There’s nothing like releasing a fresh batch of kits to build energy and excitement for all the unknowns of the upcoming campaign. City’s first kit release with Puma at the helm is surely just around the corner, given that the new strips are rumoured to go on sale at retail stores sometime in mid-July.
Cue the inevitable ranking of previous Heart/City kits and all the *glorious* memories that came with them. We’ve gone with our top 5 since the club’s first season in 2010/11, incorporating all home, away and third strips which have made an appearance along the journey.
5. 2010/11 Home
Picking out the best of the home strips from the Heart era was a tough one. Take a look at the shirt from 2010/11 with its old-school stripes which go all the way up and over the shoulders. Ol’ mate Johnny A looks smiley as ever as he models the club’s first-ever home shirt from the second tier of AAMI Park. The irony of that.
Whilst the original gets brownie points for being our first-ever, the 2011/12 iteration saw a marginally less-intrusive Westpac logo and less-chaotic shoulders/sleeves. Take your pick, really.
4. 2012/13 Away
It took a few years to get there, but the diagonal stripe on those Heart away kits finally hit its peak in the 2012/13 season when Kappa gave it a good crack. There’s just something about those slightly smaller, slightly elevated logos that does it. Whilst the awkward semi-turtleneck is still present, that particular feature is less jarring on this particular strip than on other Kappa efforts. Throw in the iconic Italian manufacturer’s logo on either shoulder and you’ve got yourself a solid away shirt.
3. 2018/19 Third
We were all pretty happy with this one, weren’t we? The final year of the Nike deal was a bit underwhelming – and let’s not even get started on the season that was – but at least this kit proved to be a winner, and probably made it into a significant portion of Cityzen homes. Nothing too special really; I think it was just the fact that it was black.
2. 2015/16 Home
‘MFN’. Mooy. Fornaroli. Novillo. Putting balls in the back of the net like it was no-one’s business. Admit it, you miss this season. And what wasn’t there to miss? We had the league’s premier strike force (including a certain Pasty Pirlo) and an exciting brand of football. Admittedly, it was the same as 2014/15, but there were good memories attached to this strip, and sometimes those memories are the best indicator of its worth.
1. 2015/16 Away
Heart/City have had a kit featuring red and white stripes in 8 of the club’s 9 seasons of existence… and this one’s the best.
It’s the number of stripes, the ratio, the shape of the neck and its white trim, the Nike ‘Swoosh’ just under the collar, the blood red. Hell, even the Etihad Airways sponsorship looks great…
It might’ve all fallen apart in the typical-City semi-finals-exit fashion, but the 2015/16 kits will bring about a whole bunch of special memories from what remains an incredible season in the club’s history.
Reckon we've got it all wrong? Let us know your top 5 in the comments.
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