On Thanksgiving, as we were watching the Brazil game, I said something about that yellow jersey being iconic and my nephew asked me why, so I explained to him that Brazil's yellow shirt and blue shorts is the world futbol equivalent of Yankees pinstripes or the Montreal Canadiens' red sweater. When you see that jersey, you know exactly who's playing. (I'm also convinced that part of the reason Colombia and Ecuador wear yellow at home is so Brazil can't.)
In fact, I'd argue that, along with the New Zealand All Blacks' rugby uniform, the Brazilian soccer kit might be perhaps the most instantly recognizable in world sport. It has varied slightly over the years, but the only changes you'll see might be the sock color or a different font. The basic look has always been the same, though. Yellow shirt, blue shorts, white socks.
Brazil isn't the only country with an instantly recognizable uniform, of course. There are several nations with iconic looks, as a matter of fact. They've all changed their road kit over the years, sometimes even changing the color, but their primary uniforms have remained pretty much the same. And these 10 countries (well, 11 actually), both based on their success and the consistency of their look, have the most iconic uniforms in world soccer/football/futbol.
Paraguay hasn't had anywhere near the same level of success as the other teams on this list, but, whenever they're on the field, there's no mistaking what team it is. Those vertical red and white stripes date back to the 1920s. That's why, even though I originally considered not including the Albirroja in the top 10 and making them an honorable mention instead, I just couldn't do it.
10 (tie). Netherlands: The House of Orange-Nassau has been the Dutch royal family for almost 500 years. That's why all of their national teams wear orange. And that's why the soccer team is called the "Oranje." They do lose points, though, because, while the jersey and socks have been consistent, they've gone back and forth between orange, white and blue shorts.
9. France: Same thing for our defending champions, "Les Bleus." Sometimes it's all blue. Sometimes it's blue with white shorts and red socks. And they've currently got gold numbers (which is probably only a temporary thing while they're the current World Cup champions). Still, there's only one team that wears that dark blue shirt, regardless of the shorts/socks paired with it.
8. Croatia: Just like how Paraguay makes the list because of their distinctive vertical red stripes, Croatia's on it because of their red-and-white checkerboard design. The checkerboard is on the Croatian flag, so it makes sense that they'd also use it as the signature look for the national team. They incorporate it on their road uniforms, too, but that doesn't stand out nearly as much as the red and white.
7. Mexico: "El Tri" have had the same look since the 50s. Green shirts, white shorts, red socks. With very little variation since they settled on the colors of the Mexican flag as their primary uniform. They've had all kinds of different looks for their road kits, but there's only one look you'll see the home team sporting at Azteca.
6. Spain: When Spain played the Netherlands in the 2010 final, they actually wore blue since they were the "road" team and red and orange are too close. After they won, they switched to red for the trophy presentation. Makes sense for a team known as "La Roja." They're wearing all red in this picture (which I think is from the Costa Rica game), but the traditional look features blue shorts and socks with the red shirts.
5. Uruguay: All of the top five have one thing in common. They've all won multiple World Cups. Which is certainly part of the reason their looks are so iconic. The top five starts with Uruguay, which has worn a sky blue shirt with black shorts and black socks for more than a century. Uruguay's uniform is the same today as it was when the country won the first World Cup in 1930.
4. Germany: There's been some variation on the jersey, which has occasionally had some degree of decoration, but it's consistently been white. And when you see a white jersey and black shorts on a soccer field, there's only one team it can be. In a way, they're like the Dallas Cowboys, who end up wearing white most of the time because they wear white at home and their opponents usually wear their color at home. Same with Germany. They have road uniforms. We just rarely see them.
3. Italy: They may not be in Qatar, but that doesn't make Italy's look any less iconic. "Gli Azzuri," after all, means "The Blues" in Italian! They got that name way back in 1911, when the blue jersey debuted. It's almost always been paired with white shorts and blue socks since then. They've also been pretty consistent with a reverse version (white over blue) for road games.
2. Argentina: If it wasn't already obvious, the top two are the South American rivals. Maradona, Messi and all those who've come before (and will come after) have worn those iconic sky blue and white stripes, which has been the look for "La Albiceleste" since 1908. I'm not sure if there's any team, professional or national, that's worn the same uniform as long. The white and sky blue stripes have become so identified with Argentina that it has spread to Argentine national teams in other sports, much like Notre Dame's gold helmets and North Carolina's argyle pattern.
1. Brazil: What's crazy about Brazil's iconic look is that it's relatively new in comparison to some of the others. They only started wearing the yellow jerseys with blue shorts in 1954. But those uniforms have become so identified with Brazil that it's impossible to imagine them wearing anything else. Of course, the fact that there have been so many legendary Brazilian players, from Pele to Neymar and everyone in between, and they've all sported basically the same look has only helped make them so iconic. Not just the most iconic look in world soccer. One of the most iconic in the world, period!
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