I highly doubt that's how the number will be in the players jerseys it will probably be without that ugly white box.
The authentic jerseys are exactly like what the players will be wearing on the field. It will have the white box due to FIFA rules.
i know UEFA used to have a rule like that. so for awhile, clubs with stripes or hoops needed blank backs for the name/number. but i dunno if the rule is still being enforced. here's a pic of inter from this season's CL:
that's probably a replica jersey. thus no "blank" back. here are pics from france's game against albania. you can see the "blank" back for the name/number:
Croatia has done it in the past as well with a white background. Against Israel in September 2011, they used a red background: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZExS9sMCmb4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZExS9sMCmb4[/ame] EDIT: Found the FIFA Equipment Regulations (flip to page 21-22 for the relevant portion): http://www.fifa.com/mm/document/tournament/competition/51/54/30/equipment_reg_26032010_en.pdf
Thanks! Flipping through it, it's actually pretty interesting. Page 28 explains why adidas moved to having a gap in the three stripes on their sleeves...it's because it was FIFA-mandated to have room for the competition patches, not necessarily something that adidas did on their own. They have regulations on just about everything you can imagine.
yea i figured it's for the patches. i wonder why france haven't been wearing numbers on the front, though.
I knew they did it to make room for the patches, but I thought it was something that adidas did in response to team complaints about patches falling off during competitions due to the 3 stripes. I didn't know it was FIFA stepping in and mandating it.
I'm thinking it's a contrast issue. I remember the cc authentics pictures with a blank back, but in competitions they had stripes. And I know Argentina has gone without a box in the back, although iirc they added a thick white outline to their numbers durin the wc
The U.S. stripes from 2008 weren't thick enough to warrant a box in the back. And Argentina's stripes don't count. They're specifically used as an example on Page 22 of the Equipment Regulations.
Yeah definitely, I just pointed out the us ones because I'm pretty certain that they sold authentics with broken up stripes in the back which was different than the on field product. I think them might've worn both though.
To my knowledge, they didn't publicly sell authentics with the 2008/10 cycle. And I remember pics of the jersey with the blank back, but I think those were fake photoshopped pics that leaked before the jerseys actually came out. I don't think they ever wore blank backs in competition, nor were they sold.
ah. could be an olympic, not fifa, rule. if i remember correctly, the olympics had their own set of rules regarding kit maker logos, crests, etc. rules, rules, rules...
They do. Notably, you can't use federation crests on your jersey (which is why in basketball, the Olympic team jerseys have a U.S. flag in place of the USA Basketball logo; in the World Championships, sponsored by FIBA, the USA Basketball logo can be present). In 2008, the soccer team removed the US Soccer crest and had nothing on the front in its place.
I remember they did something ridiculous like put tape over the crest or something. It was awful and ugly.
Finally! Big Kudos to the USSF, Nike or whoever is responsible for making sense out of the US kit! I never understood how was that the US soccer bosses, from a country that proudly displays perhaps the most recognizable flag in the world, never came out with an idea to design the uniforms with these colors in mind. Very well put Jon, leave the white shirt to more traditional footballing nations like Germany and England. Hardly iconic or original for the US Team. Now (and hopefully this is not just a "fad") this will become the official kit of the Nat team for ever, a very identifiable, iconic and ORIGINAL (As in no other Nat team in the world has it) uniform. I can even imagine non-soccer fans wearing this shirt for patriotic events such as 4th of July, Memorial days, etc