Whilst there was no-bout smiles abound when Nike took over the mantel of Technical Supplier to the French National Football team in a deal worth 320m, there’s also a heady sense of responsibility, given adidas excellent track record with Les Bleus.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlU9hA1HXhE
In their latest video, Nike show that they didn’t take that responsibility lightly when designing the new Nike France Home Shirt 2011-12.
Consulting with Laurent Blanc in the process, Nike wanted to create a kit infused with a sense of class, speed and attacking flair capturing the new Les Bleus supremo’s philosophy.
And have they done it? Well, Nike, Blanc and players like Malouda seem to think they have as the epic 9 minutes video demonstrates them crowing about the Oregon-based brand’s first stab at the classic blue French jersey.
Given how it differs in template from any other Nike football shirt out there at the moment, we’ve got to hand it to Nike – they’re going all out to impress the French fans, and this kit oozes class.
Some of the features of the Nike France Home Shirt 2011-12 include:
A New Material – fusing Nike’s industry leading moisture-management materials with a cotton lining, the idea is that any player who pulls is on will feel the same level of comfort as their favourite T-Shirt, whilst the outer material will allow them to perform to the best of their abilities.
A New Crest – Rather than going for a busy, gold crest Nike have simplified things to accompany the classic look of the new shirt. Here Nike have opted for a clean, white crest incorporating the white Rooster and ‘FFF’ in a classic shield.
This is then thermally bonded to the shirt, with no stitching, resulting in a lightweight, comfortable way to show love for your country.
A New Way to Wear – How you wear your shirt instantly tells everyone that’s watching (be it 80,000 in a stadium or a man and his chien at the park)'Â what sort of player you are and Nike have given France the a multitude of ways to wear the new Nike France Home Shirt 2011-12.
First, the Collar. Distinctly French in cut and feel, the buttons and feel of the fabric allow players to button up and collar down for a smart, proper look; or button down and pop that bad boy to stake their claim as the new King Eric.
Secondly, the sleeves. The French national kit has always been Red White & Blue, well here players can choose how much Red they want to display. Rolling up their sleeves reveals a bold, blood-red lining to the cuffs which really stands out on the pitch. Alternatively, the more understated player can keep the red hidden.
The new Nike France Home Shirt 2011-12 is undoubtedly a very special shirt, and a very special shirt deserves a special debut. February 9th. Stade de France. Versus Brazil.
It’s an all-star Nike clash as two of the biggest – yet currently most under-performing – teams in world football clash horns in a big to kick-start their 2011 under new managers.
Oh. And rumour has it that Brazil might be sporting a new shirt too – stay tuned…
In the mean time, tell us what you think of the new Nike France Home Shirt 2011-12!
Is this a case of Nike learning from Umbro for a change? Drop your opinion and let us know!
I like shirt. Looks mature, like your dad could wear it. And France maybe needs to project maturity for the time being.
The shorts look a little too boring. Maybe I’m used to the drei stripes.
i didnt like it
the ADIDAS shirt is much better
definately an umbro influence there,
the neckline looks quite similar to the current england shirt
It looks more like a rugby shirt.
It looks far to plain compared to previous france kits
it just doesnt feel right with nike, adidas was its home, imagine zidane played another charity match or something, and came out wearing total 90’s, it’s JUST NOT RIGHT!
im still going to get this even though the french rugby union shirt looks more like a football shirt than this
i’m agree with most of the people who commented here.
although its a very nice shirt, just like all nike-designed jersey..this one looks like a rugby jersey.
its to plain simple, and wait till u guys see the brasil jersey..
sorry, i think they (brasil and france) deserve a more better design.
As a normal shirt it is awesome. As a football shirt….visually all too plain and boring in looks.
And after reading the information about the various ways to wear it it seems like a decent shirt for a france fan to buy and wear on a daily basis.
Does seem like it’s begging for a little more design though. It looks like they took away all designs in order to make the nike sign bigger…….
I really like this kit. Nike have been been dipping into the Umbro pool on this one. I think it really fits the French mentality of style and subtleness. It is a bit understated, but that’s exactly the point.
France + Nike = S**T
Like the design but i want some red stripes PLEASE.
This is tooooo plain.
I wonder; when the sleeves are turned up how well will they stay up? And is there a way to make sure both sleeves are turned up to the same level? I might get one of these, seems like a great jersey to wear about if it isn’t too expensive.
Why?!?!?!?!?!?!? NIKE < adidas
With all due respect to Nike because they’ve obviously tried very hard here I think the whole “customize your look” thing with the collar and cuffs is just a bit over the top for me. I think the French national team have enough issues to sort out without having to worry about whether their cuffs will be red or blue today!
Other than that it looks like the old England home shirt which is not an altogether bad design IMO but nothing too special either.
pure class!
I know exactly what this shirt is missing!!!!!!…..3 white stripes accross the sleeves 🙂
congratulation france
but its so classic (simbly)
They look queer
I have the last france shirt that adidas created and I actually love it.Much better than this one.
i think the best nike-endorsed-national team jersey is indonesia ^^
i’ve seen the video, and i have to say that i’m not really sure about the custom way to wear the shirt.
i mean, is it even legal? players on the same team (except goalkeepers) are supposed to wear the same jersey. so far, they’ve tolerate if some players wanted to wear long sleeve or short sleeve, gloves, even neckwarmers -not to mention those colorful boots…
but right now i’m looking at the first picture there, and the shirt with orange on its sleeves looked very different with those with only blue.
should this customization trend goes on, we could be looking at a future where one player could looked very different from his own teammates!
and then of course, the three stripes issue. tricolore (three colors) just doesn’t seemed right without three stripes on its shoulders :p
i have to say, those three white stripes looked really good on tricolore’s blue.
@raka gemma: nationality aside, i have to agree 😀 we don’t see that kind of complex watermarks design on other shirts!
looks like a rugby kit, don’t like it, and i don’t like platini, does it look like a sunday morning pub teams kit?