Julien Laurens saunters into the third kit Puma has created for Manchester City, AC Milan, and other cities. (1:12).
As clubs in Europe finish their matchday outfits for the 2021-22 season, third kits have been arriving in large quantities.
Instead of releasing its latest jerseys one at a time Puma decided to launch its new jerseys in a 10-pronged fashion. This included the introduction of third alternative shirts for Marseille, Valencia, AC Milan and Valencia. Puma launched a whole collection of kits that were based on this template.
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According to the manufacturer, it wanted to dismantle the conventions of football shirt design. The club crests were removed from their traditional location on the chest and moved to the back, just below the collar. Each shirt has a graphic that incorporates the various crests into the fabric, in the form a "wallpaper" print.
We also see the standard logos and crests replaced with a large band with the club name across the chest. All sponsors are tacked beneath. This bold re-imagining of football shirt is clearly not about fiddling with commercial revenue.
Although the designs were intended to challenge the norms and present the kit design through a brave new eye, they are quite jarring for traditionalists. They also give the kits an air of basic training wear.
If we were polite, we would say that there has been mixed reactions to Puma’s new template.
You have all summer to create 6 kits, and you don't finish it until the hour before the deadline. https://t.co/4YiYQvOTKv Paul Watson (@paul_c_watson) August 18, 2021
Puma have to be stopped pic.twitter.com/AHXMkakFd4 No Score Draws (Sian & Alex) (@CheapPanini) August 18, 2021
The third Man City kit is now available. pic.twitter.com/obVHz3NRX9 These Football Times (@thesefootytimes) August 18, 2021
Man City is very funny. Please, show us the third shirt.
Please? pic.twitter.com/U5WAPpEDo1 Ryan Bailey (@RyanJayBailey) August 18, 2021
Puma kits be like pic.twitter.com/GI17dddvcb Football Ramble (@FootballRamble) August 18, 2021
Here are a few more details about the 10 Puma jerseys, and how they compare.
AC Milan
Claudio Villa/AC Milan via Getty Images
Milan is the best out of a small group. They have enough style in their Rossoneri club colours and their iconic crest to almost pull off their third kit.
Manchester City
Puma
It was a decent effort but it is hard to imagine City's third strip being a huge seller in their club megastore. This will help them recoup the 100million transfer fee they paid Jack Grealish.
Valencia
Puma
Valencia is severely affected by the absence of a shirt sponsor, which gives their plain and gaudy primary colours an "off-brand" feel.
Borussia Monchengladbach
Puma
Gladbach's version of the theme has a lot more to offer. The angular clubcrest and eye-catching trim are just two examples.
Marseille
Puma
When you make Dimitri Payet, flair player, and his man-bun look dull and boring, it's obvious that something is fundamentally wrong.
Puma
Rennes' shirt stands out with its large sponsor logo. But it's not the only item of French clothing that's chic.
Puma
Shakhtar will wear a stunning fiery orange shirt at home and a black pinstriped kit when on the road. We hope the Ukrainian team's garish, third does not get even a glance-in.
Fenerbahce
Puma
This is a prematch warm up kit. You'd expect to see Mesut Ozil wearing it while juggling the ball in the floodlights prior to a Europa League match.
Puma
Krasnodar were jilted by the most boring design of all. This is dangerously close to a plan-white t-shirt. However, the Cyrillic script name of the club is a nice touch.
Puma
PSV's shirt, which is black and mint green, has a lot of sponsor logos. They are also visible across the back. It is almost as if the entire kit was created using Microsoft Word.
