There are a variety of different factors that need to be looked at to establish the difference between a great and not so great soccer shirt. It is not always the initial appearance of a shirt that makes the difference, the way that the shirt has been manufactured and the technologies that have been used make the item good or bad.
Soccer jerseys can be made from a variety of different materials, this can help you with performance and can either help you to play with ultimate comfort. An example for me would be the Spain Home Soccer Shirt, this product has some amazing features including Climacool technology, integrated in to the fabric by Adidas this will ensure you stay cool, dry and comfortable during the game.
Years ago a soccer shirt was often made from cotton, manufacturers decided to change these to polyester because they knew that this material would allow them to add these helpful technologies in to their products. Polyester shirts are very resistant to creasing, because of this they are very easy to take care of.
The cotton shirts that were used many years ago would of been quite uncomfortable to play in, there were not mesh inserts or any way of the player releasing the sweat from their body, the sweat would have soaked in to the shirt making it extremely heavy.
In modern day football, manufacturers are making their soccer shirts using polyester mesh. This is a material very capable of releasing moisture from the body, very much different to the materials that used to be made from natural fibres. Polyester mesh shirts are also very lightweight as they are constantly clearing out any moisture that leaves the body.
Wearing a polyester football shirt will allow you to give 100% in your game and train at your hardest. The technology, such as Nike's Dri Fit technology will wick away any sweat from your body by releasing it to the outer layer of the shirt, this will then evaporate leaving you nice and dry.
Another good point about the soccer shirts of today is that products that are made from polyester materials often have a greater durability than any other shirt. When purchasing a soccer training top, always get a polyester design, any other will not prove as good as one made from this.
Another element that makes a good shirt is the colour, it is always good to have an attractive coloured football top, a multi coloured shirt with a flowery design probably would not sell these days but may of many years ago. Now, a nice plain and simple shirt with the club badge, sponsor and kit makers logo is perfect.
A stylish collar is also a very good point, old shirts would often sport the V-neck design. There is nothing wrong with this as many modern shirts still have this but it must be designed in the correct way.
A V-neck on a modern-day shirt can look out of place if it is not designed well. Sometimes a crew neck collar can look best but it depends on personal preference. The Spain Home Soccer Shirt 2013 is a good example of a nice V-neck design.
The sponsor can make quite a difference on a shirt and could potentially put you off buying your teams new soccer shirt. If the sponsor turns out to be something you do not believe in, for example a payday loan or gambling company it could put you off and in your eyes this would make a great soccer shirt.
The actual quality of the shirt can determine a good shirt from a bad one. Products must be checked before they go on sale to make sure that stitching is tight, logos and badges are in the right place and that the sponsor is printed properly. Always check the stitching on your new jersey to see that it is all correct.
Having a good quality shirt is also very important as it needs to be durable after being in the washing machine. After all you would not want to wear your football shirt for a whole match and then wear it again without washing it.
Shirts can not be tumble dried but this is because it makes the technologies become less affective and logos and badges can melt.
So what do you think makes a good quality soccer shirt?
Emily writes exclusively for Soccer Box, here you can shop for your very own Spain Home Soccer Shirt and you can also view a range of the latest jerseys, kits and training kit.
