Up-Close with the England Umbro EURO 2012 Home Kit

It’s always a major event among soccer fans when a new England kit arrives on the scene. After all, the 1966 World Cup winners are amongst the best supported international teams in the world and always feature a host of well-known stars from the ever popular English Premier League.

With the UEFA EURO 2012 tournament just weeks away and England bound for the tournament under new manager Roy Hodgson and likely to feature several young, exciting stars such as Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck, Kyle Walker and Wayne Rooney, we bring you a world exclusive look at the England Umbro 2012/13 home kit that the Three Lions will wear during this summer’s tournament. It is now available at World Soccer Shop, Onionbag and Subside Sports.

Design
England’s white home shirt is arguably one of the most iconic in international soccer. However, with white as its primary color, innovation is necessary to keep the kit fresh and exciting as new iterations come along. Technical sponsor Umbro has been excellent at this over the years as the firm continues to reinvent the England kit via the use of the latest in sports fashion and technology while integrating items of cultural and sporting significance to England into the shirt.

The England Umbro 2012/13 home jersey features a brand new look that most significantly differs from its recent predecessors via the elimination of all traces of blue from the kit. This is in patriotic recognition of the red Cross of St. George on England’s national flag.

The red in question is most prominently featured on the shirt’s inner neckline and on the inside its foldover collar. When popped up (perfect for swagger on the pitch), striping made up of three shades of red (based on the stripes on the Umbro jacket worn by England manager Sir Alf Ramsey during England’s1966 World Cup campaign) is revealed. We thought that this is quite clever and one of the elements that makes the new England kit a work of soccer art.

The neck area of the England 12/13 home jersey is completed with a classic-feel placket topped by a single button that is crafted to never expose too much of the chest (much to the relief of hairy-chested England fans we assume).

The entire torso area of the kit is made of the ultra-comfortable brushed polyester used for all of the England and many of Umbro’s club kits since 2009. However, the arms of the new England shirt use a moisture wicking, tighter fitting polyester blend reminiscent of that used for baselayer garments. This is definitely welcome from a performance perspective as it creates an almost sleeveless feel to the jersey.

Rounding off the look of the kit are a shaped drop hem for a tailored fit that matches the natural posture of the body when standing and a novel split cuff end that aids with air circulation to the arms.

Fit
In keeping with its “Tailored by Umbro” initiative, Umbro provides all of its kits in an assortment of chest sizes to give wearers the best fit possible.

Our model usually wears size men’s Large tops and tried out a size 40 England 12/13 long sleeved home jersey. As you can see from the picture of him in it below, the fit was spot on and completely in line with today’s slimmer fits for men’s shirts. The compression top types sleeves were particularly accommodating to the arms and will serve muscular players quite well.

We recommend getting one of these shirts in your exact size (based on chest measurement) for an optimal fit. Get it in the same size that you’d buy a suit top or sports jacket in.

Feel
The brushed polyester that Umbro has been using for its soccer jerseys lately continues to impress with the England 2012/13 home shirt.

Though polyester, the material has a lovely cotton like feel but pulls and disseminates moisture quite rapidly. We gave the new kit a runout during a recently training session and found it to perform admirably in keeping the wearer cool and dry.

When to Wear
One of the benefits of international soccer jerseys is that they do not have sponsor logos emblazoned across their chest areas. That means that if you do not have a hero version of a given kit, you might be able to wear it just about anywhere. Of course, a classy, not extra sporty look will be necessary to sneak one into certain places such as offices that allow business casual dress. The England 2012/13 home shirt fits this bill. As such, you can rock it from the beach to the pub to the stadium to the office.

Final Thoughts
Regardless of how England performs at EURO 2012 and its 2014 World Cup qualifiers through 2013, the team will look sharp in their Umbro 2012/13 home kit. Through a well-done yet functional design, the kit is definitely one of our favorites on the market right now. For England fans and soccer jersey collectors, it is a must.

Thanks to Maren for making this review possible!

Check out our Kits and Jerseys section for more of the latest soccer shirts.