Your football shirt says more about you than you think. Every fan has a type, and the shirt on your back usually gives it away. Some of us have stayed loyal to one era since childhood. Some of us buy a new football kit every season and swear it is the last one. And some of us own a shirt we really should not talk about.
We sorted football shirt owners into eight types, from the classic purist with a wardrobe full of retro football shirts to the fan who secretly owns their rival’s kit. Read through, be honest about which one you are, then send it to the friend who is definitely one of the others.
Thinks football peaked before VAR. Owns zero shirts made after 2004. Will tell you the fabric of a 1990 West Germany home shirt “just hits different,” and they are not entirely wrong. For the Classic Purist, a classic football shirt is a time machine: the bold geometric prints, the heavy collars, the sponsor logos from companies that no longer exist.
If this is you, you already know that retro football shirts are more than nostalgia. They are the shirts you grew up watching, and the ones that defined how football looked for a generation.
Most likely to say: “They don’t make them like this anymore.”
Learned football watching Xavi and Iniesta pass teams to sleep. Calls every short pass “tiki-taka.” Still talks about the 2011 Champions League final at Wembley like it was last week. Their first football shirt was probably blaugrana, and part of them never took it off.
For this type, a Barcelona shirt from that era is not a fashion choice. It is proof they were there for the best team they ever saw.
Most likely to say: “Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets. Name a better midfield.”
Refuses the home shirt because “everyone has that one.” Owns every colour their club has worn exactly once: the mint third kit, the strange sash, the one the fans voted against. The Away Kit Only fan cares about standing out more than fitting in, and honestly, the away kit is often the better design. Portugal’s mint-green away kit is exactly the kind of football shirt this type lives for.
Most likely to say: “The home kit is for tourists.”
No name, no number. Their last hero left in January, and that shirt went up in flames. Never again. The Blank Back has learned that players come and go, so they commit only to the badge. It is the most practical type on this list, and the most heartbroken.
There is a quiet logic to it: a blank football shirt never goes out of date when the transfer window opens.
Most likely to say: “Players come and go. The badge stays.”
Their hero’s name is on their back, retired or not. Maradona, Zidane, Ronaldinho: it does not matter how long ago they hung up their boots. The Legend Nameset will defend that player’s legacy in any group chat, at any hour, with highlight clips ready to send. An Argentina shirt with a 10 on the back is basically their personality.
Most likely to say: “You never saw him play live. I did.”
Wears the same shirt for every big game. Hasn’t washed it since that win. Football is full of rituals, from France’s Laurent Blanc kissing Fabien Barthez’s head before matches at the 1998 World Cup to fans who sit in the same seat on the sofa every week. When the team loses, it is never the shirt’s fault.
Most likely to say: “Don’t touch it. We’re unbeaten in it.”
Says “just one more” every season. Knows product codes by heart and can tell a player issue from a replica across the room. Their partner thinks there are 12 shirts. There are 47. For the Collector, every football shirt is a chapter of football history, and the wardrobe is never quite full.
If you are building a football shirt collection, our 2024 Shirts of the Year list is a good place to find your next target.
Most likely to say: “It’s not spending. It’s an investment.”
Owns a shirt from the club they hate the most. Swears it is “ironic.” Nobody in the group chat believes them. Deep down, the Rival’s Shirt fan simply has good taste, and some derbies have produced kits too beautiful to ignore. The Milan derby alone has given us classic AC Milan and Inter Milan shirts worth owning, whichever side you are on.
Most likely to say: “It was on sale, okay? The design is just good.”
Most fans are a mix of two or three types, and that is what makes buying football shirts fun. A few simple rules help, whatever your type:
A classic football shirt is an older kit, usually from a past season, that fans remember for its design or for the moment it was worn in. Many collectors use “classic” and “retro” for shirts that are at least a few seasons old.
Retro football shirts connect fans to players and eras they love, and many older designs are bolder than modern kits. They have also become everyday fashion, worn far away from the stadium.
It depends on your type. A name and number celebrate a specific player, while a blank back stays relevant whoever joins or leaves the club. Legend namesets of retired players are a safe middle ground.
Tell us your number on Instagram at @thegoalmarkt, and send this to the friend who needs to be called out. Whatever your type, your next football shirt is waiting in the Goalmarkt shirt collection.
