Grade A: these kits are classy and stylish. They retain their traditional colors and are respectful of their traditions. Athletic Bilbao wear their colors well. There is something special about red and white and black. There second kit is classy as well with neat little details on the socks and shorts. My favorite kits this year. Atletico Madrid also got an A. They have a similar design but theirs is slightly more low-rent. I like the lighter color shorts, but their second kit is a little too busy in comparison to Athletic's. I gave Malaga an A as well, but just barely. The pseudo-Argentina kit is very classy and the electric-yellow second kit that Barcelona used a few years ago almost got them dropped a grade, but the black tones down the loud combination. I also have a thing about blue and white kits and the bet this year is Real Sociedad. They made their striped wider which is a personal favorite for me. I also like the orange and black combination of their second kit. Real Zaragoza barely missed an A, their great first kit is undone by their second kit. Yech!!!
Grade B: people are going to knock me for criticizing the new Real Madrid and Barcelona kits but that's alright. Real Madrid have a great kit don't get me wrong, but it's just boring this year in comparison to their wonderful gold rimmed kit last year. They could have made it to an A but their second kit is just clunky. Too clunky, too busy with the dark pinstripes on a dark background, and the electric yellow pinstripes is odd; barely a B, but Barcelona almost got a C. I'll give them an A for effort an innovation, but I lived through the wild designs and colors of the 80s and 90s and this is just unnecessary. The first kit is acceptable but the tie-dye second kit looks like an orange daiquiri was spilled on a Villarreal kit. The other Bs were either undone by their second kits or actually like Granada whose second kit is better than their first even if it is the same design. The rest like Sevilla and Valencia just didn't add anything new or interesting to their kits or compared to last year's kits they lacked the ambition to do more with their kits. Valencia could have used that great third kit they have, the one that has the red and yellow stripes with blue shorts. That could have given them an extra grade in my book. So, in the end these aren't great kits, not bad, just very good on the most part.
Grade C: The C's are there because the kits are dull, like Celta's. So, Mallorca, you use the same colors but switch them? Osasuna, so your second kit are just grey pajamas? See what I mean? Depor could have been alright if they had just minimized the busy-mess of their first kit. I love blue and white stripes, but this is ridiculous. I know the sponsor logo is big and has a big circle on it but you add half-panels, stripes and add a big oval in the center of the kit? Plus, you repeat the design with the second kit with black and red? Yeesh.
Best Kit: last year I picked the Li-Ning Espanyol kit from 2011-2012. I won't repeat it even though I do like their new design that hearkens to Real Sociedad's from last year. No. In color design (the dark red stripes on white surrounded by black) and the overall design of the first and secondary kits, I love the Athletic Bilbao kits from this year.
Best Away Kit: I really like the forest green Levante kit. I don't like the blue and red horizontal stripes but it's innovative and isn't annoying.
Best Goalkeeper's kit: I really like Real Sociedad's GK kit. It's green but it has a fading sunburst.
Worst Kit: a tie. Real Valladolid's second kit which is horrendous enough with a purple cross on a black backgroound, but Zaragoza's nuclear-bee kit (an all-black monstrosity with a yellow stripe along the center is really bad.
0 comments:
Post a Comment