Socceroos to be the ugly ducklings at World Cup

 
Adrian Musolino Columnist

By , 1 Mar 2010 Adrian Musolino is a Roar Expert

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Portugal's Nani and Australia's Vince Grella pose for the photographers at the launch of their World Cup South Africa 2010 soccer kits, during a presentation at the Battersea Power Station, in London, Thursday Feb. 25, 2010. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

As we wait on edge to see what the Socceroos will achieve in South Africa, the only guarantee we have is that they won’t look good doing it. That’s the overwhelming consensus following the release of the away kit the Socceroos will wear at the World Cup and beyond that has left many Australian fans cringing.

Nike revealed nine kits for its World Cup teams in an event in London, with Vince Grella joining the likes of Portugal’s Nani, Brazil’s Alexandre Pato and Blackburn teammate and New Zealand rival Ryan Nelson in modeling the designs.

While the Socceroos home design hasn’t been officially unveiled as yet, the website Football Shirt Culture recently published the proposed home design, which matches the away design that was revealed in London.

The response from Socceroos fans, judging by various forum discussions, hasn’t been good.

The two-tone design, with the unusual horizontal stripe across the chest, is a disappointing move away from the elegance and simplicity of the design, home and away, that we have become accustomed to seeing since Germany 2006.

The new Nike design fails to inspire. It looks artificial, bland and tacky. It looks like a generic shirt you’d find at your local sporting store on sale for $19.95, worn by an over-35′s team in a social competition.

When it comes to football shirts, particularly national ones, simplicity and tradition are best. The proof, from the aforementioned launch in London, is in the simple yet stunning strips for England, Brazil and New Zealand.

This design the Socceroos will wear sadly ranks as one of the worst in the national team’s history. (For a historical overview of the Socceroos’ look over the years, check out this great collection of images).

The colours, along with the design, will also cause much discussion, particularly the light blue featured in the away strip.

While blue and gold have, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs, “heraldic significance as they are the colours of the crest of the present Commonwealth coat of arms,” green and gold are our most recognisable sporting colours.

According to the Department: “Green and gold were proclaimed Australia’s national colours by the Governor-General on 19 April 1984. The colours green and gold were popularly used as the national colours even before the official proclamation. They have been used in Australian and international sporting events since the nineteenth century and have been associated with many great sporting achievements since.”

But the colours have been of secondary importance for fans disappointed with the uninspiring design.

One design that has been doing the rounds on the Internet in response to the Nike unveiling is this nifty creation, which, you would agree, retains the classic design that we have grown to love in the Socceroos shirt.

The one Nike have designed, to be honest, just doesn’t do it.

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