- Puma - Brisbane Roar
- Adidas - Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory, Wellington Phoenix
- Errea - Adelaide United
- Hummel - Central Coast Mariners
- ISC - Melbourne Heart, Newcastle Jets
- Fi-ta - Gold Coast United
- Blades - Perth Glory
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| Mariners players in their new Hummel strip |
First up let's have a look at the Mariners. They linked up with Danish sportswear company Hummel. Sadly I think they missed the mark a little with their home strip. The shirt looks like they couldn't make up their mind whether to go with stripes or a Boca Juniors style strip across the torso. In the end they seemed to have combined the two into a messy alternative. Also it includes a lot of exposed stitching which I really don't like as it looks like the shirt is inside out. The Yellow away shirt is much better, though I'm not keen on the white shorts. Overall it's a bit hit and miss.
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| Adelaide show off their new strip and some sponsor's product |
Adelaide United went with Italian company Errea and I must say they've come up with some good strips. But I could be a little biased due to the fact that one of my favourite brewers is emblazoned across the front of their shirts. The home strip is almost entirely red and very simplistic. I must say I really like it. Their away strip is predominately black, a repeat from their last Reebok kits, and feature some red detailing. Like I say, nice simple kits have seen Adelaide sport one of the best looking strips in the league this season. I'm pretty sure these will be selling well down in Barrell town. The colours also marry up nicely with the Coopers Pale Ale packaging, so I'm sure the sponsors quite like that idea.
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| Roar players looking sharp in Puma |
Reigning champions Brisbane Roar have become another club who will be exclusively wearing a company's gear. They have teamed up with major German player Puma. In addition they have also taken the additional step of altering their colours slightly with the maroon dropped in favour of black. It's a good move giving the strip a cleaner look when combined with the now traditional hi-vis orange. While the shorts may be a little dodgy looking the shirts are very nice and have made very good use of one of the stock Puma templates. The black away strip falls into the very sexy category as well. Best strip in the league as far as I'm concerned, but I am a little biased.
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| Victory show off their new Adidas gear |
Like Brisbane Roar Melbourne Victory have gone German with sportswear giants Adidas providing their kits. The trademark V stays on their strips which I think is something they should always have. There's a little more white on the home strip than I think they should have but their fans do seem to be happy with it. For the away strip they have teamed flouro yellow with their navy blue in a move that is sure to make them stand out just a little. Good strips and sure to sell like hot cakes amongst the biggest fan base in the land, particularly with the name Kewell and number 22 on the back.
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| Sydney are one of 3 clubs in Adidas |
Massive rivals on the park, it's something of an irony now that Sydney FC and Victory have become stablemates in terms of their kits with Sydney also wearing Adidas. Sydney have gone with a simple two tone blue scheme on their home strip, with pinstripes on the shirts. Away from home they have a black strip with sky blue detailing. It's definitely a no-frills kit, but in the fashion stakes often simple is better and the Sydney kit is a good one. Personally I think the strip could be slightly improved if the dark blue was much more of a navy blue so that there was much more contrast between the two colours. But that's only a minor complaint.
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| Bertos in Adidas |
Rounding out the Adidas stable of teams is Wellington Phoenix. The kiwis, who this week saw new owners take over their club, have keep to the same theme of recent seasons by keeping their yellow and black stripes. It's a pretty popular strip over the ditch and this new Adidas one is very good indeed. Like the Roar, they've made use of one of their manufacturer's stock templates, but they've done it in a good way. While not seen here, their away strip is a predominately white affair which pretty much harks back to the bog standard Reebok away strips of the early seasons of the A-League. I'm expecting to see plenty of Nix fans wearing this new strip around the cake tin in the upcoming season.
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| No surprises from Heart |
ISC is a pretty familiar face on the Australian sporting landscape and we have seen them involved with a lot of teams in rugby league, rugby union, AFL and even netball. They can now add soccer to that stable with two clubs set to wear ISC kits this season. Melbourne Heart have gone for pretty much an ISC version of their home and away strips from last season. Nothing new with the home strip featuring red and white stripes and the away strip being a Peruvianesque white strip with a red sash. What Heart have done which is quite unique on the A-League scene is adopt a third kit and hold a competition to allow fans to design it. They've ended up with a grey shirt that has a sash of red and white. Personally I don't really like it and to be honest I think the idea of them having a third strip is actually a bit of a wank. But the fans like it so you can't really knock them for that then.
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| Major colour changes for the jets |
The other team sporting ISC gear will be Newcastle Jets and there is a number of big news items involving their kit. First up is a total colour change. Gone is that god awful gold lame shirt that they used to have and it's been replace with a Barcelona like red and white striped number. Personally a great move I believe though it has been opposed by a lot of fans. Their away strip will be red and white stripes much like their English namesakes. While all the other teams have unveiled their strips the Jets ones are yet to see the light of day and only ISC mock ups have been viewed so far. More concerning though is the news that apparently the Jets merchandise will not be ready for the start of the season. Bit of an epic fail that one Jets!
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| Fi-ta were a surprise choice by GCU |
While the manufacturers we have looked at so far have been pretty much name players on the world and Australian scenes, Gold Coast United came out of left field somewhat with their choice of manufacturer. Little known, sorry I mean totally unknown manufacturer Fi-ta got the gig. If you haven't heard of them don't be surprised as the only other professional team that they outfit is the Papua New Guinea rugby league side. I do wonder if this a reflection of the major players not wanting to supply a club who has such small crowds and therefore little in the way of merchandise sales. Their strip though is a solid one. They've stuck with largely the same schemes as their old Reebok ones.
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| McGarry in action in the new blades strip |
So the final strip to look at is the Perth Glory one. They have linked up with XBlades and to be honest I really don't like the strip they have come up with. The home strip features white and purple stripes, but to be honest there is just too much white there. Plus they have some silly little orange highlights there as well that hark back to the old Reebok designs. Their home strip is white with orange and purple stripes down the centre. I really just wish the Glory went with a much more purple home strip, it would look much better I think. What they have now is almost like two away strips.
So that's what we are going to see the teams running around in this season. It's going to be a fresh new look for the league and I think it has come at just the right time. And in a little reminder of just where the league started out here is an old photo of the original home strips.
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| A-League strips from season 1, we've come a long way! |
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