2006 MLS Kits

At the risk of becoming MLS fan's best source for fashion information, I wanted to clue you into some pics that came available to me. These are straight out of an official adidas catalog. Are these the final designs? I am not 100% sure, but from all appearances, it seems so. I don't have the space to show you the full pages, but you get the idea.

Some points: adidas is working from three basic templates, but on all of them the company logo is center with the team badge on the right left chest. All now have the team wordmark across the chest, except DC and Chivas. LA loses the sash on the away kit, but Dallas keeps their hoops.

Note that there are San Jose and KC jerseys shown here. Now that probably means little, but at least it shows that there is enough of a chance of the teams remaining in their respective cities to have these drawn up. Also note the Chivas USA kits. Not a lot of difference between the home and away strips and shows that the league certainly values the brand identity of those vertical stripes. They must be retaining the current blue kit as a 3rd jersey, but it is not shown here.

adidas also is planning for a roll out of the 2006 kits in NYC sometime in the near future.

Yes, I have a fetish for soccer kits. I am willing to spend a portion of my time concerning myself with them. So, if you have been enjoying the blog, just get used to more of this in the years to come. It is pure coincidence that my last three posting are about jerseys... Really!

Max von Sydow will coach the Germans

In the hoopla and avalanche of the Nike "Don't Tread On Me" campaign what hasn't been mentioned is what the US Men's National Team kits will look like in Germany.

Have you seen "Victory" (or "Escape to Victory for you Euros)? Yup, it appears that the home strip will be a white shirt and short with a red and blue vertical stripe that goes from shoulder to the bottom of the shirt, and continues down the shorts and socks. The US logo would sit atop the stripe (the pic to the right is a replica of the Allied jerseys from the movie). The away kits will be an all blue affair with the shirt featuring a red horizontal stripe across the chest.

Nike has a current strip that has this reported look. The Juventus away kit, seen here, may give us an idea of the layout.


And, no. Pele will not be suiting up for the American side, but then again, thankfully neither will Sly Stallone.

Soccer Fashion

Nike is having a national rep gathering at the Home Depot Center this week and there are two things of note.

Tomorrow Nike will roll out a new campaign based on the little seen "Don't Tread on Me" logo that was first seen a few weeks ago on the Nike website. Nike is passing out stickers of the logo and red shirts with the logo will soon be for sale.

Second, Phillips will be replaced by Pepsi on all national team gear when the former's deal ends this winter. This relates to something I mentioned back at MLS All Star time when Pepsi was the sponsor of the MLS All-Star team. I love it when a plan comes together.

You Knew the Job Was Dangerous When You Took It

Not to say, "I told you so," but Bob's firing should have come a surprise to no one. It has been mentioned here a few times that Lalas was calling the personnel shots in Metro-land. When Bob didn't play the guys Alexi brought in you could hear the falling of the axe .

Short list? I think that ESPN's Ives Galarcep usually has it right and you should check out his list. But Frank Yallop is the gleam in everyone's eye.

While Yallop tops Lalas' list his former "Captain for Life", John Harkes, is really working hard behind the scenes for everyone to consider him. Lalas is a loyal guy to his friends so John may have a shot, and that probably rules out Mo Johnston. (note to John: Do NOT do your Jim Carrey imitation or fake Scottish accent in your interview)

Harkes' shot would get much better if Yallop ends up with his other suitor; The Galaxy. Steve Sampson's pants are hot and Landon Donovan is touting his former club coach to help solve LA's woes. Yallop certainly would rather end up in sunny LA than the Meadowlands, but will Hamilton pull the trigger on Sampson? Despite Hamilton's insistence that it was he, not Leiweke, that fired Sigi he will have to eat a lot of crow to part with a coach he brought in last year at the most odd of times.

The Crew have their new "union boss" in Sigi Schimd who not only has informed the USSF of his final work date, but is turning out invitations to other coaches and staff to join him. If you hear a "Sigi is going to the Metros rumor", don't believe it.

The rest of the league? You don't need a "Fire-Coach-Hot seat" analogy to know that Dave Sarachan is not secure. With Bob Bradley on the loose and John Guppy the new Fire GM, the Fire will have to go a long way in the playoffs to keep Dave's job in tact. If the Fire gig comes up there is another name to consider: Peter Nowak. DC United fans might squeal at the idea, but Peter would LOVE to return to Chicago.

For Chivas USA, Hans Westerhof has bigger things to do south of the border and won't be back. But who will Chivas put in his place? Martin Vasquez for his knowledge of the US system? Javier Ledesma? One never knows what Chivas might do.

Who is secure? If your guy's name is not found above, he is likely not going anywhere.

Sigi In and Out

Sigi Schmid is on his way out of US Soccer and on his way in with the Crew. Coach Schmid has quit his job with USSF out in California and his last day of employ as US U20 coach is October 18th. Sigi will be heading to Columbus to take the Crew head coaching job the next day.