With 18 Serie A and 7 UEFA Champions League titles in tow, AC Milan‘s past is rich with success. Their present, however? Not so much. With two games to go this season, they sit in a measly 8th place in the Serie A table, fighting for the chance to get into Europa League qualifying. Instead of challenging perennial Italian stalwarts like Juventus, they are just trying to keep up with sides like Parma and Lazio. A club that has the second-most Champions League wins (7, to Real Madrid’s 9), will not be in the competition next season. It’s depressing times for the Rossoneri.
But what about their future? They sacked their manager Allegri in January, replacing him with former Milan legend Clarence Seerdorf, who hasn’t exactly set the football world on fire in his first few months. Kaka and goalkeeper Christian Abbiati are aging. Who knows what lies ahead for talented (and foolish) striker Mario Balotelli. Juggernaut Juventus will take their third straight Serie A title this season. The rise of Roma and Napoli’s extended run of top 4 finishes will continue to make it difficult for Milan to get back to glory.
Still, a team with this much history will always find a way. Now adidas has released their home and third kits for the 2014-15 season. Their home jersey looks similar to last season’s, which had equally sized horizontal bars of red and black running from top to bottom. Next season brings a little more variety. There is a wide black stripe running down the center from the collar button, with strips of light and dark red mostly making up the rest of the jersey.
In fact the more I look at this top, the more I find myself appreciating it. Where it looks a bit random at first, you actually start to see the symmetry of it all when you look closer, i.e. the thin black lines striking through the center of the team crest and the adidas logo. Oh, and about that crest. Milan is going old school by bringing back the simple and stately St. George’s Cross on their badge, in place of their usual club crest. It’s still there, though, just imprinted in the bottom right, barely visible. Overall, it’s a buttoned-up, professional look with a crest that points toward AC Milan’s roots.
We also have the third kit released today, where adidas lightens things up with a golden yellow shirt and a crew neck. Dark, Amazon Green accents pop up throughout the jersey, and the recognizable Milan crest is back for the third kit. The green shorts should complement the top well when we see it on the pitch. You’ll recall last season had the almost reflective gold shirt with black, so it seems like adidas is taking it easier on the eyes for this edition.
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