Picking a list of the best shirts is so subjective that you’ll almost never see the same lineup twice, but therein lies the beauty! One person’s trash is another’s treasure and all that. And so we present to you the SoccerBible top 15 European home shirts of 22/23.
In all honesty, it’s not been the most inspiring season for home shirt design on the whole. But with some of the bigger brands and teams metaphorically lifting their foot off the pedal momentarily, it's allowed some niche brands to sneak back in, with the likes of Errea, Joma, Macron and Mizuno seriously upping their game with some beautifully crafted offerings.
Putting together a list of the best shirts is always going to be a tough ask, and there has been plenty of blood spilt in the office as we argued over the inclusion and positioning of certain designs. But we whittled it down to the list you’re about to see, and while you may not fully agree with it, one thing we should all agree on is that there are some absolute belters on here. Now please excuse us, we need to tend to some of these wounds...
15. West Ham United
Umbro and West Ham's strong relationship continues, this time with the classic claret body complemented by a contemporary scratched graffiti blue and white sleeve detail.
14. Real Madrid
Bringing back an iconic colour that played such a strong role through the 90s, the real beauty of this year's Real Madrid home shirt comes on closer inspection, where you can see a sublimated version of the club crest, repeated throughout the body.
13. Parma Calcio
A smart collar and a modern take on the club's traditional look makes the Parma home shirt really standout from what's come before. The sponsor also slots in seamlessly for a standout look for the Italian Serie B side.
12. Bournemouth
Let's face it, if this was AC Milan fans would be going mental for it. As it is, it's Bournemouth, but it certainly marks the Cherries out as one of the best dressed in the Premier League. Sponsor certainly prevents it from being ranked higher, but you can pick it up sponsorless from the club's online store...
11. Lazio
Great to see Mizuno back at the top table of European football, and they start life off as Lazio's new technical sponsor with a bang(er). The sublimated Eagle throughout the body is a touch of pure class.
10. Norwich City
Kicking off the top 10 with a blast of retro feels courtesy of Spanish brand Joma and Championship side Norwich City. The home shirt lined up alongside a cracking away and third for one of the best sets of the season.
9. Arsenal
This list just isn't big enough for both Manchester United and Arsenal, and so it is the latter that gets the nod. Both enjoyed the addition of a retro-fuelled collar as a final flourish, and for the Gunners it completes a traditional look. Tidy.
8. Basel
Swiss Super League side Basel are treated to an absolute gem from Macron, with a bespoke design that combines the club’s colours, history and logos with shared graphics that pay homage to one of the city’s most iconic buildings, the Basler Münster. So good.
7. AS Roma
When New Balance took over from Nike last year there would have been some who were a bit tentative. But the American brand have absolutely put any doubts to rest, and this year's home shirt simply builds on what was started last year.
6. Juventus
Another twist on the Bianconeri's iconic stripes this year from adidas, and the Jeep sponsor even gets in on the act, with a – quite literally – striking flourish.
5. SPAL
And so the top 5 gets underway with this little beauty. Bucking the notion that home shirts have to be restricted by tradition, often leading to bland and uninspired offerings, the SPAL shirt features the traditional blue and white stripes, but the three central bands of blue come with a slightly greater width on which, with a tone-on-tone print, the full name of the club is repeated: Società Polisportiva Ars et Labor, from which the famous acronym S.P.A.L. is derived. It’s a stroke of genius.
4. Barcelona
In a year where Lionel Messi left, they crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage and the club's horrendous financial position started to come to light, it's something to say that their home shirt was the worst thing from their season. So this year is a massive improvement, with a design that nods to the Barcelona Olympics in the year that the city is celebrating the 30th anniversary of the 1992 Games.
3. Venezia
It was always going to be tough to follow the heights of last season, but Venezia once again bring their A game, with a reinvented club crest and a retro collar taking a central role, all created in collaboration with design studio Bureau Borsche.
2. Wolfsburg
Talk about making a home shirt progressive. The Wolfsburg home shirt sticks with the club's classic colours, but it introduces a wild triangular sublimated graphic that plays out across its entirety.
1. Inter Milan
A controversial one in the office, but this ticks a lot of boxes: traditional? Check. Good design? Check. Bit of a retro call back? Check. This is an Inter shirt and no mistake, capturing the club's identity pitch perfectly.
And there you have it. Shout all you want about the order and the fact your team doesn't appear.
Shop all 22/23 replica at prodirectsoccer.com
