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Brazil vs Croatia, quarterfinals of the World Cup, it is a battle of kits
World Cup
DOHA, Qatar — It’s a meeting of the titans and, indeed, the clash of the World Cup quarterfinals, a game where flashes of grace and beauty, of originality and style, will make it impossible to look away. . No, we’re not talking about England against France on Saturday. We are talking about something much bigger…
… The shirt of Brazil against the shirt of Croatia.
“We live in an era of homogenized kits,” says John Devlin, kit expert and author of the book “True Colours,” which explores the history of soccer jersey design. “Seeing this variety of colors is just amazing.”
This. And these are by any measure true heavyweights. On Friday at Education City Stadium, the stands will be awash in the highest sporting fashion: the unmistakable yellow of Brazil’s world-famous Canarinho jersey, contrasted with the modern allure that is Croatia’s dazzling red and white checkerboard. The juxtaposition is artistically delightful: the classic splendor of a timeless style against the significant ballast of a unique and progressive style statement.
“I think it will be one of the highlights of this World Cup,” says Devlin. “I’m really looking forward to seeing this combination in action.”
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He’s not alone, though adding to the importance of the occasion is the back-stories behind each of the jerseys. For both sets of fans (not to mention gamers), these aren’t just portable canvases. There is real meaning behind what players wear.
Aleksandar Holiga, editor-in-chief of the Croatian sports website Telesport, says the link between the ladies in Croatia’s uniform and its national flag has a purpose. The same Croatian painter, Miroslav Sutej, designed both (as well as Croatia’s banknotes), and for a nation that only gained independence in 1991, that connection is a critical point of pride.
The Croatian and Brazilian kits are unique in both their color scheme and design, but their roots run much deeper when it comes to the countries themselves. FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images
The Croatian team debuted in the jersey in 1990, before gaining independence, in a friendly against the United States, but its popularity exploded around the world when Croatia qualified for the European Championship in 1996 and then for the World Cup in 1998. , where Davor Suker scored. six goals and won the Golden Boot.
Suddenly, everyone was talking about this new country and its unforgettable jersey.
“I think that’s the main reason [Croatians] holding on to it and liking it so much – it is always associated with gaining independence and international recognition,” says Holiga. ‘Croatia.'”
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Pete Hoppins, who worked with Croatia and Brazil (and many other teams) during his eight years in Nike’s global soccer apparel group, says Croatia was also favored by the chessboards that appeared around the same time as a increased interest in replica jerseys in general. Hoppins says that it was only in the 1990s that “jerseys became a mass-market concept. And with Croatia, there’s something that just feels football about the look of it, although it’s rare.”
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The design appeal of Brazil, on the other hand, has more to do with the brand. It’s perpetually the most popular jersey in terms of global sales, Hoppins says, because “people all over the world just want to be associated with that jersey,” a reference to Brazil’s record five World Cup trophies in the men’s World Cup.
Of course, in a classic twist, the yellow jersey, which has come to symbolize excellence, was actually born out of failure. Brazil’s original kit was mostly white, but after the embarrassment of losing the 1950 World Cup at home to Uruguay, a contest was held where Brazilians were invited to create a new design that would give the Selecao a new identity.
“Before, people thought that it was not a good idea to have the colors of Brazil on the kit because soccer did not represent the country,” says Mauricio Drumond, a sports historian and professor in Rio de Janeiro. “It’s obviously changed since then.”
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Aldyr Garc
The contest attracted scores of entries, and a teenager from the town of Pelotas named Aldyr García Schlee, who would become a renowned cartoonist, drew more than 100 different ideas before submitting his entry that would become part of soccer history.
As Brazil became the most dominant team in the sport, winning the World Cup in 1958, 1962 and 1970, their yellow jersey became a cultural touchstone. Add in the worldwide fame of Pelé, and Brazilians embraced the canarinho as a stand-in for everything good about their nation.
“We don’t have as many flag clothes as you see in the United States,” Drumond says. “Here is the shirt: the Brazilian shirt represents the country… It’s the flag, but with clothes.”
Brazil’s uniforms were also a symbol of the recent presidential election, with Bolsonaro wearing the yellow uniform as a sign of support, forcing his critics to adopt the blue jersey as a way of showing their opposition. Given Galdieri/Bloomberg via Getty Images
That reality, and the feelings that support it, are not always easy. In recent years, Brazil’s right-wing government led by Jair Bolsonaro began wearing the shirt as a symbol of support for the president and his way of running the country, so some citizens who opposed Bolsonaro avoided wearing the shirt purpose. , saying that he no longer spoke for them. Brazil’s much less popular blue jersey became a power item.
“However, in recent months, that has started to change,” Drumond says, referring to the recent re-election of Lula da Silva as the country’s president, as well as a general move to depoliticize the uniform.
“People began to recover those symbols like the yellow jersey,” he continues. “As if they had been kidnapped.”
There has certainly been no shortage of yellow jerseys on display in Qatar, whether it be on actual Brazilians or those fans from other countries who want to support Neymar or his teammates. Although its design has barely changed, the canarinho has remained ubiquitous, appearing at soccer tournaments and everywhere else for decades. In fact, that consistency is part of what makes the enduring appeal of both jerseys extraordinary.
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Most other football federations, obviously aware of the financial rewards new jerseys can bring, dabble in changing colors or designs with some frequency, a practice that can result in some bizarre circumstances. As just one example, Spain, whose team is known as “La Roja,” or “The Reds,” was knocked out of the World Cup on Tuesday while wearing, for some reason, light blue jerseys.
However, with Brazil and Croatia, such a thing seems almost impossible. Hoppins, the former Nike designer, spent a lot of time in meetings over the years discussing possible new ideas for the national team’s kits, and says everyone was always on top of the situation when it came time to talk about Brazil. or Croatia.
“Every time, every tournament, it wasn’t even in the cards not to make a yellow or not to make a checkerboard,” Hoppins says. “It’s an unwritten rule. We’re making them. We all knew that.”
