“Bold is the Name of Liverpool FC's Away Game.”
There can be no disputing the headline accompanying Nike’s unveiling of the Reds’ new 2020/21 away kit on the sportswear company’s website.
Liverpool’s away design is certainly bold.
You always know what you’re going to get with the Reds’ home offerings. Designs might vary to offer a new take on Liverpool’s primary colours but there’s only so much you can do with a red kit each season.
As such, the away kit is where they could make their first proper statement as the new kit providers.
Nike were well aware of this, with their VP Football Apparel, Scott Munson, reflecting on their approach to designing both shirts.
“While we felt like you had to be super respectful for the home, the away gives you more freedom and we created a bold statement,” he admitted. “We think it’s representative of the confidence of the team, and the youth of the city.”
The modern football shirt tends to be one designed based on a mixture of culture and nostalgic identity and this year’s away kit is no different, “drawing on cultural references from across the city of Liverpool.”
The Liver Bird, an iconic symbol across the city, and the club crest heavily influenced the colour and is a theme that has been carried through from the home shirt to tie the two kits together.
Meanwhile, the swirling pattern on the front of the jersey takes its inspiration from Anfield’s Shankly Gates and also nods to Liverpool’s strong musical roots and the flyposters often found around the city to advertise local music events.
Yet the turquoise colour is something completely new.
Critics of Liverpool’s home kit were quick to point out the goalkeeper jersey’s resemblance to Zenit St. Petersburg’s own offering, highlighting Nike’s design templates and one of fans biggest worries when the company replaced New Balance earlier this year.
But with the Reds’ new away shirt, Nike have created something truly unique and unlike any Liverpool jersey that has ever preceded it.
In the past, the Reds’ second colours have predominantly been a mixture of white, green, yellow and black kits, with the occasional orange or grey thrown in for good measure.
And in recent years, New Balance played on such history by providing modern twists to nostalgic classics to the delight of supporters.
Yet Liverpool and Nike’s partnership signals a new era.
Under New Balance, the Reds ultimately saw their wait for an elusive Premier League title reach 30-years before an explosion of glory in the past year.
Nike take over at a time when the club is proudest in its present and firmly looking to the future, no longer needing to use its past as its primary inspiration.
But while New Balance’s time with Liverpool is over, their legacy is not certainly not forgotten.
Afterall, from questionable orange and purple mash-up variations during the Warrior years to the days of ‘Toxic Thunder’, ‘Bold Citrus’ and ‘Deep Violet’ in recent seasons, they were most definitely no strangers to a bold kit themselves.
While Nike’s colour scheme might be different, such boldness is not with their christened ‘Hyper Turquoise’ kit following in the footsteps of the bright, eye-catching offerings that have defined Liverpool’s rise under Jurgen Klopp.
An inadvertent nod to modern success perhaps, though they’d never admit it.
And with the mantle now firmly passed to Nike, Liverpool will be hoping their thirst for silverware continues to be quenched as they head forward in a bold new direction.
