By Joseph Odell

Don’t lie, we’ve all had a glance at one stage. Of course it’s never more than a fling - you’ll always stay loyal to your one true love. But you, like those around you, have been drawn by the beauty, glamour and charisma, like moths to a flame.

Of course we’re talking about some of the great football kits that have led people astray from their own clubs - only temporarily, of course. Whether it’s their sleek design, comfortable fit or quirky patterns, these kits just click. 

Parma 1998 

The famous blue and yellow stripes have become synonymous with Parma, the over-achieving northern Italian side. All of the pieces of the colourful jigsaw came together in the 1998/99 season, as the club won the Coppa Italia and the UEFA Cup. Luckily, Parma had a beautiful kit to match the club’s success. The blue and yellow stripes, with the baggy blue colours, and the easily-recognisable Parmalat sponsor were sported by the likes of: Lillian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro, Juan-Sebastian Veron and Hernan Crespo.

Fiorentina 1998 

It seems that Italians had a knack for producing world-class kits in the late 90’s. This Fiorentina kit deserves its own place in the Uffizi Gallery. The deep purple kit is simple, yet effective. But what takes the strip to the next level is the eye-catching ‘Nintendo’ sponsor placed in the centre of the kit. Of course, there’s one name that comes to mind, when you picture this strip… Gabriel Batistuta. The Argentine goal-addict netted 21 Serie A goals in the purple kit that season, as La Viola finished in 3rd.

Gremio 1998 

Not only can Italians conjure up jaw-dropping kits. Brazilian’s seem to have done a pretty decent job too. Once again this kit emerged into the football world just before the turn of the century. Little is known about the kitmakers ‘Penalty’, but it seems that they know what they’re doing. The vibrant blue and black stripes are separated by the ‘cool’ vertical white lines to give the strip a refreshing look. Unfortunately, Gremio’s season couldn’t quite match the kit, as the club finished 8th in the Brazilian Serie A.

Man United 1990-92 

Unless you’re a fan of Liverpool or Man City you won’t be able to resist the illustrious design of this Man United away kit from the early 90’s. The jazzy blue and white kit design would have left opposition players’ starry-eyed. Breaking up the icey pattern is the bold red ‘Sharp’ sponsor that became so associated with the ‘Red Devils’. Ryan Giggs also played his debut season for Man United in this strip - quite the way to start your career.

Villarreal 2005 

Not many teams could pull off a full yellow strip, that isn’t the case for Villarreal, however. The kit has become so ingrained with the club’s image that their nickname is ‘The Yellow Submarine’. But rather than sink, this team and this kit almost rose to the top of European football, reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League before exiting to Arsenal. The kit is elevated, literally, by the high collars, adding an extra dash of novelty to the strip. And the slightly baggy feel of the kit perfectly suited the languid style of the team’s star player, Juan Roman Riquelme.

Sampdoria 1990

Sampdoria have arguably been the best kit producers in Europe for the last 30 years. The best of the lot is their home kit from the 1990/91 season. The glossy blue ‘asics’ kit is brilliant in its simplicity. The Italian flag, the ERG sponsor and the iconic white, red and black stripes that circle the centre of the kit all complement each other to produce a beautiful strip. It seems the kit helped I Blucerchiati in what was their greatest season. As the Genoese side blessed with the likes of: Gianluca Vialli and Roberto Mancini, won their first and only Scudetto.

Monchengladbach 19/20

From 1990 all the way to 2020, and the Borussia Monchengladbach home kit from this campaign. Whilst the yellow ‘Postbank’ sponsor in the centre of the shirt is not to everybody’s taste, this is more than made up for by the unique smoky design at the bottom of the kit. It’s inspired by the energy of the fans, alluding to the pyro smoke that can be found in the atmosphere in the Borussia Park stadium. No doubt this kit will have multiplied the amount of fans cheering Monchengladbach on. With the side currently towards the top end of the Bundesliga table, who knows if this strip will soon be stitched into Die Folen’s history.