I don't talk about soccer enough

I really don't. I mean, the two countries I actually have rooting interest in played each other Friday night and not a peep from me.

Instead, I'm left to talk about their uniforms. National teams generally change their designs every two years because, you know, the hard working execs at Nike and adidas gotta get paid. Since these national uniforms are a platform for the suppliers to show off their brand identity and whatever latest technology, these uniforms aren't always the prettiest to look at.

The new Nike designs were sort-of outed at Logan's Revenge a bit back, but Nike-sponsored blogger Adam Spangler just put up photographs and they don't look half bad. I'm not digging the vertical stripes on the socks, but that's a minor complaint.

Just for the sake of comparison, the before ('04-'05) and after ('06-'07):



While Nike went for the simple, cleaner look, adidas went all stripey and shit. Here's the before/after for Japan:



I wanted to get the new one so I could rock it when I hit the pubs when the World Cup rolled around, but now I'm not so sure. Not liking the design at all.

Another Nike-sponsored team, Netherlands went with a retro look, which I'm "meh" about, especially since it makes the players look like munchkins. Though I'm really, really digging the tracksuits.



Is it wrong if I buy another country's gear and don't buy Japan's? Probably not. It's not like there's a war or anything. Yet.

tags: soccer World Cup uniforms Nike adidas