Nike for the 2019-20 season.
Design: After a few years of running a muted or wavy red stripe down the center of the shirt, Nike went back to a solid red-and-white stripe on the front, a bit more in line with PSG’s classy signature look.
Why it’s special: Despite the ‘19-20 French season being shortened by COVID, Mbappe managed to finish as Ligue 1’s joint top-scorer with 18 goals, tied with Monaco’s Wissam Ben Yedder. Perhaps of greater importance, however, was the 21-year-old Mbappe nearly leading PSG to Champions League glory in this shirt. Kylian and the Parisians made it all the way to the final of the coveted European club competition before falling to Bayern Munich, 1-0, in the final.
Shirt No. 2 of 11: Personalized Erling Haaland shirt.
Number: 9
Club, manufacturer, and season: Borussia Dortmund away shirt, made by Puma for the 2021-22 season.
Design: Featuring diagonal gray shadow striping that almost gives this one a tweed chevron look, this kit gets high marks for both execution and originality. Plus, the classic yellow BVB crest and minimalistic 1&1 sponsor logo both really pop against the dark overall hue of the shirt.
Why it’s special: This shirt saw a bittersweet campaign for Dortmund fans, as ‘21-22 was Haaland’s last season with the club. Still, the Norwegian Meat Shield did contribute 29 goals in 30 total appearances, and also became the youngest player in league history to score 50 goals, reaching the achievement at just 21 years, four months, and six days of age.
Shirt No. 3 of 11: Personalized Alphonso Davies shirt.
Number: 19
Club, manufacturer, and season: Bayern Munich home shirt, made by Adidas for the 2019-20 season.
Design: A red-on-red-on-red beauty. Featuring various shades of crimson on the sleeves, collar, shoulders, and torso, this smartly designed shirt somehow manages to simultaneously be both timely and timeless.
Why it’s special: The kit that was worn the year Davies truly broke through. The Canadian left-back was instrumental in helping Bayern capture the treble, as they won the Bundesliga, the DFB Pokal, and the Champions League that season. The then-19-year-old was named the Bundesliga Rookie of the Year for his outstanding play.
Shirt No. 4 of 11: Personalized Joao Felix shirt.
Number: 7
Club, manufacturer, and season: Atletico Madrid home shirt, made by Nike for the 2019-20 season.
Design: After opting for a gradient effect on their signature red-and-white stripes the season prior, Atleti went back to a cleaner, more traditional look in 2019-20. A blue collar tag adds just the right amount of flair to this proper footballing shirt.
Why it’s special: The shirt that was worn during Felix’s first season with Atleti. The celebrated Portuguese signing didn’t settle in straightaway, but his play was good enough to see him win the 2019 Golden Boy award. The then-20-year-old Felix also finished 28th in Ballon d’Or voting for 2019.
Shirt No. 5 of 11: Personalized Jadon Sancho shirt.
Number: 7
Club, manufacturer, and season: Borussia Dortmund home shirt, made by Puma for the 2018-19 season.
Design: Like a Wiz Khalifa track, this kit is all about the black and yellow. And while it’s low on frills and flair, when you’ve got a color scheme that hits like this, sometimes it’s best to just play it straight. Which is wisely what Dortmund did with this one.
Why it’s special: The ‘18-19 season was technically Jadon’s second with BVB, but it was the one in which he truly arrived. The English winger was named the Bundesliga Player of the Month for October 2018, before going on to be named to the 2018-19 Bundesliga Team of the Season.
Shirt No. 6 of 11: Personalized Michael Owen shirt.
Number: 10
Club, manufacturer, and season: Liverpool away kit, made by Reebok for the 1997-98 season. (This shirt was also Liverpool’s third kit for the 1998-99 season.)
Design: Maybe it’s the multicolor trim. Or the red oval crest. Or the black Carlsberg sponsor logo. But there’s something about this yellow Liverpool shirt that just works. Almost as well as the 1981-82 and 2021-22 versions. A belter of a top either way.
