Novelty shirts telling stories of local traditions and festivals have become a common fixture of German football in recent years, but these limited edition Christmas jerseys by Umbro and 1. FC Nürnberg really take the biscuit.
The Bundesliga 2 side released a gingerbread themed design in their familiar black and red colours this week, with just 2500 of the seasonal shirts available for sale.
We don’t need to tell you that the city of Nuremberg is well known for its Christmas market and sweet treats such as Lebkuchen, a type of gingerbread biscuit with a very specific pattern of almonds on top, because you already know that don’t you?
Neither do we need to make you aware that those tasty little delicacies have been served up in the city since way back in 1395; or that the year 2020 marks Der Club’s 120th anniversary.
For this year’s stab at the Christmas kit No. 1 spot, Umbro have taken ingredients from the city and club’s heritage and mixed them into a special edition jersey with a repeating red-wine coloured pattern; finished by an array of details that may as well have been piped on with icing sugar.
Those sweet little tags and flourishes include a toast to 1. FCN’s big anniversary and an ode to Nuremberg as the “city of gingerbread,” or rather, “Lebkuchenmetropole.”
Some may say that the limited edition Christmas jersey which comes in its own presentation gift box, reminds them more of “disco biscuits” than gingerbread, but we couldn’t possibly comment on that.
1.FCN are due to wear their delectable shirts when they host regional rivals Würzburger Kickers on Sunday (13th December).
These will certainly be too sweet for some, too trippy for others, but as it’s the time of the year for silly jumpers and novelty records, why shouldn’t we expect more novelty football shirts at Christmas?
Sartorial Soccer 