Umbro Blog

Picture from thefootballarchivist.tumblr.com

That’s right – like a certain ginger-haired midfielder or un striker français – Back Of The Net has come back from retirement to add firepower and a bit of pizazz to the Umbro blog, picking out some of the finest things we’ve found around the internet and presenting it to you in one handy place. We’re starting off this week with the place where we discovered that cracking picture at the top of the page, one of the growing Tumblr pages that capture some great football moments.

The Football Archivist is a Tumblr that brings together some fantastic retro football photography from all around the world. Tracing everything from the majestic to the mundane from the world of football, it’s a fantastic way to while away an afternoon at work. The picture above features some classic retro Umbro drill tops which is why we’ve chosen it, but the superb moustache on display also helps!

Visuals are also the name of the game over at On Goals Scored, a favourite here in the Umbro office – so much so that we collaborated with the man behind it on an Umbro Tee Shop tee. Creating his own visuals based on some hardcore football stats, Liam has produced a pretty unique visual style, something that’s pretty hard to do in the crowded world of football. Our current favourite is this graphic that examines what life is like for clubs once they’re promoted to the top division. It might look like someone’s gone mad with a felt-tip pen at first, but look closer and you’ll see the detail involved. There’s plenty more where this came from at the On Goals Scored site.

If you’re looking for more words to get your teeth into, then there’s a new blog devoted to all things England that should do the job. The Stiles Council easily wins the award for the best name for a new blog, and it also promises to be a pretty impressive forum for an analysis of all aspects of the England set up in the run up to this summer’s action. It’s from the same team as the now defunct Two Footed Tackle, so if you were a fan of that, you can lok forward to their particular perspective on England here.

Also known for their way with words is In Bed With Maradona, who have won a few awards for their insight and stories from around the world. They’re particularly good at stories from South America, such as this recent preview of the Copa Libertadores: now those of us who haven’t got a clue about the exotic cousin to the Champions League can impress our mates down the pub with a quick scan of the article. Cheers guys!

Finally this week we’re shining a light on a website that mixes words and visuals to terrific effect. Yes, Minoboro does have a strong Middlesbrough side to it, but it’s a gem of a site for fans of any club. The first thing you’ll notice is the cracking creative visuals of footballers both classic and modern, but there’s also some great interviews on the site. The chat with Bob Mortimer in particular is a great read – who knew that The Man With The Stick was a Boro fan?

That’s everything for this week’s internet trawl – if you spot anything you think deserves to be here next week, give us a shout in the comments section.

Sturdy footwear is the name of the day in the winter, but you still want to look stylish – so it’s a probably quite handy that we’ve got some new styles in our 1350 footwear range available now. The style above is a brand new type of shoe that our designers have created, inspired by living and working here in Manchester. Perfect for pounding the city streets and keeping your feet comfortable in all types of weather, the Spinningfield Canvas shoes also have some nice contrasting colours to catch the eye. Available in the brown and blue colourway pictured above and the black and red colourway below, we reckon these 1350 footwear styles are perfect for all the time you spend away from the game.

We’ve also put a new spin on our first foray into footwear, the Milton. The Milton Plus now features vulcanised rubber soles for extra comfort and durability, while links to Umbro’s football heritage are referenced through the football boot-style tongue and diamond eyelets. In a black and a white and grey colourway (pictured below), the Milton Plus shoes are available through the Umbro website now.

As they begin the celebrations around their 100th year, the Canadian Soccer Association have revealed their brand new Umbro home and away kits for 2012. The start of a whole host of events to commemorate their centenary, the new Canada shirts were launched over the weekend by Umbro Canada and the CSA. They’ll be worn by all of Canada’s national sides, such as the women’s team who have just qualified for the Olympics, and the men’s team, who are through to the next stage of qualification for the 2014 World Cup.

The new home and away shirts have a couple of special touches to bring players and fans closer together. Inside the collars of both shirts ‘O Canada!’ has been printed, the title of the country’s national anthem. There’s also a soundwave embroidered into the shirt, which is taken from a recording of Canadian fans singing their anthem.

The CSA’s centenary celebrations will culminate in a friendly game against neighbours the USA in June, before they head back into World Cup qualification. For more details on the new shirts and the Canadian Soccer Association cententary, head over to the Umbro Canada Facebook page.

February 5th, 1978: a blizzard hits New York that brings the city to a standstill. The city that never sleeps suddenly found itself battling against record snowfall, a white blanket wrapped around the iconic skyline. It was a tough time for the city, but it’s also a time when many New Yorkers came together to help each other out. Needless to say, the blizzard had a disruptive effect on the football fixtures at the time, but 1978 was still a good year for the New York Cosmos. The club were in the midst of their most successful period, winning the North American Soccer League for the second time and attracting record crowds.

Last year we used the iconic 1977 blackout to create a fantastic collection for the Cosmos. Now, we’re excited to reveal the Cosmos Whiteout collection, which takes that blizzard of 1978 as inspiration for another great range of Umbro gear. It’s on sale now, at the same time of year as when the snow started to fall on NYC back in 1978, and as the snow arrived in England this weekend. Funny how these things work out sometimes, isn’t it?

