Umbro Nations, where clubs and national teams blend

One of the most original releases of this beginning of 2018 is undoubted #UmbroNations, the latest collection of jerseys that the famous British brand has made for seven different Brazilian clubs, just before the World Cup. Even the motto of this initiative contains a beautiful message: "Se as fronteiras são or que nos divide, or futebol é o que nos une" or "If the frontiers are what divides us, football is what unites us". 

The idea of Umbro designers, the result of about two years of work, was that of combining the game uniform with that of a major national team with whom there is a strong historical or simply visual association: the 'Charrua' jersey, to for example, it is a clear reference to the colonies of Uruguayan who had settled in the Rio Grande do Sul area, where the Porto Alegre club is based; that of the Chapecoense, instead, which takes the name of 'La Pasión, is inspired by the colors of Colombia, the country with which the Brazilian team has created a very strong relationship after the 2016 air disaster, which occurred right there.

The other creations all have a different meaning: Santos will show off the shirt 'The Kingdom', a clear tribute to the Anglo-Saxon culture (and then moreover, because in Santos played O' Rey); the Cruzeiro, which in common with Iceland has a great fan base and a deep history of migrations, instead will wear the 'Blár Vikingur'. In some cases the mix is influenced by a chromatic reason: there are the Oz Azuis of Avaí who will wear the shirt 'Lion Bleu', with lots of little triangles that will compose the French flag, while the white, blue and red colors of Bahia they attracted the 'SK-1' shirts as the flag of Russia.

The shirt that has focused most doubts, however, is that nicknamed 'El Huracán' and which concerns Atletico Paranaense, which has decided not to use the jersey dedicated to the colors of Spain. All the other shirts, however, will be regularly sold and used as alternative jerseys: that of Cruzeiro, for example, has already made its debut last Saturday in a match of Brasileirão.