Why it’s special: The shirt that introduced Liverpool’s away-day opponents to the footballing wunder-Brit that was a young Michael Owen. After playing two matches at the very end of the ‘96-97 season, the ‘97-98 campaign was the one in which Owen took the Premier League by storm, winning both the PL Golden Boot and the PFA Young Player of the Year awards.
Shirt No. 7 of 11: Personalized Wayne Rooney shirt.
Number: 18
Club, manufacturer, and season: Everton home shirt, made by Puma for the 2002-03 season.
Design: A relatively straightforward blue Toffees top that finds some distinction via the white stitched piping that runs across the torso and shoulders.
Why it’s special: This was the shirt that Rooney wore during his first-team debut with Everton on August 17, 2002, at just 16 years of age. It was also the shirt that Rooney wore when he scored that goal at home against Arsenal on October 19 of the same year. “Remember the name,” indeed.
Shirt No. 8 of 11: Personalized Lionel Messi shirt.
Number: 18
Club, manufacturer, and season: Argentina national team home shirt, made by Adidas for the 2004-05 season.
Design: A creative take on Argentina’s signature look, we’re especially big fans of how the three stripes (we see you, Adidas) trail off from sky blue to white towards the bottom of the shirt.
Why it’s special: Messi made his first international appearance for Argentina while wearing this shirt. It was August 18, 2005, and Messi came on in the 63rd minute of a friendly with Hungary. Of course, the then-No. 18 received a red card just 43 seconds after stepping on the pitch, but that’s of little importance. The shirt marks a historic occasion, after which Argentinian — and world — football would never be the same again.
Shirt No. 9 of 11: Personalized Cristiano Ronaldo shirt.
Number: 17
Club, manufacturer, and season: Portugal’s national team home shirt, made by Nike for the 2004-05 and ‘05-06 seasons.
Design: The circular number plate at the center. The gold trim that frames the torso. And the green trim popping off the left sleeve only. While it seems rather minimalistic, this shirt’s subtle creativity and flair made it a classic of the time, and was the perfect uniform for the emerging Portuguese megastar who donned it.
Why it’s special: Ronaldo scored his first international goal wearing this 17 shirt, during a 2-1 group-stage loss to Greece in the 2004 Euros. The then-19-year-old had an impressive tournament overall, scoring two goals and adding two assists, which was enough to earn him a place in the UEFA Team of the Tournament. Now, 18 years later, he’s gearing up for his fifth World Cup appearance with Portugal. We don’t need to tell you all that’s happened in between.
Shirt No. 10 of 11: Personalized Phil Foden shirt.
Number: 47
Club, manufacturer, and season: Manchester City home shirt, made by Puma for the 2021-22 season.
Design: The pinched, playful white side cuts make this sky blue shirt appear even brighter and lighter than most of Puma’s City kits. Bonus points for the “93:20” on the inside collar, which pays tribute to the 10th anniversary of Kun Aguero’s stoppage-time title-winner against QPR.
Why it’s special: Despite starting the ‘21-22 campaign with an injury, Foden was able to build on the impressive promise put on display during the season prior. The Stockport Iniesta finished the season with 14 goals in 45 appearances, enough of an output for him to be named the PFA Young Player of the Year.
Shirt No. 11 of 11: Personalized Neymar shirt.
Number: 11
Club, manufacturer, and season: Barcelona away shirt, made by Nike for the 2013-14 and ‘14-15 seasons.
Design: While this shirt doesn’t boast a heavy design tweak — one could argue that all that was done was to take the home kit and swap out some blue stripes for some yellow ones — the kit’s look is electric — almost crackling — and well represents the excitement contained by the team’s attack that season.
Why it’s special: After joining in June of 2013, this became Neymar’s first away shirt with Barcelona. While his output on the year (15 goals in 41 total appearances) wasn’t particularly impressive by Ney’s lofty standards, that season did mark the launch of Barcelona’s MSN attacking trio, which would go on to establish itself as one of the most storied frontlines in footballing history.