The Whiteout collection uses a series of subtle touches and tonal colours to tell the story of the 1978 blizzard. Splashes of yellow colour are mixed in on items like the Whiteout Anthem jacket as a reference to New York’s iconic taxis, while the jacket is crafted from a special insulated fabric so it’s perfect for the colder weather.

Reflective detailing on items such as the lettering and the crest on the Cosmos Football Jersey also help to create a sense of the city at that time, whilst adding a subtle layer of detail to the range.

Together with the Anthem jacket and football jersey, there’s also a graphic tee, drill top and taped jacket in the Cosmos Whiteout range, head over to Umbro.com now to take a closer look.

Congratulations to Darren Bent on scoring his 100th Premier League goal tonight! Here’s a close up view of the very special Speciali R boots Darren has to mark the occasion. Here’s to 100 more!

We’re very happy to have some new music to share with you here on the Umbro blog, as Tailored At Dale Street returns in 2012. Collaborating with some of the best promoters from in and around Manchester, Tailored At Dale Street is our way of showcasing some of the finest talent in Manchester and beyond.

Our latest gig was co-ordinated by Now Wave, who regularly put on some of the finest gigs in the north-west. The party we staged at our Dale Street design studio was a great night, and the first act to be picked from the evening is The Cold One Hundred, who perform their track ‘On To The Next One’ in the video above.

Formed in Salford in 2010, the band soon outgrew their university roots and are now regarding as one of the north-west’s finest upcoming indie-rock acts. Specialising in post-Britpop romantic anthems, The Cold One Hundred recently supported Suede frontman Brett Anderson on his solo tour. Check out their website for details of any forthcoming gigs and releases, and take a look at our Flickr stream for more great photos from the night…

Umbro founder Harold Humphreys was born on this day in 1902, the man who brought football and fashion together and introduced tailoring to the world of sport. Over the years, Umbro have crafted some of the most iconic moments in football’s history, kits and products that continue to influence the sport today. It’s these items that we’re celebrating in our Icons Reissued collection.

A premium collection of some of our most iconic products, reproduced stitch by stitch from the original designs, Icons Reissued are steeped in history and the story of football, but they also look great as modern designs. There’s four items in the Icons Reissued collection, here’s a little bit on them all:

Icons Reissued 1966 Anthem Jacket

Crafted from a Victoria blue stonewash twill, this Anthem jacket will forever be associated with English football’s greatest every victory. With the England crest proudly embroidered on the chest, the jacket also has red, white and blue ribbed trim on the collar, cuffs and hem.

Icons Reissued Mexico 1977 Jersey

Another item forever associated with classic England footballing moments, the Mexico 70 jersey looks just as good today as it did over 40 years ago! With a classic crew neck collar, the shirt is crafted from the same ribbed fabric as the original, and features a reproduction of the ‘Choice Of Champions’ screen print that featured on the hem of the original shirts.

Icons Reissued Drill Top

The original inspiration for our celebrated New Blue collection, the classic Umbro drill top was a part of every player’s wardrobe and even found its way onto the stage at one of the biggest gigs to ever take place in Manchester. Recreated stitch for stitch, the drill top features an oversized Umbro logo on the chest, and is crafted from the same washed cotton twill as the original.

Icons Reissued Taped Track Jacket

We’ve recreated the look of the taped track jacket many times, but this is the original that they’re all inspired by! With the same ribbed taping down the sleeves as the original, the Icons Reissued track jacket features a subtle Umbro logo on the chest.

We’re really excited by the Icons Reissued collection, and we’re sure you’re going to be impressed when you see it up close. There’s more pictures over on our Flickr stream, or you can head straight over to Umbro.com now for more details. Happy birthday, Harold Humpreys!

Football teams often talk about keeping their fans close at heart, but Peru’s finest team have gone one step further with their latest home shirt. Universitario de Deportes, based in the capital city of Lima, have stitched a special crest onto the inside of their new shirt, so that it will be close to the heart of both players and fans that wear it and show their support around the world.

The special internal crest has been created by Peruvian artist and Universitario fan Cherman, inspired by one of the team’s nicknames, ‘Garra Crema’ – the Cream Claws. While this is a literal translation of the team’s colours, ‘garra’ is also considered to be a local word for resilliance and strength, and is seen by the Universitario fans as a key characteristic of the team.

The new shirt, which the team will wear throughout the forthcoming 2012 season, has been Tailored by Umbro to reflect the culture and history of the team, who were the first Peruvian squad to reach the final of the Copa Libertadores. Alongside the internal crest, the shirt also features the supporter’s ‘garra crema’ logo on the hem. Crafted from a lightweight cotton/polyester fabric, the shirt also features the team’s iconic U logo embroidered on the chest.

We know how popular some of our overseas shirts are amongst football fans around the world, and if we find out any ways in which this new Universitario shirt will be available we’ll be sure to let you know! Check out more photos of the new shirt over on our Flickr stream.