BY MARK GODFREY
As the World Cup rapidly approaches, many of us will be looking for some decent clobber for the matches ahead; whether at home with a few tinnies or down the local boozer with a few mates and a ‘pass-out’ from the wife.
I’ve got a couple of England retro shirts (1982 and 1986) so I decided to go for something a little different.
First port of call was our friends at Campo who not only sell classic club shirts but have also turned their hand to producing a range of shirts specifically aimed at the considerable World Cup 2014 market.
All retro in style, you can pick up something from most of the top nations such as Brazil, Spain, Argentina, Italy and Germany. I decided to go for the white away shirt of Belgium with it’s red, yellow and black collar and sleeve trim in honour of their national flag colours.
Very much inspired by the shirt of Mexico ’70, when similar heat and humidity conditions applied to those the players of Brazil 2014 will experience, this collection has adopted the iconic mesh design – as Campo puts it, 90% cotton, 10% air, 100% cool.
Delivery was swift, and when I opened the packaging I wasn’t disappointed. The shirt is very smart and is embroidered with the Campo logo and their specially designed Victory crest, which is inspired by the original World Cup trophy, past winners medals and Rio de Janeiro’s iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. Also included is the now customary Campo pin badge which has a discreet housing on the front, left hip of the shirt where it shouldn’t damage the material (don’t forget to remove it before putting in the washing machine!).
The shirt is more off-white than a brilliant white but feels great when worn and is something a bit unique in the retro shirt field.
One small tip for those of you who don’t have the chiselled abs and torso of the modern day footballer. These shirts hug the figure somewhat. So, if you’d prefer to have a wee bit more room to hide that extra paunch, then go one size higher when you order. I got an XL (usually slightly too big for me) which just about fits, but I’m someone who prefers more room in their clothing and would recommend anyone who feels the same should take my advice.
Overall this Belgium shirt and the others in the Brazil 2014 collection by Campo is very stylish and very wearable and will look great during the Brazil 2014 World Cup and beyond.
