In case you’ve been living under a rock and missed the news, Germany’s Football Association awarded Nike the contract to be its kit manufacturer on an eight-year deal from 2027 onwards.
It was a monumental decision that not only shocked the wider footballing world and German society. Not only did the shift signal the end of an extremely iconic and highly successful era for German football, but it’s also perceived as a significant social move with unpatriotic undertones.
Adidas, the iconic clothing brand born in Bavaria, has been interwoven into Germany’s sporting and social fabric for 70 years. Seeing the German football side in a kit manufactured by someone other than Adidas is like seeing an F1 driver in a plane cockpit; sure it could work but it doesn’t feel right.
After seven decades, Germany’s split with Adidas is the end of an iconic era that’s produced some of football’s greatest-ever kits. With that in mind, there’s no better than the present to take stock and assess the best German kits by Adidas.
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Adidas’ greatest ever Germany kits
Honourable mentions: 1986 World Cup kit (home), 2018 World Cup kits (home and away), 2014 World Cup kit (away), Euro 96 kit (away)
5. 2022 World Cup kit (home)
Worn by: Manuel Neuer, Mario Gotze, Thomas Muller, Ilkay Gundogan, Kai Havertz
Germany’s association with Adidas has been long and prosperous. In that context, the 2022 World Cup, where the Germans were eliminated at the group stage after a shock loss to Japan in their opening match of the tournament.
While hardly a vintage German performance, their kit for the tournament, featuring a thick black vertical strip running from the base of the neck to the beginning of the shorts, is one of their finest. Simple and understated, with a black and white colour scheme that is as bland as their football at the tournament, there is just something about this jersey, and the vertical stripe, that stands out and cements it as one of the nation’s finest.
4. 1996 Euros kit (home)
Worn by: Matthias Sammer, Oliver Kahn, Jurgen Klinsmann, Oliver Bierhoff, Mehmet Scholl
There’s always an element of success with the Germany and Adidas relationship. Euro 96, in England, was no different. With hardly a vintage squad, Germany travelled to the homes of their oldest enemy, both on and off the field, and produced a championship-winning performance.
Their away kit for the tournament is also special, but nothing beats their home. A classical German kit, largely white with thick black stripes across the shoulder and a large, prominent coat of arms across the chest, the kit is accentuated by an orange and black grandfather collar; the cherry on top of a delightful jersey.
It’s the kind of classic kit that wouldn’t look out of place in modern life. It’s baggy, it’s subtle, but somehow also bold. You just know the barista at a trendy inner-city cafe tucks this into a pair of black jeans before a busy Sunday.
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3. 1994 World Cup kit (home)
Worn by: Lothar Matthaus, Oliver Kahn, Matthias Sammer, Rudi Voller, Jurgen Klinsmann
Quintessential mid-1990s Adidas, that’s the only way to describe the German’s 1994 World Cup home kit. From the chest down, it’s all-white, as usual, like a canvas. From the chest up is where the magic happens.
We hope whoever stitched this design together shot right up the Adidas ranks, such is its brilliance. Emblazoned across the chests of the German stars at that US World Cup was a collection of black, orange and red diamonds shooting from all angles.
Perhaps the inspiration was the diamonds in that German side: Lothar Matthaus, Oliver Kahn and Rudi Voller among them. Whatever it is, we’re just thankful it escaped someone’s mind and found fabric because make no mistake this kit is befitting of a king, let alone the reigning World Champions.
2. 1990 World Cup kit (away)
Worn by: Lothar Matthaus, Rudi Voller, Jurgen Klinsmann, Andreas Brehme, Pierre Littbarski
Something not usually associated with Adidas’s German kits is colour. Of course, there are a few exceptions to this rule, such as the black and red horizontally striped kit the 2014 World Cup winners wore during their 7-1 dismantling of Brazil at that tournament.
But there is no better exception to this rule than the away kit they rolled with at Italia ’90. An almost slime-green colour, the design features thick blocks that move in a triangle from the base of the kit up to the neck. Like their performances tend to be, this kit feels somewhat robotic, but in a good way. It’s colourful, it’s fresh, and it’s well-designed. What more do you need from a jersey?
1. 1990 World Cup kit (home)
Worn by: Lothar Matthaus, Rudi Voller, Jurgen Klinsmann, Andreas Brehme, Pierre Littbarski
Now, this might not only be the greatest German jersey ever, but also the greatest football jersey ever made. To put it simply, it’s exceptional, especially considering the minimalistic, and bland, jerseys the nation had worn in previous years.
An aesthetically pleasing design, the geometric blocks, coloured black, red and orange like the German flag, run like the Autobahn from shoulder to shoulder across a blank white kit, like brush strokes on a canvas. The blocks build up as they do run across the player’s chests which, according to reports, designer Ina Franzmann stated stood for building towards victory, which of course the nation did at the World Cup they wore it at.
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In the pantheon of great footballing jerseys, this one ranks as one of the finest ever. Of course, the fact it brought success to the nation wearing it adds to its appeal. But even if they’d done what more contemporary German sides have and failed to progress from the group, this jersey would remain as one of football’s greatest.