FFT counts down the most memorable strips to bear the Swoosh on their chest
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Ever since the 90s, Nike football kits have been among the most widespread in the game, featuring at club and international level alike.
The iconic American brand has kitted out most of the biggest teams in the game, it would seem, and throughout their association with football, they've come out with some simply spectacular strips.
Here, we rank the very the best of them.
The best Nike football kits ever: 10. Barcelona home, 1999/2000
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Barcelona have opted for the half-and-half look rather than their usual stripes a few times over the years, but never have the results been more impressive than on their 1999/2000 home shirt.
The Catalan giants didn't win any trophies in their centenary season, but at least they celebrated the milestone in style in another sense.
9. Boca Juniors home, 1996/97
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Sponsors can ruin a look as utterly iconic as Boca Juniors' blue and yellow home strip – but that wasn't remotely the case here.
The logo of local brewery Quilmes only added to a shirt based on a gorgeous deep blue, which we dare say is even more aesthetically pleasing than the slightly more royal shade Boca usually sport.
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8. Borussia Dortmund home, 1995/96
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For much of the 90s, Borussia Dortmund weren't just the Black and Yellows; they were the Black and neon Yellows.
Nike did a fine job on several of the Bundesliga big boys' kits throughout the decade, but they produced their best work for the 1995/96 campaign – when BVB retained the German title.
7. Inter Milan away, 2007/08
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Inter Milan turned 100 in 2008, and the Italian powerhouse celebrated with an away shirt nodding to the home strip worn by Societa Sportiva Ambrosiana – the short-lived merger between Inter and US Milanese back in 1928.
The 2007/08 campaign saw the Nerazzurri (or the Biancorossi, as they would have been on the road that term) win their third of five straight Serie A titles.
6. Croatia home, Euro 2016
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Croatia's unique red and white checkerboard shirts are among the great aesthetic delights of football, and they looked even more resplendent than usual at Euro 2016.
Appearing to imitate a waving flag, this strip was worn by Luka Modric, Ivan Perisic and co. as they reached the last 16 of the tournament in France.
5. Netherlands home, Euro 2024
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Arguably the best of the bunch among a breath-taking crop of kits released in the run-up to Euro 2024, the Netherlands' newest effort is somehow more orange than ever.
Piped with dark blue and featuring a silver-based crest, it'll ensure the Dutch look quite dashing as they aim to be crowned champions of Europe for the first time since 1988.
4. Portugal away, Euro 2012
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In 2016, Portugal won the Euros; four years earlier, they won best kit of the Euros (in FFT's eyes as UEFA have, unfathomably, never given out such an award).
Incorporating the two main colours of the Portuguese flag into a great big cross which dominates the shirt, this away strip worn by the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Pepe was an absolute masterpiece.
3. Arsenal away, 1995/96
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Arsenal had a couple of cracking away kits during the 90s, one of them being their final change strip of the pre-Arsene Wenger era.
It wasn’t a memorable season for the Gunners – who, under Bruce Rioch, finished fifth in the Premier League and exited the FA Cup at the third-round stage – but this shirt was really… striking (geddit?).
2. Norway away, 2020-2021
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We didn't need this veritably icy kit to remind us that it can get pretty cold in Norway (ok, very cold), but we're sure glad Nike made it – because it's just extremely *don't say it* it's just extremely c- *don't say it* it's just extremely COOL.
Worn by a young Erling Haaland, among others, it's a shame it was 'only' Norway's away kit and not their home.
1. Nigeria home, 2018 World Cup
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For the 2018 World Cup, Nike went firmly retro with Nigeria’s 2018 World Cup home shirt – and it proved to be a global sensation, selling out far beyond Africa’s most populous nation.
The Super Eagles only got to wear it once at the tournament in Russia, but thousands (millions?) around the world – whether football fans or not – were desperate to cop one of these.
Tom Hancock started freelancing for FourFourTwo in April 2019 and has also written for the Premier League and Opta Analyst, among others. He supports Wycombe Wanderers and has a soft spot for Wealdstone. A self-confessed statto, he has been known to watch football with a spreadsheet (or several) open...
